<p>ok everybody. I've been driving myself crazy for awhile now stressing abotu college. Just lookin for a little advice here. Heres the deal. I'm a sophomore at a small school in Ohio. I've maintained a 3.7 GPA or above my whole HS career. Member of the French and Science Club. Haven't taken ACT's and SAT's yet but plan to in the spring (I also plan on doing pretty well). I play softball and broke 2 school records my freshman year and got All-Area First Team, All-Area Athlete of the Week, and All-League Honorable Mention. I led my team in several different statistical categories. I play travel softball in the summer and the past two years my team has placed in the top 5 at NSA "A" World Series. </p>
<p>I want to go to college in California. Right now, my plan is to attend a transfer college for a year or two so I can become a resident and then pay in-state tuiton to a bigger college. I have some family there so I can commute. Also, a transfer college would be much cheaper right? As of right now, I am looking at San Jose City College and Foothill College.</p>
<p>I just wondered if anybody could tell me how difficult its going to be to get into one of these two colleges or any transfer college based on my information I've provided. Do I have any chance? Also, if anyone out there knows anything about softball, do you think I will have a chance to play softball at a transfer college? </p>
<p>Please help somebody! I'll take any advice/information I can get! Thank you so much!</p>
<p>Your plan won’t work unless you are over 24 when you transfer or your parents move to CA too. Until 24, you will remain a resident of the state where your parents live and pay taxes unless you get married.</p>
<p>Anyone can go to any CA community college, but you will have to pay out of state fees there too.</p>
<p>The California college system is structured such that, as long as you graduated from an accredited high school anywhere in the country (and even in most foreign countries), (meaning with at least a “C” average–2.0 GPA), you will be admitted to any California community college (any “city” college) with no problem.</p>
<p>In your case, both San Jose City College and Foothill College are California community colleges–and thus, my former comments apply to both of them.</p>
<p>If you apply before you have been a California resident for at least one year, you will have to pay the higher out-of-state tuition. However, once you establish residency, either by getting employment, renting an apartment, or getting a drivers’ license, you can qualify for in-state tuition at these schools within one year. (Note: This is not true for California State Universities nor for branches of the University of California). Once you complete the two-year “prerequisites” you can then apply to either a University of California campus, a California State University campus, or to any other four-year university either in or out-of-state. The advantage to going this route is that when you finally do apply to a UC or Cal State University, you will already be considered a California resident and therefore eligible for the reduced college tuition (you might want to check this out for sure, since the law may have changed since when I went to school-note hmom5’s comment above which seems to indicate that what I thought applied only to the UCs and Cal States also applies to the community colleges, too). Even if you don’t qualify for in-state rates, the out-of-state rates are still much lower at community colleges than at Cal States or the University of California campuses).</p>
<p>I strongly suggest that, if possible, you attend a school that is located close to the UC campus you wish to eventually attend. (This may not be possible for you since it sounds like you need to live where your relatives are). If you do go to a school close-by to the eventual UC then they usually have TAP agreements that allow for easier admission (guaranteed admission in some cases–for example, the TAP from Santa Monica College guarantees admission to UCLA as long as you take certain courses and get certain grades, the one from Grossmont College guarantees admission to UC San Diego if you take certain courses and get certain grades, etc.).</p>