I am a California resident who is going to school in Illinois starting my sophomore year, and I want to transfer to a UC due to a change in major. Right now, I’m a computer science major and I want to switch to ecology hopefully to get into the health field. I know I’m the lowest priority for transfers but is it possible and does anyone have any advice? My gpa is not so great, right now it’s a 3.57 but I’m hoping to raise it up to 3.6 this semester. My extra curricular are very good, though they have nothing to do with my new hopeful major.
start by checking the required and recommended courses for Ecology major transfers at those school and making sure you satisfy the required classes. The UCs do give priority to those that have spent a year at a Calif CC but its probably too late for you to come home and enroll at a CC.
Another option is withdraw from UIUC, return home, and start at a CC in the winter term on a 2-year plan at the CC. This would allow you to use the TAG program for guaranteed admission to Davis (San Diego does not offer TAG, although you can apply to one TAG school and as many other UCs for regular admission consideration as you want).
Who can file a TAG?
Only students transferring directly from a California community college (CCC) are considered for a TAG, including international students (those with a visa). A CCC transfer student is one who has completed at least 30 semester (45 quarter) UC-transferable units at one or more California community colleges, and the last college the student attended in a regular session (fall/spring or fall/winter/spring) before admission to a UC campus is a California community college. All UC campuses that offer TAGs require students to meet this definition.
@Gumbymom if you are providing that definition to suggest that the OP may not be eligible for TAG, I don’t think that is what the page says (although I’ll concede I’m not sure).
That page seems to use “file” as a synonym for “eligible”. If you look later down on that page there is a matrix by campus with the heading “TAG Qualifications” with separate columns for “Minimum UC transferable units completed to submit a TAG” and “Minimum UC transferable units required to fulfill TAG”. Under the column for “submit a TAG” they just say the number of UC transferable units needed, they don’t mention anything about them needing to come from a CCC (except for Davis which requires full-time enrollment at a CCC from spring onward).
My interpretation, which may be wrong, is that at the end of the spring term prior to entering UC a student must meet all the TAG requirements, including that of 30 semester units at a CCC. However in order to submit a TAG they just need 30 semester units and to meet the GPA limit and the Math/English completion deadlines.
@mikemac
I probably should have commented on why I posted TAG eligiblity. I did not see you mentioned to OP that they would have a 2 year stay at a CCC for TAG. I thought it said to have OP start Winter and then apply for the TAG the following Fall which mostly likely would not give OP enough units at a California CC. My mistake and you are correct.