hello, i have a dilemma, so I am currently enrolled in UCSC and have just finished my freshman fall quarter as a bio major, the problem is that I am not looking to seek a career in bio anymore so I want to switch my major to civil engineering or construction management.
The problem is that UCSC does not offer either one of those majors and so I want to transfer, also I am not so happy with the school either.
So my plan is to transfer to Cal Poly SLO which actually has those majors and complete my schooling there.
This is my question, should I finish this year at UCSC and then go to a CC for a year and then apply to SLO for my junior year? or should I stay at UCSC for 2 years and then transfer from there?
transferring to SLO is pretty unlikely unless you relocate to a CC they consider ‘local’. As an institution, they simply don’t make much room for Jr transfers - something like 12% of the # of freshman admits, overall - and even less for Engineering. Also, by charter, they must give preference to CCC students from schools designated as ‘local’ - meaning most of those 383 Engineering admits came from Cuesta or another ‘local’ CC.
Normally, i’d suggest you stay put but, since you want to switch to a major you can’t really replicate without an accredited program - i’d find a way to take a Civil Engineering class or two (perhaps a local CC) and, if it still turns turns you on, look elsewhere. I am not suggesting you not apply to SLO - it can happen - just include more accessible targets like the other Cal Poly, as well as Sac State, Chico and San Jose.
UCD has TAG so if you take the majority of your units at a CA community college, you can TAG (Transfer Admission Guarantee) as long as you meet all the requirements and be guaranteed a spot.
UCB will be a tough admit, but if you have completed all the pre-req and major requirements with a competitive GPA of 3.82+, then you stand a good chance. If you remain at UCSC, make sure you get a UC reciprocity letter for your GE completion if you plan to apply to any UC’s.
so for TAG to work for UCD, I would basically have to leave UCSC my spring quarter of this freshman year and go to a cc for the rest of the time being?
A CCC transfer student is one who has completed at least 30 semester (45 quarter) UC-transferable units at one or more California community colleges, and the last college the student attended in a regular session (fall/spring or fall/winter/spring) before admission to a UC campus is a California community college.
If you want to TAG for UCD, I would start attending a CA CCC now so you will have at least 2 semesters/CC units (Spring/Summer) under your belt before applying for TAG in September 2018.
Without TAG, UCD GPA admit range was 3.40-3.80 for Civil Engineering.
right, so just finish this winter quarter at UCSC (since i cant really drop anything rn cuss I need some time to adjust), and then attend CC for spring and summer and sophomore
Yes, starting Spring would be a good option if you want to TAG to any of the UC’s that offer the program. You can still apply as a regular transfer applicant by staying at UCSC or by attending a CCC. If you attend a CCC, it will open up more options for other Cal states and UC’s you may want consider applying or TAGing instead of UCD.
Last question, what about UCLA, My hometown is in the LA area and I am told Santa Monica CC is a feeder school to UCLA, any thoughts? Is there like a TAG for UCLA and SMCC or same process?
When I think of a feeder school I think of someplace like Andover where the counselors know their peers at the top colleges, where the counselors personally make an effort to ensure each student is doing the appropriate activities to have a great application, where you get advice and review of your essays, etc.
It’s not going to be like that at Santa Monica CC. In terms of numbers there are a handful of community colleges it send many kids off to the UC’s. They tend to be in affluent areas such as Santa Monica or Cupertino. So is it something the schools are doing? Or that savvy kids/parents make sure they are taking the classes they need and getting good grades in order to be eligible for transfer? I lean towards the latter explanation.
