I decided to take a “gap year” after finishing high school this May. I was mostly unsure about what to do in college, and my decisions were not too satisfactory (would blame most of it on COVID).
But just in general, I thought it might be beneficial to cool off for a year and start the process in a more relaxed manner. Because I was unsure of what college class would interest me, I decided to try out a few classes at my local community college without the intent of actually earning any meaningful credit. I just went for the experience and learning about courses that I had no chance to take in high school, such as astronomy and Latin. However, it seems like this decision has come to bite me in the back…
Now most college are considering my application as a “transfer” application. Not only am I placed in the pool among college students who already have their majors decided and have been actively working on getting the necessary credits, I’m much more closer to a first year student.
Some schools, mostly private ones, have indicated that I must finish an entire year’s worth of college courses to be considered a transfer student. Thankfully, I’d still be considered first year on those schools because my are only a semester long and I do not plan on continuing with my community college afterwards. Schools like the UCs however, indicates that taking college courses, regardless of how many or for how long, would make me a transfer student. But I also am not eligible to apply if I do not meet the specific credit requirements by their Spring term, which I have no chance of meeting. Does this simply mean that I have 0 chance of even being able to apply to the UCs?
Once you have taken college courses after the summer after high school graduation, UC wants you to take the transfer pathway. This means that you need to take enough college course work so that you will have at least 60 semester units by the time you transfer. Plan to take about two years worth of courses at community college before transferring to UC (you will apply during the year you will complete the 60 semester units with needed course requirements).
I’m assuming you didn’t speak to an advisor at the CC or at your HS? They would have advised you to wait before taking any courses if you were planning to apply to a UC.
For some colleges, the minute you leave HS, any courses taken after your HS diploma no longer make you an entering freshman. As you’ve discovered, you are now considered a transfer applicant. You can try contacting the UCs, but you need to be aware that indicating that you “didn’t know” the rules doesn’t sound good since there were several ways to find out the information.
The UCs are basically impacted and, hence, have their choice of more than enough applicants. They are very strict with their rules about units and coursework taken outside of high school. They even require that you contact them, if during high school, there was a change in grades or coursework on your incoming transcript. So, they’re considered really strict.
You can apply as a transfer student as you’re nearing 60 units at the CC. You need to also be aware that transfer funding is limited, so, if you need help with financial aid, at this point, you need to start asking about financial aid if you can’t afford to go to the UC‘s.
yeah, you kinda @#$%^&s yourself. UCs and CSUs are going to want 60 units and privates - though more flexible, generally don’t offer much aid.
For some reason, other (outside CA) state schools are much more flexible. Boise State, UNR, Oregon State for example take applicants with less than a full year of transfer credits.
I’d take a look at the WUE schools and see if any catch your eye ( a consortuim of Western publics that offer discounts to students from other Western states)
If I’m reading your post correctly then you graduated in May 2021 and just started taking classes? If so, and if you’re just in your first semester, can you just completely withdraw from your CC? You’d need to check with the colleges you are considering to see if this means you could apply as a frosh, or whether merely registering at a CC is enough to be required to apply as a transfer.
edit: you should check with the Registrar’s office at your CC to see if this is possible and find out what would be recorded on your transcript. If you drop classes early (first 2-3 weeks) then nothing is recorded on your transcript; perhaps a complete withdrawal from the CC could be treated the same way? Given the potential impact here you really need to find out the details. The clerk at the window may not know or may deny it is possible; ask if there is a supervisor or dept head you can talk with.
Great catch, if this is your first semester, you can probably formally withdraw and still have 0 credits. Perhaps you can talk your teachers into ‘auditing’ the remaining classes.
It is certainly worth looking into - what are your target schools and stats?
Below is the definition of a Freshman applicant from the UC website.
Who is a freshman applicant?
You’ll start as a freshman if:
You’re currently in high school
OR
You’ve graduated high school, but haven’t enrolled in a regular session (fall, winter, spring) at a college or university.
ENROLLED is the word to focus on. OP I would contact UC Admissions to verify if you withdraw that you would still be eligible to apply as a Freshman for Fall 2022.
potentially good news here! I found the document below from the UC counselors workshop in which this exact case is shown, withdrawing after enrolling at a CC for fall semester. UC says the student is not considered a transfer applicant.
@Zora_Mipha might want to verify this with UC to get confirmation from an admissions office before withdrawing, probably would be a good idea to send the link to the doc below with the email.