Transfer From Lesser School to Top School

Hey guys, this is my first post on here so if you see any way I can make better posts, let me know.
I wanted to ask specifically about starting out at a school like SNHU (Online, not on campus) and transferring to a more prestigious school such as UCLA. This is specifically regarding a degree in Computer Science. Would a school like UCLA recognize SNHU as credible if I completed some courses and keep a high GPA? I had pretty average high school results with a 3.3 GPA and a 1210/1600 on the SAT (New SAT). I appreciate any help with this! Thanks!

UCs including UCLA take most transfer students from California community colleges.

Hey @ucbalumnus thanks for the response and letting me know! What about other schools with top ranking CS programs (MIT, GT, Carnegie Mellon, Cal Tech, etc.)?

Top schools admit very few transfers. With your high school stats, that they will look at, chances are minimal for the top tier.

MIT, CMU, and Caltech take few transfer students per year. GT takes hundreds per year.

Note that some super-selective schools that take few transfer students tend to emphasize certain student profiles. For example, Stanford and Princeton tend to emphasize non-traditional students and others with unusual backgrounds in transfer admission.

If you are a California resident, starting at a California community college is probably a better place to start. If you are a resident of some other state with good community colleges, then such a community college is probably a better place to start.

Thanks for the reply again @ucbalumnus. Where I’m from we actually don’t even have a community college nearby, it’s been in the talks for years but never actually set in action. I’m not in California.

Would my best bet be to find a reputable school that seems like a good fit for me and just grind for good grades, side projects, and extracurricular activities?

As far as having a unique background, I would say the only thing like that, that applies to me, would be being transgender.

Really do appreciate your helpful responses!

Unless you must study part time while working full time, or if money is tight and there are no commuting-distance options, an entirely online program makes little sense. Do you have any other options where you could be taking your classes in a live setting?

Yeah you’re better off finding the school that fits, not just the top one.

I agree with Happymom’s advice to find an in person school too.