@Itsmejack I second this. My tutor went to a CC before transferring to UW Seattle BME and she has to be one of the smartest people I’ve ever met. Fact of the matter is, your diploma is not going to say you’re a transfer student, only “university of California”. Besides, that way, if you want to go to grad school, you can avoid having your GPA slaughtered by weed out classes built into the undergrad curriculum for engineering. I honestly might take a few classes at the CC on the UC Davis campus if I go to knock some GEs out of the way. Best of luck and I’m sorry you had all of this happen to you on top a stressful year
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Yup. My son is now a Junior, Chemical Engineering major, at Berkeley having transferred from a CC. I could go on and on about how great the experience has been for him all around. And he comes from a family of transfer students; my husband and I both went that route, and I have a Bachelors and Masters from NYU.
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I know it hurts working so hard and not getting accepted to a school you really want to go to. CC will be my first if I get rejected off the waitlist. Do not be discouraged. As @Caliboundboi said, you will end up in a lot of weed out classes at a uni so cc will save you from those. Plus UC’s have the TAG system and you just need to meet the requirements and you are guaranteed acceptance. Keep your head up!
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To all waitlisted applicants, I suggest you read this article and hopefully all your concerns and questions will be answered.
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I keep seeing people mention “weed out” classes at university. Going to community college does not let you escape those classes. You will still have to take them to support your transfer. And, given the fact that lots of other students need those same classes, do not assume that if you take them at community college the class size will be smaller. (Do the research on your CC to find out the average class sizes.) And, do not assume that the classes will somehow be easier at the community college.
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What I mentioned about weed out classes about Davis was after looking into the courses of both davis and my local cc. The workload at Davis is intense compared to cc in some cs courses. I myself am a cs major and that’s why I replied to that person. I’ve done some research on the courses therefore I am not assuming classes at cc are easier.
I’ve been waitlisted at UCSD, UCD, UCSC, UCSB and UCI. Reading over and over that each UC’s looking for its own unique fit, I’m quite anxious about my predicament and worried about being accepted off any of the waitlist. Any insight?
Unless anyone on CC is an admissions officer at any of the above schools, no one can really offer you an insight but I am going to refer to the article I just posted and hopefully it make things clearer. Do you have any acceptances?
Just one out of state, but I’d really like to stay in CA.
Your best chance would be UCD due to their waitlist statement/essay where you can show them that you are a good fit. The other schools unfortunately are you basic opt in and wait.
Thank you for your reply. I’ll get going on working on the Davis essay now.
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How much do you think they consider the waitlist statement? I had a friend who is currently a sophomore at Davis and he was waitlisted as well. At the time, he wasn’t really interested in going to Davis, so he just jokingly wrote “I like to bike and I love cows.” He got accepted off the waitlist somehow!
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Well UC Davis has plenty of bikes and cows, so liking them does show you are a “fit”. 
He took a chance and maybe someone in admissions saw the humor after reading hours and hours of waitlist essays.
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Wishing everyone who has been waitlisted luck! My daughter was waitlisted at UCD and UCSD, with UCD being her first choice, (rejected from UCSB and UCLA).
4.67 weighted GPA- very well rounded and involved. Bio major
To be honest, it’s incredibly disheartening. She has worked so hard for so long.
She is a California resident, but if she doesn’t get off the waitlist she will most likely attend UO’s Clarks Honors College, or University of Washington. The main problem is the cost!!! It will end up costing over 100k more for the same degree. I hope they begin admitting students off the waitlist BEFORE May 1. Good Luck to you all!!
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UW has an amazing program for bio and as a Seattle native, I can attest to how great it is as a top 25 program. Davis has an insanely competitive bio program at number 18 in the nation (tied with UCLA!!!) but honestly I’m sure you’ll get off the waitlist for one of these programs
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I noticed the waitlist form asks for expected grades for spring semester. But there is also a drop down for ip(in progress). The waitlist letter says to put expected grades. My son wanted to put all As down even though that may not be realistic with the heavy course load and seniorites. I encouraged him to put a mix of A’s and B’s which is probably more realistic. What’s the best course of action or what have other people done? @Gumbymom or anyone?
If they are asking for predicted grades, I would try to be as accurate as possible but they will not hold you to your prediction as long as they are C and above. A’s and B’s are fine but if you prefer to just put in-progress that is fine also. They just want to make sure you are on track with grades and they are in-line with the rest of the transcript.
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Do you happen to know the yield rate from waitlists?
No, I do not know the yield rate from the waitlists. All data that I can find is just the # of students admitted, not how many actually enrolled. Since waitlisted applicants are given sometimes up to only 5 days for the decision, the turnaround can be quick since if they decline, the schools can then take the next student in line and offer them a spot.
UCB and UCSD left their waitlist open until July last year while some schools like UCD finished with admits by the 1st week in June. It really varies from school to school.
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@Gumbymom Do you know if Davis take another look at the whole application or do they just glance over the waitlist statement?