I applied to 10 schools in the fall of 2017 and got rejected from all but one, which is too expensive, so I’ll be attending community college starting in the fall. I’m also going to be applying to UC Merced as a spring 2019 applicant as a freshmen, as a backup in case I happen to not like community college/decide that I want a change.
I filled out my application, and I was about to submit it yesterday when it asked me why there’s a gap in my education. I don’t know what to say–if I say I’m taking community college classes, which is the truth, I’m afraid they’ll think that I’m trying to somehow “cheat the system” by applying as a freshman when I already have college credit. It doesn’t feel right to make something up either.
In the fall of 2017, I applied to 4 UC’s, all of which I got rejected from. Will UC Merced be able to see that I applied in the fall? If they do see that I applied, will they care? And if I get into Merced but decide not to go, but apply to UCs again as a transfer student in two years, will it hurt my chances of getting in two years from now?
UCs consider you a transfer applicant if you take college courses after the summer immediately after high school graduation. So, assuming you graduated high school in spring 2018, don’t start community college if you want to apply to UCs as a frosh later.
http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/transfer/index.html
Note that colleges may check whether you have enrolled in unreported colleges through the National Student Clearinghouse.
Gaps between high school and college are not that rare. For example, some people go to work between high school and college.
You have to apply as a transfer if you are taking community college courses in the Fall. If you do not wish to apply as a transfer, take a gap semester and do things that are meaningful for you – get a job, get involved in service, etc.
Other posters are correct. You cannot apply for UCM as a spring freshman admit if you take 1 community college class in the fall. If you want to attend a school besides UCM (as I do not know of any other campus that offers Spring admission) you must either re-apply for fall 2019 freshman or complete the requirements at ccc in order to transfer successfully,
But no, applying to UCM and deciding not to go will not hurt you as UCs will not know.