Hi all. So if I understand tagging correctly, someone picks a school, follows a list of courses, maintains a certain GPA and then automatically gets admitted into that school? On the UC website, it says “Use the UC Transfer Admission Planner to complete the TAG application and review it with your community college counselor and/or UC campus TAG adviser. You’ll need to submit it Sept. 1–30” - is this application done before someones first semester of CC so they know if they should follow the TAG classes? OR is this application supposed to be done after doing the TAG classes to see if they are admitted to the specific school they tagged to? I guess in short, does someone need to apply to even participate in TAG (and would they need a certain HS GPA to be accepted?) and then apply to the school to see if it all goes through? I apologize if this is confusing, but I need to make sure my less than motivated brother does things correctly. Also, if someone TAGS, does that school take ACT/SAT scores and high school GPA into consideration?
Thanks in advance.
HS GPA is not used at all in the TAG process. You fill out the application for TAG at the start of the year you intend to transfer, not when you start at the CC. Your brother should work with the transfer center at his CC starting from his first semester in order to make sure he is taking the classes that will eventually qualify him for the program
thank you! @mikemac
I admire you for wanting to help out your brother. But your plan of getting a UC degree may not be his plan, or the right plan.
Not only do you say he is not motivated, but your mention of HS GPA hints that his may not be very strong. Perhaps college now isn’t the right choice. Some people benefit from a few years away from school, finding in the workforce the motivation and need for college. Or, perhaps college just isn’t right for him. Overall only about 1/3 of US adults have a 4-year degree.
Pushing him into a CC when he doesn’t want it may backfire. Only about 20% of those entering a CC that say they plan on a 4-year degree end up actually doing so. I suspect many of these kids were following family expectations at the start. With so many kids at CC that won’t complete, if this is your brother’s mindset he will quickly find friends sharing a distaste for school and will perform according to these peers.
He ought to meet with his GC to talk about his future and how he can plan for it. Your brother may find a better fit in a different career, perhaps the trades or something else. The GC may have aptitude and vocational tests he can take, free now that he is a student but that may be expensive if he wants to take them once out of school. There may be other career and guidance sources the GC can steer him to as well.
Okay thank you for that! He has expressed his interest in getting a degree and hopefully being successful but he has no idea what to major in and no passions (besides video games). He insists that he is capable of getting good grades, but that during High School he has just not tried. My parents want to downsize/retire as they are 58 and my brother is the youngest at 17 years old, so I believe he wants to move out after his two years and does not want to spend any more time at home than needed. I agree, if i push him then he wont do his best or even care about the classes.
Thanks so much. @mikemac
I just wanted to add that majors like the STEM majors may take more than two years because of the amount of lower division work. Something like the social sciences, humanities majors are less heavy with material and have a higher change of transferring within two years. But don’t tell your brother this, as I wouldn’t want him to take the easy way out to move out and later get a job he hates/uninterested in. I just thought you as his brother should know.
Perhaps have a little conversation with him trying to know which subjects he could be interested or is passionate in?
one last post here. First, your brother ought to have a physical if he hasn’t done so recently to make sure there is no physical explanation. This would also be a time for him to have a confidential conversation with the doctor regarding any possible recreational drug use and a role it can play. Second, he should think about being evaluated for ADHD.
This is no doubt true, but largely irrelevant. Look at all the overweight people you see. They, too, are perfectly capable in most cases of eating less and starting a modest exercise program. Capability isn’t the issue, it’s execution over time. Whether its vowing to eat healthier, study harder, etc. people are good at making plans and keeping them for a few weeks but then they slip back to their old ways. The entire gym business is predicated on people signing up for memberships they won’t use 
You probably aren’t going to get a lot more responses in this sub-forum. I suggest posting a thread on the Parents Forum, something like “How to help motivate my brother for college?” and see what parents who have faced a similar issue with their kids have done.