Hi, I’m currently an out-of-state high school student, interested in majoring in Computer Science. I did not apply to any UC system school this fall, due to my parent’s being concerned on my readiness to live across the country (I live on the east coast). We were able to agree that if I am able to survive dorming on my own at a local school (likely Rutgers), they would allow me to attempt to transfer over to a UC. I noticed that most of the discussion on the forum centered around transferring out a Californian community college, which is a very unrealistic option (but not totally out of the question) for me. I just have a few questions on transferring from out-of-state specifically.
How much harder is it to transfer into a UC from an out-of-state as compared to an in-state community college transfer? Is the average GPA needed to successfully transfer higher? In particular, I'd like to attempt to go for UCI, UCSD, USD and UCLA (a touch of a reach to be honest).
UC requires at least 60 credits in order to apply for a transfer. Is it at all possible to transfer after one year, if I take a heavy course load? How should I be selecting my classes to prepare for a UC transfer? Will my current AP credits count towards these 60 credits?
As an out of state applicant, you receive lower priority than CCC students, so yes on average you will need a higher GPA.
It is possible to transfer in one year, and for AP credits you will receive credits for your 60 units, but you might not fulfill certain prereqs, for example, I took AP physics C E & M and got 5’s on both, but they cannot be used to fulfill the physics series, so basically I’m kind of screwed in that area.
You just need 60 semester units to be qualified as a junior transfer by the spring before you transfer.
If you are planning to transfer make sure the courses you will be taking is similar to the UC equivalent courses as possible (just compare syllabus if you could get your hands on them). Of course have your math and english prereqs fulfill by the end of your freshman year. If you too AP Calc BC and got a 5 and 3’s on two of the AP english exams, then you would have fufill those prereqs, and you would be good to go for all UC’s. Or complete them at your college.
For computer science, it is really hard to find equivalent courses that will transfer over because only some CCC have transferable courses. I recommended to take an intro to C++ course and discrete structures, complete a java programming course. I am not a computer science major, so I don’t know every single details for that major.
If you really want a good chance, then transferring to a CCC is the best option, but it is your choice. CCC is still cheaper than a university even for out of state I think.
Interestingly enough, attending a UC is cheaper than some of the private schools I’ve also considered. Though I’m guessing scholarship money will be much harder to come by for out-of-state transfers.
Thank you for all of the responses. I will be taking the AP tests in both AP Calc BC and AP Lit before this year (and got 5s on both AP Calc AB and AP Lang in my junior year). Would the path of Rutgers (1 year) -> CCC (1 year) -> UC help lower the cost of attending a UC? That would be a weird sell to my parents though, who look down on community colleges in general since our local one has a mediocre reputation.
@lithiyum, yes it is harder but not impossible. You can transfer in a year with the right number of AP, although the subject credit parts may not fulfill everything you hoped. I believe OOS transfer acceptance is about 10% but I could be wrong, I’m guessing from memory. Yeah, it costs more, everyone always throws that out, but it’s comparable to a lot of private schools, and for many, the extra cost isn’t a deterrent.
I say give it a shot, but you def need a higher GPA than in-state.
Luckie is right, but the AP units don’t count, so you will probably not reach anywhere near the lower division cap of 70. For peace of mind, try not to add more than about 10 upper division semester units.