<p>So I sent my SIR to UCR and I didn't get off the waitlist for UCSC (no one did this year) and now I'm debating whether to just stick with UCR or cancel it and go to my local community college where I can TAG to UC Davis, and apply to the UCs I didn't get into this year. I already enrolled in this community college right when registration started a while back just in case so I'm not at a disadvantage for classes.</p>
<p>I'm honestly going through so many emotions right now. UCSC really disappointed me not just for the waitlist, but the fact that people worse than me got in and that if I had chosen a different major, I probably would have gotten in. I've visited UCR and while it is a nice campus, I don't know if I would be happy there considering how isolated it is and considering I'm from Northern California (the Bay Area) how the majority of students are from SoCal. I don't know if it suits my personality. I don't want to go there and be miserable and regret it. I would also be like the only one from my school going there, no one from my school really goes there. And I don't think it's homesickness so much considering I would definitely go to UCI, UCSB, UCLA, or UCSD if I got in those. It's also the peer pressure which I'm getting from both directions. People are saying I should just go there because it's a UC but I don't want to go there if it's the only one I got in. Others are saying everyone gets in. I know I shouldn't follow peer pressure, it's just I'm wondering that if I have the potential to go somewhere better, why not try for better.</p>
You are mistaken. Here is what the “Freshman Matrix - University of California” says about UCSC: “Choice of major does not affect admission to the campus.”</p>
<p>There are pluses and minuses to each approach, everyone needs to make their own decision. There is something to be said about continuity at a college. People are more open to making new friends when they start as frosh and know few others. It gives more time to get to know some profs (a key for getting good recs for grad school). Just 2 reasons why 4 years in one place is better than 2. </p>
<p>And just to throw it out there, I’ve read posts on this forum by people who start at school X with the intention of transferring in a year or two but who then find they like the school once enrolled, they have friends they don’t want to leave, etc. So if you go to UCR that may happen to you. Indeed, perhaps is likely, if the discussion about how we are bad at predicting our future reactions in the book “Stumbling on Happiness” is any guide.</p>
<p>Note, too, that your 1st 2 years of college will be quite different depending on where you go. Most CC students live at home, which would be much different than going to UCR and becoming part of the student community. You talk about peer pressure, and its a real effect. In college, too. At UCR most of the kids will get a 4-year degree. There are some CC’s with good reputations, but without knowing which one you will attend the overall average isn’t too promising.
When</a> many of the kids around you are unprepared the classes will not have the same rigor as at a UC, and your peers may actively enforce the social norm of low performance. You won’t want to be the kid always raising his hand with the answer. Again, though, this isn’t all CC’s. </p>
<p>And on the flip side many UCs offer the TAG guarantee, including UCI and UCSB. If you have the potential you believe then you would be able to satisfy the conditions and get a promise of junior year admission to a school you prefer.</p>
<p>Funnily enough, I was faced with a situation much like your own a few years ago.</p>
<p>I was a pretty bad student in high school and didn’t do much work. Consequently I had low grades but high test scores and I ended up being waitlisted at UCSC and UC Davis. I was so lazy I didn’t even send them supplemental essays to stay on the waitlist and was obviously rejected. UCR was the only one, alongside UC Merced, to accept me out of highschool. Now you have to understand, I was pretty lazy academically and I was pretty idealistic so I had no problem going to UCR and was excited to be getting away from home and seeing the world for myself. Unfortunately I was rescinded from UCR after I got a D in A.P Calculus senior year. I was then forced to attend to my local community college because I really had nothing else available. </p>
<p>Today, I have been admitted to UCLA, UC Berkeley, UCSC, UCSD, UCSB, UCI, and UCD. I never really knew what it meant to study until I got to community college; in high school I would pay attention in class and if I understood the material I would understand it and if I didn’t I wouldn’t even bother to try and learn it or study. I know that seems childish and immature and I absolutely think it was. I also never knew what it meant to have a goal and stick through with it. When my CC didn’t have a class I needed and I didn’t have a car (which I still dont…) I would take the bus to another CC to take it. I feel like I grew a lot going to CC. I worked while I was in school and made some money. I learned how to balance spending time with friends, taking care of classes, and going to my job. Plus I got into all these great schools and saved 2 years of tuition/rent/fees at a UC and actually made quite a bit of money through working/saving at my CC. </p>
<p>So I think, even though the choice was made for me, that it all worked out in the end. Who knows what would have happened if I went to UCR? Maybe I would have remained a lackluster student and passed my classes with C-'s. Maybe I would have blossomed and grown into my own, aced all my classes, and found myself. I don’t know and I don’t care now that I think about it. I am making the most of things now and that’s all that matters.</p>
<p>By the way, in regards to what your peers think or say, I would just ignore them. They might seem important now and you might want to impress them but trust me you are going to quickly learn how erroneous that is. In a month or 2 you are not going to be communicating with these people. DO NOT make an important life decision based on your relationship with high school peers because 1 day you might wake up in UCR, hating your situation and wondering why on earth you decided to make such a major choice based on the opinions of other people.</p>
<p>What is wrong with not knowing anyone because no one from your school is going to UCR? What’s wrong with us SoCal students? I think your mind is still stuck in high school and you just need to break out of it as soon as possible.</p>
<p>Honestly, if the college experience means a lot to you, staying 4 years at UCR would be much better than 3 years of CC then being rushed through 2 more years of the UC of your choice. The atmosphere of CC is no where near as good as any university. You have those small group of people that enjoys the college life and is always working hard to transfer; then there are the rest who makes you wonder why they are even in college.</p>
<p>Most importantly, it’s all about what you make out of it. If you’re going to sit in your dorm all day then you would be miserable at any university. Going out making new friends and being active on campus at UCR is not a hard thing to do as you will always find cool people at any UC campus.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, you can always transfer from UC to UC which should be easier now that they have change the admission priority for UC to UC. It’s expensive but I’d rather spend two years with UCR student’s than most CC students and who knows, you might not want to transfer after at all after two years.</p>
<p>Thank you @socaltransfer14 for sharing your experience. I don’t want to go to UCR because it’s the only place I got in. I want to go there because I actually want to be there. And honestly I don’t think I’ll be happy living there for 4 years. I didn’t have an emotional attachment with the place. I don’t feel any excitement. I know living at home for 2 more years will suck but if it gets me somewhere better than it may be worth it. </p>
<p>Just know that it is possible to transfer UC to UC transfer. So you can do two years at UCR and the last 2 years at another UC.
