UC to UC Transfer 1 Year. Help me :(

Transfer Students UC Transfers
1

<p>Its that time of year when UC applications are back out, and I was looking to see if I could possibly transfer out of my current school. For those that are wondering I'm currently at UCSD, and though I tried to come here with an open mind I find myself somewhat unhappy. I suppose its combination of a somewhat dismal social life (I was somewhat homesick, missing friends, I made some here but I just feel like the campus at times is so dry). </p>

<p>Anyways I was opting to try and transfer in one year to UCLA/CAL.
Now there are some reasons other than just being unhappy (though that's a large part of it)
1) Living closer to home (I live in LA) would save me a lot of money on traveling costs, likewise off-campus housing around here is ridiculously expensive. At Cal I have the option of staying with relatives and even some very close friends that would dramatically make it more cost effective for me (I didn't receive any grants or scholarships and with the economy in its current state, my family is getting battered).
2) I want to ideally study business, but the closest we got here is econ. That being said, even though SD has a great econ program, the opportunities to gain internships and such are not as great as the other two schools.</p>

<p>Bottom line: I want to transfer, and I'm not even sure if its possible. I know I can finish my pre-reqs for Econ this year, and some of those may be able to transfer to some courses I would need for a pre-business major at the other two schools, but I know for a fact I won't be able to finish all my G.E's in time without risking horrible grades due to overload. I came in with 44 AP units, I'm taking 14 units this quarter, 18 units next quarter, and a planned 18 for my spring quarter which would put me over the required 90 units (for junior status) to be accepted. Still, I dunno what to do on the applications, obviously I won't have a UC GPA to list, and the E.C's I'm involved here aren't as significant as the ones I participated in in high school. I've tried asking advisers here for help but they regurgitate information I already know and beyond that basically tell me to, "do some research." In short this is my dilemma:
-I can get 90 units by the end of spring easily.
-NO UC GPA to list
-Can't get UC Reciprocity since I can't finish my G.E's on time.
-I dunno if this will affect me but my lower-div reqs require me to complete a math series for my major, however I will be one class short, I know for Berk I have to take on semester of calc there anyways so will that even apply to me?
-If I do apply would I have to resubmit my ACT/SAT, high school transcript, and be able to list my E.C's from those years?</p>

<p>Finally, I know many of you might tell me to go to community college, but I honestly worked extremely hard in high school (ELC, athlete, etc...) others that got in both schools were more surprised that I didn't, but I tried my best to make the best of situations and adjust if I could, and now here I am. I can keep my GPA at 3.5 and above pretty easily, and I don't want to end up going to community college just for a slightly better chance, it would just be too demoralizing and I would lose all sense of academic vigor.</p>

<p>If you guys can tell simply tell me what my chances are, what I could do, and if it is even possible I'd greatly appreciate it.</p>

2

<p>Dude if you really want to leave CC is the best option.</p>

<p>You've got a 40% shot compared to a 20% shot.
That 20% shot is looking to be much lower since you won't have UC Reciprocity or a GPA or ECs.</p>

<p>I am leaving UCSD after the quarter for CC. Since I don't have nearly a years worth of units, I would have to apply next year. Personally a year or I guess in your case Winter and Spring semester is not that bad given that you will maintain a relatively high GPA and have the cc transfer programs done.</p>

<p>anyways i sent you a pm
i met some other freshman that are leaving ucsd after the quarter</p>

3

<p>bump 10char</p>

4

<p>I'm actually interested in the answer to your questions also.</p>

5

<p>hey,</p>

<p>I'm currently a frosh at UCSD looking to transfer out as well. What college are you in? I might be able to answer some questions you may have. PM me if you want.</p>

6

<p>I'm a freshman at UCSD transferring as well...but as "demoralizing" as it is I am planning on going the CC route (I had a 4.3 GPA and was Valedictorian...kinda a hard thing to deal with but I really don't want to stay down here, and probably will transfer to UCLA next year) Anyways..good luck...sounds like you might be able to pull it off this year but CC does seem to be the way to go...better chances at least.</p>

7

<p>Holy crap. 3 people out of the 4 posts are looking to transfer. What do you guys not like about it here?</p>

8

<p>Okay. I did transfer from UCSC to Cal in one year. Lots of AP credit and CC credit.</p>

<p>As for the app, I listed my high school ECs. Basically all I had at the time. But it made me look good I think, because I had done them for four years, and there's the check box thing for the years in high school you did them. If anything, high school EC help you. Plus, the readers probably understand that when they read your application and that you just graduated from high school.</p>

<p>I did NOT go to CC fulltime, although I did some classes during the summer to help boost my application.</p>

<p>As for prereqs, I didn't even finish half for my major at Cal (MCB). I didn't finish physics, o chem, or math. I had only finished gen chem and at berk got out of bio b/c of AP scores. </p>

<p>I didn't even finish GE's. But MCB here isn't impacted. So I guess it depends.</p>

<p>Obama, The reasons you have to transfer are very valid. Explain the business major thing in your app, and it'll help, because it shows that you know what you want to do while you're in college, and you're looking/doing research so that you can achieve it.</p>

