I’m finishing my first year at UCSB and I know that I want to transfer eventually. Will i increase my chances if I go to cc next year and apply to another UC like cal or ucla? Or should i stay at ucsb and just apply as a UC to UC transfer?
"Will i increase my chances if I go to cc next year "
No.
Stay where you are, and do as well as you possibly can. Stay ahead of your coursework.
i agree - as long as it’s not breaking the bank, stay put and work to keep your GPA high. Honestly, your odds stay pretty long regardless of your course of action . You will need a high GPA and some solid ECs to make the move. This tool will help you see what the transfer GPA was for your major at both schools.
https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/infocenter/transfers-major
@DadTwoGirls Isn’t the community college to UC admittance rate much higher than UC-UC?
UCLA and Cal will still be there after if you graduate from UCSB. You can go to school there again or even work there.
If you do go to CC then transfer, expect to go there for at least two years. You could try to apply from a UC but the odds are pretty rare.
“@DadTwoGirls Isn’t the community college to UC admittance rate much higher than UC-UC?”
The admittance rate for transfers is small either way. If you switch to CC and don’t get admitted to Cal or UCLA then you are in a bad situation. In this case it is not clear whether UCSB would want you back (if it were up to me I wouldn’t). If you stay where you are and don’t get admitted to Cal or UCLA then you still can graduate from a very good university. You are also getting a better education where you are.
Also, if you transfer from UCSB to CC, some might interpret this as “UCSB was too tough, I had to go somewhere easier”. Again if I were on the admission committee at any university (I am not) then this is how I would interpret this. This would not be the message that you want to send.
Stay where you are, do well. You can try to transfer to Cal or UCLA, but you need to keep your grades up to maximize your chances to transfer, to give yourself opportunities for graduate school, to learn your classes since that is why you are there, and to work towards graduating with a valuable degree.
For UCLA, CCC admit rates are highest, hovering around 30%, followed by UC transfers, around 20%. Look here. For 2014 data you’ll see some specific UC stats. https://www.admission.ucla.edu/prospect/adm_tr/Tr_Prof.htm
It isn’t impossible to transfer from another UC to UCLA. You’ll have to take all major prereqs as well as the GE pattern, just like everyone else. Will you have these done by Spring next year? We have one UC student this year who was admitted to UCLA after his 3rd try. http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/transfer/preparing-admission/minimum-requirements/index.html
There are successful transfers who go from UC to CCC then another UC so that is an option. Read the UC Transfers forum http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/uc-transfers/
Good luck!