<p>Hello,</p>
<p>I am a junior in high school and my grades are not the greatest (3.5 GPA 1900 SAT).
I want to major in business management. My dream UC is Berkeley but I am afraid I will not get in. If I am not accepted should I go to a Community College and transfer? I heard that UC's give CC student priority. Is this true? What should I do? Can an experienced person shed light on my dilemma? Thank you.</p>
<p>Yes, everything you say is true. If you don’t get in go to CCC where you will have an excellent shot.</p>
<p>My grades and SAT scores weren’t so great in high school either(Your grades and SAT scores are much better than mine were!). I went to community college and got in where I wanted.</p>
<p>Work hard in community college and you’ll be competitive for Berkeley. </p>
<p>How long did you attend the CCC? I do not want to be in a CCC for more than 2 years. Is this possible for a business major?</p>
<p>I was there for two years, @Elinker.</p>
<p>If you attend full-time each semester, you should be able to transfer on schedule. Take classes in summer and winter sessions if necessary.</p>
<p>CCC transfers get priority, but that doesn’t guarantee you anything. I think Cal’s overall acceptance rate for transfers is 20%ish, lower for impacted majors (sometimes 5-10%). I don’t know about business specifically, but I think Haas is fairly competitive. I always tell students to have a plan B when they’re applying to Cal, it’s just too competitive to assume you’re in.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that transfer admissions are a totally different game. Test scores mean nothing, and there’s a huge weight on GPA and coursework. Highschool classes tend to have busywork, college grades are typically based on a couple large assignments or exams. The classes you’d be taking at CC would also be mostly prerequisites related to your intended major, but that’s a good thing for most students. But you’ll need to be responsible for your own learning. CC might be easier than UC, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. You’ll have to put in a lot of work still.</p>
<p>As for transferring in two years, again I wasn’t business, but I think it’s possible for any major. Plan your schedules wisely. Look out for long chains of pre-reqs (like math series), and be sure to start those early. If you can, figure out which classes aren’t offered very often, some colleges will only offer a specific class every other semester.</p>
<p>I second all the advice here but want to add to take your placement test very seriously.</p>
<p>@luckie1367 </p>
<p>I agree. I would’ve saved a lot of trouble in my time at CC if I did better on the math placement test.</p>
<p>That is the number one complaint of all of my CC friends, that they had to start in remedial classes and work their way up. I’m glad my HS counselor warned me. I only studied for about a week but that was enough 
</p>
<p>And parking, ALWAYS over estimate how much time it will take to park.</p>
<p>Ugh, why does this have to be so difficult? I wish here weren’t so many secrets. </p>
<p>@Elinker </p>
<p>Who knows.</p>
<p>But we’re here to help and demystify the process of transferring. :)</p>
<p>Did you go to UCLA Cayton?</p>
<p>@Elinker </p>
<p>No. I will be starting school there this Fall quarter.</p>
<p>And you transferred from a CCC? If yes, could you go into detail on how it worked? That would be extremely helpful. @Cayton</p>
<p>@Elinker </p>
<p>I did.</p>
<p>I basically did what you’re doing and what you will do: work on personal statements in the application, input grades I earned and stated that the classes I was currently taking were “In Progress.” I updated my application in January with the grades for those classes as well as my spring schedule, which is required of all applicants.</p>
<p>I completed all of the necessary classes for my major by the end of Fall to be as competitive as I could. I’ll be happy to go into detail about any aspect of the application if you want.</p>
<p>Did you have any extracurriculars?</p>
<p>Thanks for taking the time to respond. It means a lot. @Cayton </p>
<p>@Elinker </p>
<p>Just volunteering at a local food bank. I wrote about that experience and how it pertained to my major. I didn’t have too many hours, but I felt that I gained a lot from it and conveyed that in my personal statement.</p>
<p>And no problem. I’m always here to help if you need it.</p>
<p>I feel that my 2 years at the CCC will be terrible since I do not want to be there. I will probably be counting down the days until I can transfer . Did you feel this way? Were you bored? #-o #-o </p>
<p>@Elinker </p>
<p>Your experience may differ, but I feel that the time I spent at CC was quite valuable. I learned a great deal in and out of class and I made many new friends there. Admittedly, though, you’ll find no shortage of slackers in your classes and the social scene in community colleges can’t compare whatsoever to those you’ll find at a university.</p>
<p>I hope you enjoy your time at a community college. It’ll help if you make the most of it. I tried to, and I think that helped a lot.</p>
<p>Thanks again @Cayton </p>