<p>hello!
I'm a senior in high school getting ready to go to college. I was thinking of either going to UC Santa Cruz or Cal State LA. And right now I'm leaning towards CSULA since I don't really know what to do for my major yet and I don't want to waste too much money. A CC isn't an option since signing up is too late.
So I was wondering if anyone out there had a successful transfer from a Cal State to a UC. I was thinking of maybe UC Irvine or maybe UCLA. Or would it be easier for me to transfer from UC Santa Cruz? </p>
<p>Which school appeals to you the most right now? I think priority goes to CCC students, and after that they’re all seen as being more or less the same, in terms of transfer. I would suggest going to the school that you like most… not in terms of transfer options, but in terms of where you’ll be living and learning for the next couple years. And then when transfer admissions roll around… who knows, maybe you’ll decide you actually like your school. :P</p>
<p>UC transfer admissions give priority to CC applicants… you can always try but know that it may be more difficult
for finding the correct transfer requirement classes at your csu (ex: assist.org will tell you little on which classes articulate from the csu to your desired UC) Also CC has a lot of resources to help you transfer and get you on the right track for transferring and you will have a lot of other students around you who want to transfer. If you don’t want to go the schools you got into, your safest bet is to go to community college. What do you mean signing up is too late? Summer and Fall quarter haven’t started yet. </p>
<p>However, I was in your place senior year of high school as well. I attended a CSU (with the intention of graduating there) but discovered that I wanted to transfer due to many various reasons. Through lots of struggle with planning my classes and taking my required classes at three different CCs I applied last Novermber. I have gotten in cal poly slo, ucsb, and ucsc so far… so it is possible. Just a LOT harder. (In my experience). If you have any questions feel free to ask me. But if you have the option CC would be much easier… And how will you know you wont enjoy CSULA or UCSC?</p>
<p>
You might not be familiar with how undergrad degrees work. It sounds like you are assuming that once you pick your major that all you take in college, or almost all you take, are classes in your major. Hence you don’t want to waste money and time with classes that won’t count.</p>
<p>This is not how undergrad degrees work. An undergrad degree gives you an exposure to a broad range of subjects, regardless of your major (there are exceptions with majors in things like engineering, but it doesn’t sound like that applies to you). The university has a set of breadth requirements that you must meet, classes in different areas. For most majors it is better to think of them more as a “concentration” rather than the sole focus of your undergrad studies. For example go to <a href=“http://politics.ucsc.edu/undergraduate/declare.html”>http://politics.ucsc.edu/undergraduate/declare.html</a> and take a look at the .pdf file for the dept worksheet. In order to get a poli sci degree you need 2 lower division poli sci classes, 4 required upper division core classes, and your choice of 6 more upper division classes. That’s 12 classes. At 4 classes a quarter and 3 quarters per school year, you will take about 48 classes while at UCSC. As you see, the poli sci classes make up just a fraction of your education. </p>
<p>Should you go to CSULA or UCSC the classes you take won’t be wasted even if you don’t know your major. They will apply to breadth requirements or the units needed for graduation. The difference between UC and CSU is the CSU system offers some majors that are more vocationally oriented. Criminal Justice, Exercise Science, etc. are majors at CSULA that you won’t find at UCs. Take a look as the CSULA list of majors. So if you think you might end up in one of those, CSULA is better. IMHO it is a mistake to enter a 4-year school with the intention of transferring from day one. Spending 4 years in one school offers advantages in getting to know profs for later recs, making friends, taking part in career related clubs & activities, to name just but a few, that you don’t get when you enter a new school as a junior xfer. </p>
<p>“A CC isn’t an option since signing up is too late.”</p>
<p>No it’s not, most CC’s are registering for Summer in just a couple weeks from now, and then Fall shortly thereafter. Spring semester at CC’s are at midterms right now.</p>
<p>A CC isn’t an option because it’s too late? For next fall? Um no… You can sign up for CC a few weeks before class starts and still get classes. I don’t know what crazy-competitive CC you have been looking at but generally CC is way laid back. Look at Foothill College. You could take online classes and get your GE out of the way, and buy some time until you know what you want to major in, and then transfer to a UC. I really, really, really recommend this path, especially if you have not chosen a major. Just buckle down, get good grades for 2 years, then you could transfer into a top tier UC. Good luck!</p>
