<p>I understand that the CA budget cuts for CC, UC and CSU have been going on the last few years and know doubt, it will continue in the future.</p>
<p>What has been the reality of these cuts? For those students in college for the last few years, how have you been impacted by these cuts?</p>
<p>Also, is it true that due to class reductions at the CC level, it is nearly impossible to get the requisite credits to transfer in 2 years?</p>
<p>Just wondering, my daughter is considering a CC and transfering or applying to UC or CSU--</p>
<p>Well, the year I transferred to UC Davis, the UC Regents approved a 30% tuition hike. This year, they approved another 8% tuition hike. They haven’t decided on next year, but fortunately, I’m graduating.</p>
<p>By the way, 10 years ago, UC Davis instate tuition was in the realm of $4,000. Now it’s over $12,000.</p>
<p>Edit: As far transferring in two years goes, it is possible. Most people I met at my CC voluntarily chose to stay longer than two years because they worked, and they placed getting good grades higher than getting out in two years. One person I know was able to do it, however, because he took massive loads every semester, plus summer sessions. All-nighters were commonplace for him, however.</p>
<p>From what I hear, the budget cuts at the CCCs this fall will be severe and it will take 3-4 years to get the 2 years of credits to transfer to a UC or CSU. CCCs expect to admit 400,000 less students next fall and will be eliminating faculty, administrative, and staff positions. Summer/winter sessions will no longer be offered. Of course, it’s taking 5 years to get an undergrad degree at a CSU or UC, too, and they will also be getting huge budget cuts this fall. I’d estimate an 8-10% tuition increase each year for the next 5 years, too. The fees at the CCCs will go up from the current $26/unit to $66/unit next fall if the all-cuts budget is passed.</p>
<p>There is a lot of apocalyptic fear mongering, out there. The idea of $66 per unit was proposed by the Legislative Analyst’s Office as an extreme case. Currently, the plan is to increase the cost to $36-$40 per unit, which is still no small increase.</p>
<p>This is my concern, no matter where my daughter goes, she cannot expect to get through a CC in 2 years nor a CSU in 4 years…an no win situation.</p>
<p>It’s not the end of the world if your daughter takes 3 years to get through a CC.</p>
<p>Right now we are trying to decide whether my younger son should enroll at CSU Sacramento where he already been accepted or should go to a CCC and try to transfer to a UC. He wants to major in Physics, which requires the completion of a large number of Math, Physics and Chemistry prerequisites at a CCC before he would be eligible to transfer to a UC. Up until the possibility of crippling cutbacks at the CCCs became a real possibility this would have been my preference since even though he only took the SATs once in March of his junior year he received a score of 720 in Math and 660 in CR so I think he has the potential to succeed as a Physics major at a UC such as Davis. The UCs for the most part have much stronger Physics programs than the CSUs and even if tuition at the CCCs went to $66 per unit this fall but he could get the courses he needs to transfer in less than three years it would not be a problem for me. But if Seismomom’s prediction of four years at a CCC before he could transfer proves to be the case I think I would urge him to go to Sac State where he could probably finish all the requirements for a BS in Physics in five years. </p>
<p>His registration date for both summer and fall classes at Cosumnes River College where he has already passed the “Calculus Readiness Test” is May 13th. If he gets into Calculus I for the summer term and Calculus II and Physics I for the fall semester I think he should go the CCC to UC route. If there are no classes available in anything that would be transferable to a UC by his registration date, CSU Sacramento would seem to be the better alternative.</p>
<p>@Lemaitre1 Not to hijack this thread at all, but seeing how your son also needs to take two semesters of Chemistry, here’s a plan B if plan A doesn’t work:</p>
<p>Summer: Chemistry 400</p>
<p>Fall: Chemistry 401, Calculus 1 (Math 400)</p>
<p>Two things will have to happen in order for this to work. He will have to pass the placement test into Chem 400, and he would have to be willing to attend either American River College, or Sacramento City College, as Consumnes does not offer Chem 400 over the summer.</p>
<p>@Lemaitre1 This is exactly the situation, make sure they get into a 4 year right away, even if it is a CSU, or spend god knows how many years at a CC trying to transfer…and you will not be able to get classes in either place.</p>
<p>We also just became aware that she maybe qualified for the statewide pathway program for UC but probably will not get her first choice and doesn’t really want to go elsewhere.</p>
<p>Decisions…decisions!</p>
