Hi, I’m going to Cal Poly Ponoma this fall, and yes it seems like a great school, but I don’t know much about this college. I didn’t start looking into what college I wanted to go to until senior year. The only uni I knew were UCLA and UCi (rejected both) and the rest I applied at random. I was extremely unprepared since I am the first in my family to go to college. I told my dad I wanted to go to CC to transfer but said no on that idea. He thinks CC is for poor people and it makes me look bad. So I was force to go Cal Poly Ponoma. I thinking of transfering to CPP to UCI but know thats hard to do since CSU aren’t accepted easy, and its a hard route to go. Thoughts? My major is business administration (international). I want to got to a uni thats in a city like LA, has a good population of Asians, big campus (more modern) and have a minor in film! Thanks!
First I think you need to give Cal Poly Pomona a chance. Just because it was not your top choice, it will not mean you cannot get a good education.
If you plan to transfer, you will have to do it after Sophomore year since UC’s only accept Junior level transfers (60 semester/90 quarter units). The best option would have been to go to a CC and then try the transfer, but if your Dad is not open to that idea, then you have to make the best of the situation.
UCI does offer a Business Administration major however, it is extremely competitive both as a Freshman and as a Transfer.
UCLA does not offer an Undergrad Business Administration major, but they offer Business Economics. You however are admitted as a Pre-major and have to meet specific requirements to continue with the major.
Pre-Business Econ/Pre-Econ Transfer Students in this category must meet one of the following:
Have a minimum 3.5 GPA in Econ 11 and 101, and a minimum 3.3 cumulative UCLA GPA.
or
Have a minimum 3.3 GPA in Econ 11 and 101 and a minimum 3.5 GPA in Econ 11, 101 and all Economics courses with at least Economics 11 as a prerequisite and a minimum 3.3 cumulative UCLA GPA.
Priority goes first CCC to UC, UC to UC, CSU to UC, 4 year to UC and OOS to UC.
It is possible to transfer from a CSU to a UC, but the CSU classes sometimes do not align with the UC requirements. You need to use assist.org and type in a local community college and then put one of the UC’s as a target to see which courses are needed for transfer, then match these courses up to the courses you will take at CPP.
Also the GE’s from the CSU’s can be different than the UC’s.
https://www2.calstate.edu/apply/transfer/Pages/upper-division-transfer.aspx
Here are the UC Transfer GPA admit ranges by UC campus and major to see what GPA you should aim for at CPP:
https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/infocenter/transfers-major
Below are some tips from a CSU to UC Transfer that I found very helpful:
Tips for CSU to UC transfers:
- Get informed and and make a plan.
Use assist and college confidential to get informed and go out to look for any answers you might have. From ASSIST you will get all the information you need for the prerequisites you need for your major. Look up the major prereqs for every school you are interested in transferring to. When you know all the information for which classes to take, make a plan. Plan out which classes you need to take each semester before you transfer and how you will reach those mandatory 60 semester units needed to transfer to a UC. This is probably the most important part of transferring. The faster you have a plan the faster you get to transfer and you will have a easier and clearer path. And look through all the threads on the website and get a sense of what you need to do and what it takes to get a UC.
- Don't lose sight of the goal!
I know how hard it has been for me to keep my grades up and take enough classes to stay on track. So when you are striving to get As in those classes and you want to give up, don’t lose sight for what you are doing this for. CSU students probably have to the most to transfer because the odds are against us. If you are not willing to put in the work and you do not have the heart then trying to transfer is not for you especially if you are a CSU student. If you do put it in the work, trust me it will be worth it.
- Applications have to be perfect.
When you are finally applying to those UCs, make sure they are perfect when you submit them. Call all the schools you are applying, talk to some counselors, going to workshops if you can… do everything to make sure they are perfect. And for your personal insight questions, start early and and get some expert advice on them. Every CSU has a writing center to my knowledge, go to them with your essays and have them go over it for you and they’ll help you. Talk to counselors because they know what schools are looking for in a good essay and what an applicant should write.
- Plan for the worst.
The truth is that CSU students have last priority for transferring to UCs right after 1st) CC and 2nd)UC students. Some of us will not get into the schools we want or might not get into any that we apply to and that is the sad truth. So make a plan for every outcome that is possible. You might go to a UC that you did not expect or you might have to stay where you are now.
Great suggestions by @Gumbymom.
I will also add that CPP is in LA county where there are a million things to do. Asians are everywhere in LA.
Don’t use this as an excuse to not try at Pomona.
I think UCI is less accessible than CPP to activities that have everything.
I really must stress that your application must be perfect to successfully transfer to your target UCs.
Completing prerequisites for your intended major at your target UCs as early as possible is a must, and you need to complete all of them by the end of the fall semester of sophomore year. The completion date is not a hard rule, but I ** strongly ** recommend doing so to give you a competitive edge.
When I was preparing to transfer from a CSU to a UC, I found that the CSU’s GE pattern did not align with the 7 course breadth requirements as required for UC transfers. In particular, I was missing the second English composition course. AP can only cover one of the two courses there, too.
http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/transfer/preparing-admission/minimum-requirements/
As long as you check EVERY course you take with assist.org and keep the non-transferable courses to a minimum, you should be ok.
I wouldn’t stop your hopes of transferring stop you from getting involved in CPP, making friends, joining clubs etc because you might have to stay if transferring doesn’t work out or you may decide you like it after all.
thank you everyone, I will of course give CPP a chance. I will be joining clubs and make the most out of it. I will talk to the consoler as soon as I get on campus!