<p>Honestly, I've enjoyed my time at USC and the academic quality and prestige of the school is very hard to beat. Unfortunately, I've had a tough time socially adapting to the school and also trouble financially and I would benefit significantly with a transfer. Does anyone know how I should go about this? Is there a counselor I can talk to? I'm majoring in CS, but I don't think Steve Schrader is the right person to talk to about this particular issue. </p>
<p>Can someone point me in the right direction? I guess I'm looking for someone similar to a high school counselor who helps with college freshman admissions.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot guys, and fight on.</p>
<p>I also forgot to mention that I am a California resident and I would be paying in-state tuition at a UC. </p>
<p>I think you will have to wait to transfer as a junior and it might be a little difficult. Community college junior transfers get first priorty. UC Berkeley and UCLA are impacted schools and possibly UCSD. That means that community college transfers are not guaranteed admissions and will need the top grades to be admitted as a transfers. After CC, I think the next priority for transfers are other UC’s and other colleges (or maybe other colleges are after other UC’s in priority). Again, definitely, you need top grades, i.e., at least a 3.7 gpa (from what I heard of kids transferring from UC’s to UCB or UCLA nowdays). You should ask around and also check UCB’s and UCLA’s website. If it is a financial problem, talk to USC or you can attend a community college to finish up your first two years and then transfer as a junior. You can easily explain all this in an application form. I have not been a student in a long while and some of my information might be dated. Definitely, you should talk to counselors and the admissions offices of UCB, UCLA or UCSD.</p>
<p>@UCBUSCalum , thanks for the response. I’m majoring in CS so there’s a high chance that it’s going to be impacted (especially at UCSD). I think UCLA only accepted 2% of their transfer applicants for CS last year. I do have a competitive GPA (3.7+) and a summer full-time CS internship at a tech company in the Bay Area which I think might give me an edge considering many freshman do not get internships that following summer. I will be applying as a junior transfer so I will have the credits.</p>
<p>My real concern is being able to fulfill any kind of admission requirement. This is what I wanted to talk to a counselor about. Do I need to take Writ 150 AND Writ 340 before applying (i.e. 2 semesters of writing)? Would I need to have taken 2 semesters of a science class? I know this is all on the UC website but having a counselor walk me through all this and ensure that everything is in place would be ideal — a counselor at USC. I guess I’ll give them a call and ask about it. </p>
<p>I specifically wanted to ask on this forum in case someone went through the same experience and had any advice to share.</p>
<p>Sorry to hear it isn’t working out perfectly for you and I understand your issues. I am sure there are others in your situation, it is good you are asking questions and getting as much info as you can. But UCBUSCalum is correct, you may only be able to get into UC as a junior (I don’t know the specifics either). Are you open to the state schools as well? Impacted too, but just thinking because my son made an inquiry about some transferring to SJ state because of the $ and they are actually viewed well for engineering, or San Diego state is really pretty…don’t know about their CS…just saying there may be other options that serve you well. I would call every school you are interested in and if you are in proximity to any of them go there before school starts and see if you can sit down with someone. Sometimes showing up works better than an appt, might be hard either way, but talk to them. Also, look beyond the school everyone wants like UCLA. </p>
<p>Socially, have you had a hard time finding “your people” as I call them? Just curious cause I have one in CS and while not the most social outgoing type, he did find a group of guys he is good with, but I understand the challenge. Are you coming back in the fall or are you out?</p>
<p>Always talk to Schrader. Especially because you’d have to in order to modify your course plan to best set you up for transferring to a UC.</p>
<p>If you must transfer, go to Cal, it’s higher ranked than all U of Cs. UCSD is in a great area. Don’t go to UCLA because it’s too close to USC, you’ll have to deal with the rivalry and conflicting emotions, and you’ll need a fresh start. Good luck.</p>
<p>One point to think about is: of the 3 UC’s you are considering, only Cal is on a semester system. UCLA and UCSD are on a quarter system. It gets a little tricky to convert USC’s semester units or specific courses to a an equivalent UC course in quarter units. For example, UCLA might require 2 quarters of Calculus for a major and at USC, you taken 1 semester of Calculus. If you transfer, UCLA will not give you 2 quarter’s credit. You might have to take another semester or a total of 1 year of Calculus to get 2 quarter’s credit at UCLA. You would not have that problem at Cal. The same issues applies to the CSU system if they are on a quarter system. SJSU is on a semester system. I think the same for SDSU. Check the schools’ website and talk to the school’s admission office about about converting units.</p>
<p>You might also want to consider out of state public schools, especially the prestigious flagship schools like Michigan, Washington, Wisconsin, etc. In addition, just to name a few, Oregon, Arizona and Colorado are decent. You’ll pay out of tuition, but it is still financially cheaper than USC. Also it might be more difficult to fit in socially if you are transferring unless you already know people at the school.</p>
<p>One point to think about is: of the 3 UC’s you are considering, only Cal is on a semester system. UCLA and UCSD are on a quarter system. It gets a little tricky to convert USC’s semester units or specific courses to a an equivalent UC course in quarter units. For example, UCLA might require 2 quarters of Calculus for a major and at USC, you taken 1 semester of Calculus. If you transfer, UCLA will not give you 2 quarter’s credit. You might have to take another semester or a total of 1 year of Calculus to get 2 quarter’s credit at UCLA. You would not have that problem at Cal. The same issues applies to the CSU system if they are on a quarter system. SJSU is on a semester system. I think the same for SDSU. Check the schools’ website and talk to the school’s admission office about about converting units.</p>
