Transferring from a UC to an excellent private Liberal Arts college: Where should I begin?

Transfer Students UC Transfers
1

Hello.
Let me clarify that I am not looking for, “don’t bother” or “it’s too hard”. Sorry. Anyways…I need help.

I transferred to UCSD from a cc, and have realized that I hold no love for virtually all of the programs of study - the sciences - that this school is known for and is best at teaching, the extent of which I was largely ignorant of until now.

I already have a ton of work experience and internships under my belt, and all I want is to study art and English not out of practicality, but out of love. And I want the best education that I CAN get. I only get this one chance at going to college.

Okay, I’ll get to the point now: what I’m looking for isn’t an ultimate college that fulfills all my criteria below–just ideas so I can narrow down my search. I am too overwhelmed to do this on my own. :frowning:

-Firstly, the most necessary thing: easy to transfer to! This can translate to a lot of things…i.e., short application that’s free, is in California, doesn’t have too nasty of an acceptance rate, is transfer-friendly (will take courses from a California cc and UCs), etc
-Reasonably prestigious (in the sense that it’s known for giving a deep and wonderful education; the classes in subjects I’m interested in here are decent, but are a little easy and sometimes too shallow for my tastes…i.e., most of the time the professor’s lecturing about stuff I already figured out)
-Beautiful campus, not too much urbanization
-Financial aid process is relatively painless
-This IS a bit of a stretch, but maybe I’d like to start earlier next year rather than in Fall 2017…if that’s possible…

I’ve always been interested in UNC: Chapel Hill and Bard College but am sure that they’re two of the tougher ones to transfer into.

Disclaimer: I actually like UCSD. Let me emphasize, however, that the two departments I am interested in are known to be lackluster. It’s pretty bad…hell, the Visarts department doesn’t even offer drawing classes to most students…

2

UNC Chapel Hill is not a “private liberal arts college”.

What about other UCs and CSUs that have art and English offerings that are better suited for you?

3

http://visarts.ucsd.edu/sites/default/files/16-17StudentDraft7_28_16.pdf indicates that VIS 105A and 105B are offered autumn quarter, and VIS 105A and 105C are offered spring quarter. These are junior/senior level drawing courses. There are also 105D and 105E on Chinese calligraphy, a specialized type of drawing.

It is not clear from http://art.unc.edu/studio-art/courses/ that UNC Chapel Hill offers a greater selection of drawing courses. http://studioarts.bard.edu/course/ indicates that Bard offers four possible drawing courses.

4

Transferring to another UC from a UC is known to be difficult, and I’m only interested in UCLA and UCB.

Those VIS classes require prereqs from classes solely about art history/theory. Furthermore, I’ve talked to some Visarts students and they usually say that I’m better off going to another college if I want to learn how to draw. The classes just aren’t very good, and I feel like I’m better off spending my time self-studying like mad.

Oh, and I’m willing to not go to a “private liberal arts college” given that the alternative I find is worth it–I vastly prefer it, but that I do have some biases for certain colleges that don’t count as one.

5

You haven’t given any hints as to what level of selectivity you can reasonably aim for. Are you Claremont consortium qualified?

UNC-CH (by law) can only accept 18% OOS students- and that includes athletes, which given that it’s UNC, is not a small number. Thus it is materially harder to get into that it might seem at first glance.

6

What does this mean? Any LAC that provides any decent aid will require the FAFSA and CSS Profile. It’s not painless. Is your family low income?

7

Selectively? UCSD has a 36% acceptance rate and I feel like this is on the mid-tier of what I can get into (note: I botched my personal essays and wrote them in the last five minutes, so I could definitely do better in the future).
I’d need to work some magic on the subjective parts of my application in order to pull off a university with only a 20% acceptance rate. 10%? That’d be crazy but I’d try if the application is free.

I’m not even sure if admissions would look kindly to a fickle UC student, or if they’d take my California community college credit seriously if they’re out of state. That’s definitely something to consider.

8

In the short term, head back to the academic advising office at UCSD and get advice on choosing winter quarter classes that are a better fit.
What is your class level now after your units at the community college? If you are equivalent to a junior, you will find that it may not work to transfer at the beginning of senior year.

9

@Erin’s Dad
Oh, I see. So the financial aid process is virtually the same across the country? That’s good.

I am used to doing FAFSA (not so much the CSS…don’t remember it at all); I got most of my tuition for UCSD waived because of my family’s low income. I wonder how my finaid may be altered if I were to go elsewhere. :-?

Edit: @siliconvalleymom Yeah, I intend on making the most of my short-term and doing just that.
I am a junior.
At Bard, I see that there’s a such thing as Spring transfers, though, so maybe there’s still hope.

10

UCs and CSUs use only the FAFSA information to determine financial aid.

Many other schools, particularly private ones, will also use CSS Profile in addition to FAFSA to determine financial aid. The CSS Profile asks about additional information. If your parents are divorced or separated, many colleges using CSS Profile will require both of them to fill in the forms, and will use both of their income and wealth to determine financial aid.

You can try the other schools’ net price calculators on their web sites, but the estimates may not be as accurate if any of the following applies:

  • School does not give the same aid to transfers as frosh.
  • Your parents are divorced.
  • Your parents have small business or real estate income and deductions.
11

This is from the Bard website, describing their policy about granting transfer credit:
“Regardless of course credit eligibility, a maximum of 64 transfer credits can be granted. Transfer students must complete a minimum of 64 credits at Bard, for a total of 128, in order to receive a Bard degree.”