<p>My daughter did make it thru a cc (finished last year) with her IGETC and was accepted to UCLA for this year. While she had no problem getting thru in 2 yrs., I suspect it is going to become more and more difficult. Her last semester, they cut several of her classes a week before classes started. Fortunately, she was able to substitute other classes and still finish. She ultimately chose to go out of state because while UCLA was originally her 1st choice, they had already made substantial cuts in her prospective department that she felt would have greatly impacted her. In addition, while UCLA gave her virtually no money, the OOS public gave her a lot,; sad when an OOS public can give more than the home state. However, I think the OOS will see the same types of cuts in the next couple of years- hopefully she gets out before that happens.</p>
<p>I’ve heard, over the span of the last few years, that Cal State students often struggle to get the classes they need to graduate – and this has been going on before the budget mess that we’re in now. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – if you go to a Cal State, and you still can’t get the classes you need, you’re wasting your money.</p>
<p>takeitallin- If you don’t mind me asking, what CC did your daughter go to? I would like to know what CC is not overcrowed!</p>
<p>hesdjjim - I see you are from Davis…do you know if the UC’s are really any better or will be better, going forward in class selection/availability?</p>
<p>I can only speak for the present. Class availability is hit and miss at the UC’s. More often than not, the classes I’ve been in have had a few extra seats left. Whenever there is overcrowding, the professor is usually able to move the class to a larger room. The problem I’ve had is when classes I needed overlap with one-another, and you can’t take two classes that overlap – even if they overlap by 20 minutes.</p>
<p>I’ll be graduating in June, “on schedule,” by the two-year plan. How did I do it? I flooded my summer schedule with 15 units – 7 units during summer session 1, and 8 units during summer session 2. Then I crammed my Fall schedule with another 15 units. It was pure hell and I would not wish my schedule on anyone. Most of my motivation was economically driven, in the fact that I cannot afford to keep spending my money this way.</p>
<p>“We also just became aware that she maybe qualified for the statewide pathway program for UC but probably will not get her first choice and doesn’t really want to go elsewhere.”</p>
<p>SockherMom, Can you expand on this? Isn’t this the usual pathway? FWIW, my son became eligible for the statewide pathway with his second semester junior year grades grades (a 4.0 that semestrr got him an almost 3.1 UC GPA). He did not get his first, second, or third choice, in spite of decent SAT’s. He was waitlisted at UCR.</p>
<p>Sock-HIM-Mom!</p>
<p>Both summer sessions are now cancelled at my CC… originally they were limping along only offering summer session 1, but now only special programs will run during the summer.</p>
<p>Pretty much throws my entire educational plan off track if they continue to make these sort of cuts.</p>
<p>I had to go to a more obscure and less popular CC just to be able to register for classes. Other schools had given me non-priority registration to the point where by the time I was eligible to register, every class applicable to my major and general education were completely filled. I tried crashing about 12 classes… did not get a single one.</p>
<p>Well, our local CCC might just have well as closed for the year as far as my younger son is concerned. He has been assigned 5:00 PM of the last day of registration for both Summer and Fall 2011 courses at Cosumnes River College as the earliest time he can register for classes. I do not know why he was given such a low registration priority but it means absolutely no possibility of taking Calculus, Physics, Chemistry or any of the other classes he would need to transfer to UC Davis for the next year. In fact I have heard there may be no courses open in anything by that registration time so he will have earned no credits by the time he has been enrolled at CRC for two semesters. Since he would have no credits in Summer and Fall of 2011 he would get another very low priority date for Spring 2012. He will have been enrolled in a CCC for an entire year with absolutely nothing to show for it. </p>
<p>I am now thinking that completing the CCC coursework needed to transfer to a UC in five years is wildly optimistic and that, for him anyway, community college truly is an academic dead end. Even though he will have some difficulties getting courses at a CSU and as much as he wanted to go to UC Davis and I wanted him to major in Physics at a UC, the only sensible course of action now is for him to accept CSU Sacramento’s offer of admission for Fall 2011. It might take him six years to earn his BS in Physics at Sac State but if he tries to go to a CCC and transfer to a UC he will still be at Cosumnes River College in six years and still not be close to being able to transfer to a UC.</p>
<p>I’m sorry to hear that, but glad the Sac State thing got worked out.</p>
<p>Hi All
Just returned from a 5 day trip to San Francisco</p>