So the question now becomes do you want to transfer from a UCR or from a CC?</p>
<p>I only got into UCR after hs. All my friends were going to UCs but I took the cc route to SMC and now I just SIRd to UCLA. In the end of the day, just make sure you’re happy. Life is too short. Yes there are pros and cons, but it’s up to you to decide what you need. Best of luck!</p>
<p>@Dagoberto How hard is it to transfer from UCR to another UC? I know it’s harder than CC transfer but if not UCB or UCLA, I would like UCD, UCI, and UCSD.</p>
<p>I too SIR’d to UCR… 2 years ago, having been rejected just about everywhere else, including my appeal to UCSC. I really wanted to attend UCR and get the real “college experience”, but my parents refused to help finance my education for 4 years at UCR, so I grit my teeth and buckled down at CC. I must admit, I did not absolutely love my experience at CC, but like many others who have attested here, I got into great schools of my choice (UCSD, UCLA, etc.) after just two years. I also have a greater sense of what I actually want to study and what I want to do with my life after college. My two cents, if money is not an issue at all, go for UCR. Transferring from there shouldn’t be too hard if you work very hard and get good grades there. I actually just talked to someone who transferred from another UC to UCLA when I visited the UCLA campus today, so it definitely can be done. But then again, you can’t really go wrong with CC either, it truly is a great, inexpensive opportunity for a fresh start.</p>
<p>@chs2014 From my understanding UC transfers are second on the priority list of transfers behind California Community College (CCC) Transfers. You would be ahead of Cal State’s or any other out of state universities. at UCLA I met a former UCSC transfer student. If you look at transfer statistics <a href=“https://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/adm_tr/Tr_Prof13.htm”>https://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/adm_tr/Tr_Prof13.htm</a>
you will see the UCLA transfer admittance rate 27.7%. The CCC admittance rate was 28.7% and for other UC’s it was 21.5%. the other categories had even less acceptance rate… I would guess that other UC’s would have similar admittance correlation where the UC-to-UC admit rate is slightly lower than the total admit rate…</p>
<p>There are many pros and cons between choosing UCR or your local CCC, In my opinions the pros and cons are</p>
<p>Pros: your local CCC will save you money by living at home. Also they will encourage you to transfer by offering many resources (transfer center, TAP, TAG)</p>
<p>Cons: CCC’s are overcrowded so it will be difficult to get all your classes, the average transfer takes 3/4 years to transfer (it took me almost 6 years to transfer)</p>
<p>Pros: UCR is already a UC so you will be exposed to University life for you entire stay. Since its also on quarter system you have the chance to graduate on time… In the event that you don’t transfer to another UC you can just get Bachelor’s from UCR… also as a UCR student you are allowed at least one quarter/semester any UC of your choosing. </p>
<p>Cons: ITS UCR!!! , Its in the Inland Empire!!! you might not be as motivated since the majority of your peers most likely also got rejected from other UC’s and this was their last step before going to a Cal State. Also understand that UC’s dont like to lose students so you will be discouraged by your counselors from transferring. Also UCR tuition will be a lot more expensive than your local CCC…
one last con: ITS UCR!!!</p>
<p>visit your various local CCC’s and UCR to see where you think you belong. dont know if you from the So-cal area but UCLA we offer the Center for Community College Partnerships, where they guide you on how to tranfers. In fact yesterday there was a reception and many former CCCP scholars have gotten admitted to the top UC’s.
<a href=“http://www.cccp.ucla.edu/”>http://www.cccp.ucla.edu/</a></p>
<p>try not to get to down on yourself, just know that if you get good grades in college you can transfer to UCLA and Cal (the other UC’s are ok, jk) whether you choose CCC or UCR</p>
<p>Alright thank you. I will stick with UCR then instead of going to a CC and try for a intercampus transfer after 2 years so if that doesn’t work out I still have something to fall back on.</p>
<p>As @Dagoberto stated, your GPA is everything. Just remember if for some reason you accumulate too many units at a UC, and decide to leave UCR and go to CC, you will always carry those UC units with you which may effect your eligibility to ever transfer if you opt for the cc later. </p>
<p>In addition, notice the difference in grading scale. At CC (at least in SMC) if you get a 90.1% you get the A, a 4.0. At UCR, this is an A- which is worth 3.7 to reflect the true percentage of 90.1. </p>
<p>In the end of the day, it’s a number game. Hope it helps. </p>
<p>21.5% UC-UC acceptance rate is really bad compared to 28.7% CC because most of the people who qualify to even attend another UC could get into UCLA (assuming they pick a not soo difficult major) from CC. </p>