SERIOUS HELP! transferring to a California CC from a 4 year university?

Transfer Students UC Transfers
1

<p>Hi everyone.
I NEED SOME SERIOUS OPINIONS.
I currently am a second year student from a 4-year university in Colorado.
I've always wanted to go to a school in California, So I decided to apply as a transfer to USC/UCLA/UCI/ and UCSB my junior year, which will be next fall of 2014.</p>

<p>From researching, I've found that UC's take students from California Community Colleges first and than out of state students.</p>

<p>I did not do so well my 1st semester of freshmen year. But my GPA significantly went up the 2nd semester of my freshmen year. My GPA has been increasing and I am planning on getting the best GPA to my ability for next 2 semesters. </p>

<p>Since I only have a year left here in colorado before applying for the UC's, I thought it would be better or myself to transfer to a California Community College for a year, and than transfer to UC's so I have a better chance of acceptance than being an Out of state student.</p>

<p>I was thinking about transferring to LACC. I know SMC is known for the highest UCLA transfer rate, But I've also heard that it is hard to get into classes at SMC due to the high volume of students.</p>

<p>SO... do you guys think transferring to a California CC for a year is a smart move or should I just stay here at a 4-year university in Colorado?</p>

<p>I've heard that out of state students get in some what easily because we do pay more tuition. </p>

<p>I want to know people's opinion and take advices. Also, if you recommend myself transferring to a california CC which CC do you recommend? I am planning on commuting from LA so somewhere not too far from LA would be great</p>

<p>Thank you!</p>

2

<p>Honestly, if you’re going to uproot your entire life just go to school in CA then you should really be sure of why you are doing so. That being said, you’re going to need a job and/or savings as you’ll be considered and OOS student, even for a community college. Expect less grants and scholarships (since some of them may be from the state). Additionally, unless you can be sure that your classes will transfer over, you may have to retake certain classes, thus you’ll possibly stay 2+ years at a CC (considering how difficult it can be to get classes).
They are increasing enrollments for OOS students but the overwhelming majority are CC, UC inter-campus transfer, and California resident students from other institutions.</p>

3

<p>So do you think it is better to stay here in Colorado and finish another year and then transfer? </p>

<p>Like you said, I don’t want to transfer to a CC if I can’t get into any classes and end up being there for more than a year or so :(</p>

4

<p>You’ll be considered an OOS student, both at the CC, and then at any CAL university. Are you ready for those fees? As a transfer student you will be extremely limited in financial opportunities. OOS students pay full freight at secondary institutions.</p>

5

<p>yeah
Paying Tuition and whatnot wouldn’t be a problem.
I just wanted to know if it would be better for me to transfer to a CC in cali rather than staying here in colorado at a 4 year university since 95% of the UC transfers are from California Community Colleges</p>

6

<p>Why not look into graduate programs in CA? (If you plan on obtaining that level of education.)
If I were in your shoes I would simply stay at your current university unless you were so terribly unhappy, and were sure that a university in CA could meet your wants and needs in a way that your current university does not.</p>

<p>What is your major?</p>

7

<p>My current major is Journalism with an emphasis on public relations and advertising.
If I apply to USC as a transfer, I am going to keep my advertising/journalism major.
But to UCLA, UCI, and UCSB I am thinking of applying as an international studies major.</p>

<p>But I really like REALLY want to go to a college in CA.</p>

8

<p>Keep your grades up and keep up your EC’s; despite what you’ve heard, the colleges in California don’t have the “beach” mentality when it comes to admission. The universities are very tough to get into because these are very attractive to not just the other states, but also to students all over the world. Your costs will run you about $55K per year. Hopefully, you can manage that.</p>

9

<p>Why do you want to go to a college in CA? This is a very expensive undertaking, and there may be much less expensive ways to live in CA in the future or perhaps attend graduate school there (if you are interested in doing so).</p>

10

<p>Perhaps take a week this summer to come out and visit the campuses if you have not before. Do you have family/a place to live? Would you be financially supporting yourself?
If you really have your heart set on moving to CA, going the CC route may be a bit difficult for this upcoming Fall, seeing as Fall classes necessary to transfer (sciences, maths, english) have already mostly filled up. You could try adding in, or work for the semester then register for Winter or Spring. Meanwhile, it seems like your plan to move would need to be executed quickly…as most CC’s start the second or third week of August. </p>

<p>Your dream does not seem to be very cost-effective. Why pay over 100k for two years of schooling when you could continue to have in-state tuition?
You could still apply to transfer from Colorado. Chances seem pretty slim to none for the UC’s, but I am unsure about USC and their policies regarding transfers from out of state.
Again- I would look into graduate programs at such schools specific to your major.</p>

11

<p>I had 2 friends in a very similar situation, so maybe their experiences can help you out. 1 moved from Washington state to Los Angeles due to a family issue and while he had been going to WSU, he found that it was almost impossible to transfer to a UC or CSU to complete his degree because of pre-reqs and classes that would not transfer. He went to a CC, finished up the IGETC and then transferred to UCI where he got his bachelors and masters. </p>

<p>Another friend was in Minnesota (I believe) when the private college he was at decided to radically change the computer science program from programming/IT focused, to a math program with some programming thrown in. He applied all over the US and ended up getting accepted to USC straight away. He had to redo a majority of his classwork over, but he took it in stride and still feels it was the right choice to make since the program is exactly what he wants. </p>

<p>Both ended up paying out of state tuition, both applied for every scholarship they could find, and both have made it work. There why’s are different from yours, but if you feel that you need to leave, and you can’t wait for grad school, well, you’re an adult now, and you get to make adult choices, and the consequences are yours and yours alone. </p>

<p>For the UC’s the CC route may just be your best bet since you’ll have to have your pre-reqs done before you can apply anyways. You can get your GE’s out of the way for cheaper, and build up some of your in-state time towards eventual residency. The key thing will be your GPA. UCLA is very competitive GPA wise, and according to the stats page, the average GPA admitted for the International major was 3.87. You don’t say how bad your grades were, but know that it’s important to keep it high from here on out.</p>

<p>I had one really bad semester before being diagnosed with a learning disability and one mediocre one after as I learned how to be a student all over again. A woman who is part of the UCLA admissions dept and review committee told me was that she isn’t looking for 1 good year after 1 bad year, but something substantial that proves it was just a fluke. They also want to know why in the essay. Be honest and explain what changed, and why the change is permanent. </p>

<p>Just know that you’ll be taking on a lot of extra time, extra expense, and just remember, what CC you go to doesn’t really matter one bit as long as they offer the classes you need, and have decent professors. I’ve taken classes in the San Diego, Orange County, and LA area, and some semesters I had to take classes at more than one campus. You do what you have to to get the IGETC done. Those transfer stats have no bearing on you, but are more representative of the student body as a whole. With the right mindset of going, getting good grades, and transferring, it doesn’t matter what CC you go to. </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

12

<p>Just to clarify the residency matter - if you move to CA for education purposes and start going to a school, including a community college, right away, you don’t get state residency after living here for 1 year. If you want to become a resident and then go to school to get in-state tuition, you have to live here for 1 full year without attending school. From what I read it looks like in or out-of-state tuition is of little importance to you… but I still wanted to clarify this.</p>