<p>Hi, I need some advice toward transferring back to California. </p>
<p>A little background info:
I grew up in California, and due to a series of unfortunate events (my father died when I was 15, mother was unable to afford our house in CA) I had to move out-of-state (the deep south, I won't indicate where unless its necessary). Needless to say, I am tired of living here (I am now 19) and I want to transfer back to CA. </p>
<p>I have been taking classes at a local community college and have my AA nearly complete (core classes are done, just electives now). I was thinking I should transfer to a 'feeder' college in CA in the interest of:</p>
<p>[1] Obtaining residency at a cheaper college than trying for a university and paying a big non-residency fee</p>
<p>[2] So my transcript will be more appealing to a CA university since I would be coming from a California community college rather than an out-of-state one</p>
<p>I have already consulted one community college (Santa Barbara City College) and they said my classes would transfer. I am not sure what CA campus I want to go to, but I do not want to go to any other university than in California (California is where my heart and home will always be). I think I would prefer the SoCal area, since that is the area I am most familiar with. I was thinking UCSB, but I don't know if I can afford the rent. I would love to go to a private university, but I don't think I could ever afford the tuition. I have a girlfriend who will be attending classes with me so we can split costs. Does anyone have any suggestions? </p>
<p>Additionally, here's my info:</p>
<p>Major: Biological Sciences/Pre-Medical
GPA: 3.72
I think I have a little over 33 credit hours at the moment.
I don't recall my test scores at this moment... </p>
<p>Thanks!
-Ravenasque</p>
<p>p.s. I have no idea if this means anything, but I am also the Science senator for the SGA and a member of Phi Theta Kappa. I can't seem to find much Phi Theta Kappa stuff in CA, so I think it's probably worthless.</p>
<p>Trying posting in the UC transfer forum. There are probably a lot more ccc students there to answer your question. I'm not sure if you still get priority when you apply for the uc's because you have taken classes at another college outside the state. Maybe someone else on this forum knows in detail. </p>
<p>Other socal community college that i would recommend are pcc (pasadena city college) and smc (santa monica college). I was a pcc student and I am also a premed/bio student. I just transferred to ucla. I think pcc has a pretty strong life science department. Other people on this forum might have different opinions on which ccc is better :) It really doens't matter which one you go to bc they are all feeder schools to the uc's. What really matter is the location. You don't want to waste your time driving 2 hrs to a community college. Good luck. And keep up your gpa. It's not bad considering that you are a science major.</p>
<p>Yes, try posting in the UC forum as sakura said, to get answers re establishing residency and your chances at various UCs. Maybe you might also want to consider some of the Cal States.</p>
<p>Sounds like you might qualify for merit aid at schools which offer it. Take a look at Santa Clara U and U San Diego in terms of privates where you might qualify for merit aid. There may be others; those are just the two I have some familiarity with and I know SCU gives merit aid.</p>
<p>Most California community colleges have TAG programs whereby you are guaranteed a spot at a University of California campus or a California State University campus if you finish up certain courses and get a certain grade point average (and have at least 60 units).</p>
<p>With your 3.72 GPA, you could go there and probably get into UCSB, UCI, UCD, and maybe UCSD. UCLA and UC Berkeley are unlikely since so many of your courses will have been taken out of state.</p>
<p>Here's the main thing you need to take a look at:</p>
<p>It's a 50 page booklet that tells you everything about transfer admissions at the UCs.</p>
<p>P.S. I'm not so sure that attending a California community college qualifies you as a resident--I'm pretty sure it doesn't unless you are 23 or older. Accordingly, you might find that going to a UC could be really expensive, since the Out-of-state tuition is extremely high.</p>
<p>Yes, I agree with Calcruzer that you will not become a resident by UC standards by going to a CCC. You must live in CA for one year without going to school even if you're 24. If you're younger and your parents still claim you, you remain a resident of their state.</p>
<p>Yes, UCgradmary is correct and even points out an error in what I posted. The age 23 thing refers to when the FAFSA stops taking into account your parent's income for financial aid purposes.</p>
<p>So to summarize:</p>
<p>(1) you have to live in California for a year without going to school in order to become a California resident; and</p>
<p>(2) once you turn 23, only your income (and not the income of your parents) is considered in financial aid computations by the federal government (because under the tax code your parents no longer can consider you a dependent). Thus, you would be more likely to get financial aid (probably more loans than grants) but at least your aid wouldn't depend upon what your parents make.</p>
<p>Obviously neither of these situations helps Ravenasque because of her current age--but I'd thought I'd clarify this for others who might be in their 20s and reading this thread.</p>
<p>Thanks for the clarification. About the out of state tuition, it is to my knowledge my mother would be moving out to California as well. So my residency would be alright, I think. Thank you very much about the info., I will check out those colleges. Additionally, I am going to repost this in the UC thread. I didn't originally post it there because I wanted info other than just UC schools. </p>
<p>Right now I'm looking into Cal. Poly Pomona...</p>