<p>Hope this helped.</p>

9

<p>Thanks Orion.</p>

10

<p>So, Orion . did u transfer as junior standing?
SC units+AP units+ cc units > =60?</p>

11

<p>Yes, I transferred as a junior.</p>

<p>Doesn't matter how long you've been in school. 60 units=junior transfer.</p>

12

<p>yup thats what i am trying to do right now . i started w 33 units
AP units + classes took @ cc as a highschool student + summer school .</p>

<p>i was just wondering cuz UC apps have sophmore trasnfer section and if u were the case</p>

13

<p>bump bump bump bump bump bump bump bump it up. Any more suggestions or comments please? It would be greatly appreciated.</p>

14

<p>
[quote]
For those that are wondering I'm currently at UCSD, and though I tried to come here with an open mind I find myself somewhat unhappy. I suppose its combination of a somewhat dismal social life (I was somewhat homesick, missing friends, I made some here but I just feel like the campus at times is so dry). . . I can keep my GPA at 3.5 and above pretty easily, and I don't want to end up going to community college just for a slightly better chance, it would just be too [bold]demoralizing and I would lose all sense of academic vigor.[/bold]

[/quote]
</p>

<p>A couple of points.</p>

<p>First, you seem to be lying to yourself and to us about your reasons for transfer. Your complaints about "dismal social life" sound disingenuous when put next to "academic vigor". You cannot have both. If you want to excel academically, you need to pretty much forget about ANY social life. That you are horrified at the thought of going to a community college tells me that you are a prestige ho, and probably want to just transfer up the UC system (which is fine, but you need to understand real reasons behind the transfer).</p>

<p>Second, if you're getting 3.5 at UCSC, you should just stay there. 3.5 GPA is anything BUT "academic vigor". Your GPA will likely drop if you transfer to Cal or to UCLA. But you can, of course, transfer if you do not care about your GPA.</p>

<p>Third, unhappiness (just like happiness) comes from within. Your cannot solve your own existential problems just by transferring to a different campus. Homesick, missing friends, blah blah blah. This is gonna happen everywhere, unless you stay at home. Even if you do, a good portion of your friends will be gone to study out-of-town. If you have trouble finding new friends, don't blame it on "dry campus" at UCSC.</p>

15

<p>You can't have both? Where did you go to school that its one or the other. First off, when I say the campus is dry, what I refer to is spirit. There is no football team, no events that actually would give incentives for people to leave their dorms, so people don't. Second I'm talking about UCSD not UCSC. A 3.5 GPA at any 4 year university esp, within the UC system granted isn't the cream of the crop, but it certainly isn't garbage. What I mean by academic vigor is precisely what I have found my friends who do go to community college doing, absolutely nothing. Many people argue that CC is like a continuation of high school, and it seems particularly true in the way that they STILL throw together items in the last minute and turn it in and get an A. I suppose I was slapped in the face with reality when I tried to keep procrastinating and ended up bombing my first papers. Of course that has since faded and I've devoted myself to studying early beforehand. So why the unhappiness? I've live in a city just like La Jolla my entire life and to be in the same environment I've lived in my whole life is completely dull. You can't simply assume that by going to UCLA / CAL my GPA will drop, even if it did, it certainly wouldn't be significant otherwise you'd have to assume that every CC student that transfers to those schools get dominated. Finally, going to community college, would not only kill my sense of "vigor" but it also be almost pointless. I have enough credits at this time to almost become a junior, so if I were to go to CC what G.E classes would there be left to take, especially since I placed out of them? I suppose I thank you for making me try and understand the reasons behind my transfer but don't criticize especially if you won't end on a note that is actually beneficial to the topic.</p>

16

<p>I'm not criticizing your reasons for transfer. I'm criticizing your contrivances. You can fool us, you can fool admissions officers, but it is inadvisable to fool yourself.</p>

<p>If you "throw together items in the last minute and turn it in and get an A", it means you are not taking classes of the complexity appropriate for your level of education. But you don't have to worry about that since you're not getting all As anyway.</p>

<p>As to social life, if you want to be the best, your social life maybe will happen on weekends. And that's a big maybe. You seem to underestimate the amount of work necessary to be on top of your class.</p>

<p>If your main concern is academic development, you have nothing to complain about. UCSC is a fairly large research university. Unless you have a talent of such caliber as Einstein or Dirac (in which case you would be better suited to attend Caltech or MIT), UCSC is a perfect place to study and to do research for one's undergrad. If your main concern is football games and social life, that's fine too, but you will NOT get good grades at Cal.</p>

17

<p>"I'm talking about UCSD not UCSC."</p>

18

<p>Same difference. If you want to go to a higher rated school, that's fine. If you want to save money on housing by living with relatives, that's fine. But please don't talk about "academic vigor" if you are at 3.5 and please don't invoke friends. If you can't find friends at UCSD, you won't find them at Cal either.</p>

19

<p>You act like 3.5 is cake. LOL. OK. And Please, don't try and think you already know who I am through one post. I asked for advice not for your opinion.</p>