<p>I heard that UC give priority to CCC students and especially against out of state or current enroll in a 4 years university. I live in Virginia so should I move to California to go to community college there to complete my prereq then transfer to UC?</p>
<p>My family think I'm crazy that I want to travel across the country to go to community college but UCLA/UCB always been my dream school.
The reason that I cannot go straight there because the fact that I am out of state works against me and I am not a super student in high school either, thus my ECs pretty bleh.</p>
<p>GPA (unweighted) ~3.4 (with 4 AP courses)
SAT: ~1750 (my goal is 1850-1900)
EC: some clubs, job (main reason why I couldnt do much), community service (10 hrs a week from now til graduation), church worship band leader for three years ( that means another 3-4 hours every weekend) </p>
<p>Err…actual this may be surprising but being OOS actually works to your favor. UC’s dont really give a ***** about EC’s FYI (not half as much importance as they should). The problem is your GPA and SAT score. Your SAT should be at least a 2200 to make up for that GPA, if not higher.
Just remember: For Berkeley, getting in is relatively easy, staying is whats hard. The college has crazy grade deflation. If you cant even pull off a 4.0 (weighted) in high school, theres no way you’re going to survive in either Berkeley or LA with a decent GPA to get into grad school.
I would recommend going to an easier college for undergrad, then going to berkeley or LA for your grad school. After all, the grad school is what matters.
And if you really do want to know, look up the TAG program at community colleges. Personally, I hate people who do this: I feel like its the cop out to actual hard work in most cases (unless you skip 1 or 2 years of highschool to take GE’s at ccc, I regret not doing that). And also know that ccc classes will be much easier than UC classes, and that you probably wont be prepared for UCB or UCLA when you do end up there. </p>
<p>Sources: I am taking a class at a CCC right now, and am constantly hearing sources of people who take 4 years of calc at my cc, then go to berkeley and take some easy math class and find it hard as *****.
Also, i have pretty much the same GPA as you (although my SAT score is higher, and EC’s are a bit stronger). :D. If I dont get into a private of my choice, I’m probably going to go to a lower tier UC, as i am 100% certain I have no chance at berkeley. or LA.</p>
<p>*
My family think I’m crazy that I want to travel across the country to go to community college but UCLA/UCB always been my dream school.*</p>
<p>Are your parents going to pay for your OOS costs at a Calif CC and a UC? UCs are costing $50k per year for non-residents (you will be considered a non-resident, even after you transfer) If your parents won’t pay, then how will you afford the costs?</p>
<p>It is illogical and highly dubious to move from Virginia (or any state) to attend a California CC. The California CC’s serve primarily as a safety valve for California high school students who cannot attend a California public university – often because they don’t have the necessary academics to succeed. The CCs offer remedial courses, and a handful of higher level courses. Typically only 20% or so of the CC students graduate and successfully transition into a California State or UC.</p>
<p>Further California CCs are commuter schools, with a minimal student community. You won’t find intellectual stimulation at most CCs. In practice your peer network is extremely important to a positive college experience, and at CCs that network is non-existent.</p>
<p>Further, UCLA and UC Berkeley are very selective for out of state students – essentially as selective as some of the ivies.</p>
<p>Hmm… May be I’ll shoot for something else that fit me better. And no, my parent will not pay for my college, my family are not even supporting me going to college anyways (since I just came to the US, they think I should go to a hair school and get on with life) sad, i know:( but I’m not gonna let them influence my decision. It may sound like an excuse but I had to help my mom at her restaurant 30 hrs a week even during school days, so i didnt have time to do anything else (ECs).
So do you think branches with higher acceptance rate like Irvine or Davis I might have a better chance? or otherwise I would just do what “chocolatecricket” suggested. </p>
<p>And my plan is to attend to a pre med school (might be just another dream but I’ll try anyways)</p>
You seem to be ignoring reality here. If you’re parents aren’t willing to pay, then you can’t go to a UC school unless you have $200K laying around you haven’t told anybody about.</p>
<p>It’s nice to dream about moving to CA and UC schools, but you can’t afford it. Its time to start thinking about options that are actually possible, as opposed to “wouldn’t it be nice…”</p>
<p>I guess you are right, but community college can never be an option for me so i guess i have to go other instate school with what my scholarship can offer me, I am under age so I cannot move out until after first year of college. My mom not willing to have me any longer, she want to move to FL the moment i graduate from high school. Sigh… sometimes I wonder what I have done wrong.</p>
<p>Let say I will go to a state school like VCU (not a very competitive school) and study premed (biology or chemistry), so do I have any chance of getting into good med school(assuming I learned from my high school mistakes and have better GPA and do well on the MCAT). Or do top med schools like John Hopkins/UPenn/UCSF/Duke only consider kids graduated from a more reputable schools say Princeton or Columbia?
Thank you</p>
<p>Yes, you would have a shot at top med schools. In the end, most doctors don’t care much where they went to med school unless they want to go into research, teach or be the most popular specialty. They’re all doctors no matter where they graduate from.</p>
<p>And lots of college kids are not 18. Unless your parents protest, you can be on your own.</p>
Given the competitive nature of med school admissions, by the time college seniors are applying to med school they are happy to get <em>into</em> med school; they don’t worry if it is a “good” one. The real determiner of your future in medicine as far as prestige is where you did your residency. And to answer your next question, you can get a good residency from any med school.</p>
While I admire your ambition and drive, I would suggest not getting too ahead of yourself here. For now, it’s probably best if you stick to focusing on your undergraduate years and achieving high grades (especially with the pre-med curriculum) before worrying about making it into top medical schools just for the brand name. I’m all for taking chances, especially if you’re a good candidate, but being accepted to ANY med school is already a big feat, too.</p>
<p>I’d also like to add that whatever you majored in and where you attended college for undergrad doesn’t really matter, so long as you have a competitive GPA and MCAT score, and have impressive extracurriculars under your belt (volunteering, shadowing, research, etc).</p>
<p>*i guess i have to go other instate school with what my scholarship can offer me, I am under age so I cannot move out until after first year of college. *</p>
<p>Don’t even think about transferring…you won’t likely get the aid you need.</p>
<p>Go to VCU or some other state public and get your degree. Do the best you can. Take the pre-med req’ts.</p>
<p>What are your stats?</p>
<p>Is your family low income? Will you qualify for financial aid?</p>
<p>What are the VA rules about when a parent moves after a child is enrolled? Do you lose residency? (I’m not even sure if schools check after the first year)</p>
<p>You can start at one of the community colleges in Virginia. All of them have articulation agreements (guaranteed transfer agreements) with the public universities in Virginia. This would be the least expensive option for you.</p>
<p>Working in the family business would replace the ECs. Don’t worry about that any more. Very few students have to work that much to help the family out.</p>
<p>How does your mom feel about you moving to FL with her? Could you work for a year down there to establish residence, and then study at a public university or community college in FL? That might be a better option.</p>
<p>Your written English is still a bit shaky. Some of the reason why your SAT scores aren’t as good as you’d like is probably due to the fact that you are still learning English. Talk to your guidance counselor about arranging to take the TOEFL exam. Wherever you do end up for college, be sure to meet with the ESL department to find out what kinds of advanced writing and advanced conversation classes are available for you.</p>