<p>Btw, if you have high financial need, class will be virtually free.</p>
<p>Even if you do not have financial aid the classes at a CC are way cheaper, something you could afford to pay yourself working a part-time job (assuming you will still live at home)</p>
<p>Agree with all the above about CC being an option. Its not to late!</p>
<p>One thing I would caution is that you attend a school where you can get the classes you need. This is completely anecdotal, but I have two friends at CSULA who have a hard time getting classes (They do love the school though!), Just something to keep in mind!</p>
<p>Like everyone before me, i agree if you KNOW you want to go to UC then CC is your best option. I was in your same boat out of high school a couple years ago. I got into some UCs but parents didn’t let me go due to financial reasons. I ended up at my local CSU because i thought signing up for CC was too late and quite honestly i didn’t wanna go through the trouble of figuring out what I’d have to do to sign up for CC classes because all the community colleges in my area had such a bad rap. </p>
<p>but after just a quarter into my CSU i saw how much i didn’t like it and became determined to transfer. i left the CSU after that year and enrolled in CC that summer and began taking classes immediately. Just recently i was accepted into UCSD for next fall. </p>
<p>I guess the main point im trying to get across is that if you know you want to attend UC then get to CC one way or another for the simple fact that it gives your priority over other transfers. If you dont want to attend CC next year then strongly consider attending your sophomore year before transfer. bottom line is it makes you a more competitive applicant. </p>
<p>I still recommend going straight to CC though because you waste money at the CSU when classes are so much cheaper at CC. also, if youre trying to do it in two years its way smarter to go to CC first. In my case, my CSU had picked my schedule for the first 2 quarters so i was taking a lot of random and irrelevant classes just because it fit THEIR graduation requirements. dont waste time and money. I was determined to transfer in two years so to compensate for the random (and in my opinion, wasted) classes i had to take at CSU, i had to load up on units over summer and in fall and this spring. It was way too stressful and i didn’t learn as much as i probably could have if i simply went to CC and took only the classes directly relevant to the UC. </p>
<p>anyway, sorry for the ramble and any grammar mistakes. i’m not usually this inarticulate but quite honestly i’m just lazy to make it pretty and coherent haha. but yeah, if you have any questions or need any clarification just let me know.</p>
<p>ALSO: another reason i’d recommend going to CC is because in my experience, the CSU offers you pretty much ZERO guidance in terms of transferring out. they want to keep you there because youre essentially a big fat paycheck for them. they have no incentive to help you get out. I had to figure out the transfer process almost entirely on my own. i actually had to seek help from my high school counselor for advice and guidance. </p>
<p>@redgadget3 </p>
<p>Do you know what classes transfer from CSU to UC? Assist isn’t helping me, It doesn’t really show which classes transfer, assuming I’m using the website correctly. I’m planning on going to CPP for a year, then going to CC, then a UC. Do you have any advice? I’m currently a high school senior. Thank you.</p>
<p>Assist is designed to help people xfer from CC to CSU/UC. It won’t show CSU -> UC info. </p>
<p>@Yopperpo despite the fact that assist doesn’t have any CSU to UC information, its still a powerful tool if you know how to use it. What you want to do is select your CC, your CSU, and your UC then open up two different tabs. In one tab, find the course agreements between your CC and your CSU. then in the other tab, find the agreement between your CC and your UC. Essentially you want to find the courses that transfer from your CSU to your CC, then use your other tab to see if those same courses transfer from the CC to the UC. If the course transfers from your CSU to your CC, and your CC to the UC, then chances are the UC will take the credits from that course. Think of it this way: if A = B, and B = C, then A = C. hope that helps.</p>
<p>@redgadget3 </p>
<p>Thanks for the response. Also, I have one more question: some classes (Calculus) that count for 4 units at my CC only count as 3 units at UC Berkeley. Is this normal, and is why is it? Thank you for your guidance, it’s very helpful.</p>