I am an international student who is going to attend SMC in this upcoming summer semester. I am enrolled in my local university (one of the top universities in the world) but did not do to well to transfer over to the universities I want to go to in the states. So I decided to enroll into SMC instead and then transfer out into UCLA/Cal and maybe out of state universities like UNC-Chapel Hill. I am also planning to do economics and transfer out of SMC within a year. Does anyone have any advice that you could give me regarding my situation and whether it is possible to transfer out within a year? I did the GCE A Levels and a semester in my current university which I hope could be transferred over to SMC. I did Introduction to Economics, Introduction to Sociology, Foundations for Econometrics, German 2 and a general education class in university. For A Levels, I did Economics, History, Mathematics and Chemistry. Has anyone heard of transferring credits over to SMC and whether it is even possible? Also, regarding transfer applications to out of state universities, is it possible for me to do so and will there be advisors that will be able to help me with the process at SMC?
Thank you so much for all the help/advice in advanced!!
It’s honestly quite hard to say! It seems as though your system differs quite vastly from the system that the CCCs run on. It all comes down to how many classes and credits will transfer over from your current school. I do think that spending a year at CC is smart, but if you want to transfer to UNC, why would you start at SMC? More often than not, in-state schools like to see that you intend to stay there and it’s pretty tough to get into a public state university as an OOS CC transfer student.
As far as credits go, a few of your credits should transfer over, but the process involves sending transcripts to SMC and waiting for someone to compare your class descriptions to their class descriptions. It may be different for international students, though. When I moved to California not many of my CC credits moved to the CC that I’m attending (luckily, though, UCLA found that all of my credits were transferable).
That being said, I’m not an advisor! Are you already in California? If so, I would schedule an appointment with an SMC advisor ASAP so that you can figure out a plan that works toward your goals.
Hi, thank you so much for the reply! No I am not in California yet. I am quite worried regarding transferring within a year since I’ve heard it’s quite tough to get classes in SMC. I’m looking into other CCs as well like MtSac and SBCC but again, I’m not sure about how difficult it is to get the classes. I contacted the admissions in SMC but they said I had to submit my apps first. I wanted to start at SMC because of its international diversity and it would make sense for me to start off at a CC that has more experience with dealing with international transfers. Also, I like the fact that I have a ton of schools to choose from in California with the UCs. Having said that, I am also considering Rockland Community College in NY but am not too sure about their program and transferrable credits. Hence, do you have advice on the selection of community colleges (in Cali/NY) for international students?
I’m currently a student at Rockland Community College and my advice is that if you decide to go there, definitely enter the honors program. It offers a great education with professors who are more than qualified, in my opinion. You would get a mentor who would also be an honors professor. Plus, you seriously can’t beat the price.
On the other hand, if you decide NOT to do the honors program, RCC probably isn’t the best choice for you. You could easily get good grades, but you most likely won’t be challenged enough to make your courses interesting.
Also, I’ve met plenty of international students in the program.
Best of luck to you!
@bobbysburgers I would definitely try to make your choice sooner rather than later. I know it’s a huge decision, but it will help you so much to be able to establish a relationship with the school of your choice. SMC is extraordinarily popular among transfer hopefuls and even at WLAC it’s nearly impossible to get into popular classes if you are new to the school. You can always pop in and try to add (which is what I had to do when I moved here). Usually it works, but every so often you just have too many people trying to add.
I would apply as soon as possible and get all of your paperwork out of the way so that you can begin to access the help you need. It’s going to be a major transition and the more time you allow yourself, the better. Honestly, I think most of the CCs are fairly well-equipped to handle international students who intend to transfer. I know that my CC in Seattle had a phenomenal reputation for its international program.