You would be attempting to transfer with only three semesters left before graduation, which would not work.

12

UCSD is a comprehensive liberal arts university with strengths in many different areas, not just the sciences. They have a good solid literature department that covers both English literature and comparative literature. They have a good solid art department. You can get a good education in either.

You go to college to get a well-rounded liberal arts education. It’s not like graduate school, where you are going for something specific. You will only even take about one-third of your courses in your major. You don’t have to to go a college that is top-ranked in “your field.” You only need go to a good, well-rounded college that has departments in your area of interest that offer what you need. UCSD has that, and is an excellent university to boot.

If you like UCSD, then I think you should stay put. I think you should only transfer if you WANT to go to a small liberal arts college. (Plus, like others have pointed out, if you transferred as a junior to UCSD and are halfway through your first semester there, you may find it difficult to transfer. At best, you’ll extend your overall time to degree.)

Smaller liberal arts colleges in California include Chapman University, Occidental College, the Claremont Colleges (Pomona and Pitzer would probably appeal most to you), and Soka University of America. Santa Clara University is a bit bigger and not quite an LAC, but is an option.

Other West Coast LACs are Willamette University, Reed College, Lewis & Clark College, University of Puget Sound, and Whitman College.

There are lots of small LACs and smaller liberal arts universities on the East Coast - if the South appeals to you (indicated by the UNC thing) there’s Guilford College, Furman University, Elon University, Greensboro College, and Wake Forest University.

You might also be interested in Great Books colleges, like St. John’s College or Shimer College.

13

@juillet Oh my, your comment is so thorough. Thank you! (Yes, I would like to go to a small liberal arts college)

There is something that ruins the whole graduating in two years thing…

The Literature department requires that students take a few upper divisions in languages. As in, you have to gain basic proficiency (this takes 6-12 courses) and THEN take classes taught in it.

This likely means that - even if I bust my ass during the summer and go overtime - I shall have to stay longer than 2 years at UCSD. It’s depressing. All I really wanted to do is study English and while I know that learning languages is good for a vast array of reasons, in this context it’s a burden.

And I’ll sooner take the word of actual Visarts students that say it’s not a good department for those interested in illustration. I even asked the Visarts department why they mainly focus on art theory and was told that I should go to another college if I want to learn how to draw well. (:expressionless:

Anyways, I’ll look into the colleges you mentioned and try to narrow down my options. Of course I’ll try to reconcile my deep-rooted anxieties about UCSD in the meanwhile. Just in case.

14

Which major did you transfer into UCSD for, and did you have enough of its prerequisites completed so that you can finish in six quarters (two academic years)?

Is withdrawing from UCSD and taking a gap year to work (and perhaps take a few additional courses at community colleges, like foreign language) a possibility? Then you can reapply as a junior transfer to other UCs, CSUs, and private schools where the academic programs are more suitable for your interests.

15

Be careful–illustration isn’t a common emphasis in LAC art programs. Figure drawing, sure. But illustration? Design programs are a safer bet.

16

@ucbalumnus
…Er, it’s a long, embarrassing story. Originally I went in for business (because my family encouraged me to), having only completed around 3 prereqs. I wasn’t accepted into it and instead was forced into the “undecided” major. This forced me to take a step back and think about what I wanted.

I’m already a year older than most transfers and am incredibly self-conscious about it. There’s no way I’m taking another gap year out of school.

@marvin100
Figure drawing is essential so I wouldn’t mind going into that.

Anyways, I think I’m going to focus on colleges that I can transfer to for the summer/spring. That’s the best I can do.

:-<

17

re: illustration - San Jose State has an excellent illustration program. John Clapp is a phenomenal instructor, as are several of the others.

There are a couple of private art schools in CA that are a little better for illustration (Art Center College of Design, frex), but those schools won’t be anywhere near as strong in literature or writing.

18

@DiotimaDM
The thing is that I’ve put art on the back burner for a few years - though when I do sit down to draw, I tend to go on for hours and hours as if possessed - and feel as if my inherent skills aren’t good enough to justify going to school solely to improve them. Because of all the bad habits I’ve learned due to being left to my own artistically skewed judgment, I also feel that I’d be starting from rock bottom. I feel like I need advice about it.

Still, I’ll look into the schools you mentioned. How does financial aid work for art schools? Would I be able to pay the same - or even less - then what I pay to go to UCSD?

19

@Moonita Private art schools will be every bit as expensive as the top LACs you’ve mentioned, and admission probably involves submitting a portfolio. If you’re rusty, you’d be better off at San Jose State, which has the added bonus of a decent English department, too.

Aid? Not sure. You’d need to research that on your own, but my guess is that San Jose State would be cheaper than the privates and probably cheaper than UCSD, too.

Tip: You won’t find illustration everywhere. Most art departments will offer a variety of drawing & painting classes, but may only offer the occasional illustration class, and if the instructor isn’t a working illustrator, what you end up with is more like narrative painting (creating a visual piece that tells a story). Now, there’s nothing wring with narrative painting, but illustration is commercial art. You need to be able to produce to spec, on deadline, etc. And ideally, you need to learn from a professional who is active in the field. A fine art narrative painter, even one with superior technical skills, may not have this knowledge in the same way that a lit prof. in the average English / creative writing program may not know what kind of work sells to commercial short story markets.

Neither one is better or worse than the other; just different.

20

Given that you transferred once from cc to UC, I would have my sights on finishing up strong and thinking about grad school opportunities. If you want to experience something new, maybe look to doing a semester abroad, but get your degress. UCSD will serve you well.