If you go to a California Community college for 2 years and take the classes that the UC you want to go to and you reach their minimum GPA that they give you, they will grant you guaranteed admission.
This applies to all UC’s except: UCLA, UC Berkeley, and UCSD.
This program is known as the TAG program.
However: There are lots of CC’s in California that have connections with berkeley which makes it a lot easier to get into than others.
There was a student who had a 2.7 GPA in High School, did 2 years in CC and is now at UC Berkeley. It’s possible. While at CC, do something spectacular. 
@Stanfordswag thanks for the confidence boaster! Only problem is cost of living in Cali. How much would it be realistically to rent off campus and very close to it? Coming from Connecticut it can’t be THAT bad, I don’t know. Would an Arizona CC be a better option since the rent is probably a lot cheaper? I’m sure if I talked to and asked for reqs from a UC school that they would tell me what to take at the CC in Az. Would the credits transfer over smoothly? I know it’s different for every college, but UCs are pretty good schools and might have higher reqs.
^ you’d need about $30,000 to attend community college in California for each year, plus 55,000 per year at a UC.
Arizona is indeed cheaper. It’s true the UCs are much better than ASU (especially if you’re not into Barrett).
@Myos1634 Thanks for the reply. I’d have to imagine if I did very well in a respectable AZ community college that I wouldn’t have too much of an issue transferring into a Cal State such as CSUSB or maybe even a UC if I do really well. I’m meeting with my guidance counselor to talk about grades, colleges, etc next Monday and I’ll ask for her opinion on an OOS CC.
No, but your order of priority would be after CA CCs, then the CA 4-year, then after other 4-year universities. So not sure there’d be many spots left at that point.
@Myos1634 I did a bit of research and rent around SBCC seems pretty high. Are there other pretty decent CCs in So Cal where rent might be cheaper? The Coachella Valley seems really cool. Is College of the Desert a decent CC? I can’t find many reviews for it.
Yes, that’s what I was trying to say: rents around SMCC and SBCC are horrendously high. Unfortunately, the “good” CCs are mostly in expensive areas. Beside SMCC and SBCC, you have:
De Anza College
Foothill College
Irvine Valley College
Orange Coast College
Pasadena City College
Cuesta College
Sierra College
Ohlone College
Diablo Valley College
And there’s still the issue of your finding 110k to pay for your last 2 years at a UC?
Unless you attend community college for 2-3 years, then work for 2-3 years, then apply to a UC.
@MYOS1634 Thanks for the list. I really appreciate all the time you’ve given helping me! Yes the 110k will probably be a problem… Is there a way to get a scholarship out of a CC? For example… If I went to one of those colleges and worked really hard, do a bunch of community service and do everything I need to right, can I possibly get $ off from a UC school? Doesn’t matter which one honestly since they’re all good.
Would University of Arizona or ASU be a better option financially? I’d be sacrificing on education, location and probably connections, but would the cost outweigh all of that?
No, because even if you transfer from a California college, you’d still be an out of state applicant because your parents don’t live in California; The only way to go around that is if you worked after community college, until you turned 24: at this point, having worked in CA for more than a year and no longer being considered dependent for financial aid purpose (ie., 24+), you’d be a California resident.
So, you’d have to pay two years for CC as an OOS student, but then you’d work and get the UC at in-state price. Downside: it’ll take a while for you to get your Bachelor’s degree with this system.
As a California resident, your bill would not even be half of that of an OOS applicant’s PLUS you’d be eligible for state grants. There are a few grants for excellent CC transfers, but I don’t think they put a real dent into the OOS bill.
@myos1634 I’m guessing that ASU or UA might be my best bet at getting into a 4 year university in the South West US. CSUSB & CSUN are reaches, but might be possible. The cost kind of hurts me at the UCs.
Do you mean CSULB (Long Beach)?
In CA, SB typically means Santa Barbara.
@myos1634 I meant CSU San Bernardino. It seems like a reach for me, but who knows. I plan on applying anyway.
Oh, yes. Yes, actually, San Bernardino is a good choice - they have good dorms and they don’t have too many OOS applicants, so that should give you a boost.
@MYOS1634 Thanks! Would you advise a private tutor for SATs? I’ve gotten 1550 on my practice SAT from the Princeton Review. If I get a private tutor and raise my SAT to something like 1750-1800 that would be a lot better, right?
Yes it would, especially for all state universities that use GPA X SAT score!
@myos1634 Do you know if Cal States prefer SATs vs ACT scores? Also, is there a single UC at all that I’d even have the slightest of chances? If I did really well on SATs, community service, strong high school, advanced classes, etc?
No, to even be eligible to apply to a UC OOS you need a 3.4 and that would only be sufficient for Merced and it’d really depend on lots of other factors.
Cal States have indexes for both so I don’t think there’s a difference between ACT or SAT.
@myos1634 Thanks! Is there a minimum requirement for Cal State OOS? Their website and formula was different from everything else I’ve seen. GPA x 200 + SAT (M+CR) or something like that? Is there a way to get around that or any other method of getting accepted?
No. And each major has its own requirement, so you’re better off choosing philosophy, sociology, Russian, French… than engineering, business, or Spanish