<p>First stop, SFSU-took a tour with about 25 other people, basically a tour looking at the buildings around campus and questions inbetween. Bottom line, you basically need to fight to get classes, we were told kids would go to a class for a few weeks hoping others would drop I…and try to slip in. Basically do what ever you can…or you will fall behind.</p>
<p>Later in the day went to Academy of Art–this school was all about $$- we were told everyone is accepted and we can do what ever you want-scratched it off the list.</p>
<p>Day 2-University of San Francisco-This school appears to be ALL about education but couldn’t really tell if it was close minded. – seemed open to more liberal viees being in SF but not really sure. If it wasn’t for the fact that it is $56K a year it maybe would be on the list but my daughter was even a bit put off to the cost.</p>
<p>We had previously looked at Berkeley (SAT not high enough) and UC Santa Cruz (too rural and looked like summer camp) , no interest in Davis, East Bay or SLO, so at least we are ruling out her options! a CC and honing in on SFSU.</p>
<p>I just received my AA (60 credits, so I also got my IGETC/GE requirements done) from my local CC, which took me 3 years to complete. I didn’t take any summer courses. I definitely think it depends on the CC, but I do not think it’s very difficult to finish your lower division work in 2 years, I know lots of kids who did it. You either have to take 5 or 6 classes every semester, or take lots of summer school, or both, and you can’t be too picky about what classes you want. But it’s possible, and not that stressful if you just combine some easier GE courses with harder ones and keep a good balance every semester. I took an extra year because my first year was mostly spent getting situated, so I only took 2 or 3 classes a semester. My last 2 years I took 4 or 5 classes each semester, and I got a 3.98 on my final transcript. It really was not very hard. I recommend taking lots of online classes - this was one strategy that worked for me and helped me a lot. It doesn’t restrict you to a 2 or 3 day a week in-class schedule, almost everything is done weekly and on your own free time. Plus you can have your textbook out when you take exams. If you don’t care about the class and don’t need it for your major, seriously - take it online. Also, most online classes have a large student capacity, so if you have a decent priority for registration, it’s usually not difficult to get into them. </p>
<p>Now, as far as how budget cuts have affected me - I would say they haven’t <em>yet</em>, but the idea of transferring to a CSU and spending a huge chunk of money without having the confidence that I’ll get into any of my classes seems really scary. I have friends at CSUs who complain that they are spending money on 12+ units every semester (people need to be full time for various reasons like insurance and aid), yet they have incredible difficulty getting into classes related to their major. They end up having to fill their schedule with useless filler classes just to keep their 12 units, but it seems pointless to spend thousands of dollars on classes that don’t matter at all. And because the average time to graduate is between 5 and 7 years, not 4, you end up spending so much extra money by the end of that.</p>
<p>I’m 21 now, and the other day my parents actually suggested I take 3 gap years, to work and save up money to move out and get situated on my own, then transfer to a university when I’m 24 (!), so I can get full financial aid as an independent student. I can’t get much aid now because my parents make too much money, yet they don’t really make enough to comfortably pay for my school out of pocket. It’s pretty crazy that they suggest I take that much time off from school, but it’s completely understandable for financial reasons. I don’t want to put myself or my parents in crazy debt, and I feel like one of the only ways around it is to find a way to get a full-ride (or nearly) with financial aid. And the only way I can do this is to wait until I can be considered independent by FAFSA’s terms (i.e being 24). I basically have a huge decision to make between now and the end of June, when I have to start getting serious and paying for school fees. I already accepted my admission to SF State, but I will have to withdraw if I decide to take my parent’s suggestion.</p>
<p>Thanks for your contribution and insight to this issue Trypster. The example you raise about having to maintain 12 units for full-time status and the resultant “useless” classes taken has been a concern of mine.</p>
<p>Lemaitre’s story of the low registration priority and the likely difficulty of getting classes at CC is also the worst case scenario I see coming true if my son decides to go that route instead of taking one of his 4-yr options.</p>
<p>I read a blog linked in another thread where a UC admissions administrator is recommending that if you go the CC route the best bet is to apply/enroll at two CC’s to better your chances at cobbling together a full-load of coursework. Anybody done this?</p>