<p>You might also want to consider out of state public schools, especially the prestigious flagship schools like Michigan, Washington, Wisconsin, etc. In addition, just to name a few, Oregon, Arizona and Colorado are decent. You’ll pay out of tuition, but it is still financially cheaper than USC. Also it might be more difficult to fit in socially if you are transferring unless you already know people at the school.</p>
<p>Do not go to Michigan, it’s too huge and cold; it only starts warming up in May. UW in Seattle is vastly underrated, IMO, and is a beautiful campus in a nice area. I’d go there if I had to go public, BUT you’ll benefit and suffer from the USC “wow” factor so if you go there be prepared to explain ad nauseum why you left Troy.</p>
<p>Can you elaborate on the financial issues? And what would you like socially that is different from SC?</p>
<p>@SeattleTW, I’m going to be honest with you, but I have a hard time finding this “wow” factor. I live in the Bay Area and unfortunately the majority of the people up here just think USC is a school for rich kids who couldn’t get into UCLA. Obviously, this is completely untrue, but I have yet to meet someone who has gone “wow, you go to USC? That’s amazing.” I speak from personal experience so I’m sure yours must have been much different. Also, UW’s CS program is probably more well-known than ours so there’s that. I will consider UW for sure. I was accepted there with a scholarship out of high school so I’m confident I can get in as a transfer.</p>
<p>Perhaps this “wow” factor is also compelling me to transfer. People up here really don’t seem to respect USC the same way they respect UCLA or Berkeley and that really does hurt me since my parents are paying through the roof for me to attend.</p>
<p>In addition, I have a lot of friends from high school attending UC’s, UW, etc…but unfortunately none that attend USC. This would make transferring a bit easier since I would have friends that I could hang out with when I switch schools.</p>
<p>I have lost count how many wows I’ve gotten from UW alums and students; after all, next to Stanford, USC is harder to get into than all other Pac-11 schools, certainly harder than UW. You’ll see. I understand how the Bay area might differ but the Pacific Northwest is not as snobby. Don’t underestimate USC’s prestige up here or elsewhere.</p>
<p>The Bay Area is incredibly snobby when it comes to colleges. If your kids aren’t going to an Ivy League, Berkeley, Stanford, etc…then it isn’t anything special. USC, on top of that, seems to have a negative reputation for being a “football party school” and while people do acknowledge our academic prestige from time to time, the annoying comments about our school really bother me (“How’s Compton?”, “What’s it like going to a day-care for rich kids?”). I’ve heard plenty worse. This is just an additional thing that has irked me for quite some time. There is no doubt in my mind that I would like to transfer, and peoples’ unfair and overly critical perception of USC plays a role – albeit minor – in my decision.</p>
<p>As I have mentioned in my other posts (see P. Haden for USC president discussions), unfortunately, in the Bay Area and maybe even other parts of the country, in some or many circles, USC still has an image as being a football school and a rich kids’ school. Part of this is due to the the Bay Area media and this stems from the pre-1980’s era. Right or wrong, this preception takes years to overcome. I believe the past couple of administrations at USC have done a tremendous job in overcoming this perception. There are even private schools in the Bay Area, such as Santa Clara, USF, St. Mary’s, and others that are not thought of as rich kids’ schools, even though the yearly costs can be as much as USC’s.</p>
<p>@SeattleTW is correct that in the Seattle and Pacific Northwest, USC has the “wow” factor. A relative of mine (a UCB and UW engineering grad) lives in the area and tells me about the USC “wow” factor. I disagree with SeattleTW regarding the difficulty of the Pac 12 schools. The facts indicates that UCB, UCLA and USC are all closely neck to neck second to Stanford in terms of difficulty in getting into those respective schools. UW is right behind those schools.</p>
<p>I think when you get older such comments won’t affect you much and you’ll appreciate your days at Troy. During football season I’m more and more impressed by the caliber and diversity of USC alumni, especially in Seattle, and in contradistinction to UW, Cal and UCLA. Simply put, we’re happier and more family-like. You’ll notice how the alumni up here actually speak to each other as compared to other schools, which is part of the Trojan family mystique. All that talk about rich kids and Compton reflects a tad bit of jealously, IMO, and is kind of humorous to successful USC alumni. I know it can be painful for you and believe me, there were several times when I was at USC that I wished I’d gone elsewhere; however, USC’s brand has and will vastly improve and I met some outstanding friends at there. I’m glad I remained when I could have gone elsewhere. </p>
<p>I was at a popular Seattle sports bar and saw another Trojan wearing her USC t-shirt, sitting with her friend who was wearing a Harvard t-shirt. I said “fight on!” and the Trojan lit up with a smile as we exchanged the victory sign. The Harvard-clad woman looked a bit awkward because her friend and I shared something in common that few others do. I hope you try to reflect on what you’ve had at USC because no college is perfect. One of my good friends up here tranferred from Cal to UW, and I know he regrets it, though I love UW. </p>
<p>Being in the bay area, I feel the wow I get from having 2 at USC is more about “you must be rich” than wow, that is a great school so I just enjoy that anyway, cause I know it is a great school and my kids have connections out of USC like no other. One has this amazing internship and the other is starting a company with other students. I attribute the Compton type comments to small minds and perhaps jealousy, cause their kid is stuck at a public school fighting for classes 
I really don’t see UC grads going out of their way to hire fellow grads at least not like USC alum do. But @Chasseurs, the wow doesn’t mean a thing especially from these narrow minded bay area parents whose kids only seem to disappoint them if they don’t go to HYPS. I am glad it is a small part of your decision, you sound mature so you certainly know what you do at any school is up to you. Wish you luck, changing schools can be quite a task, take care in lining up classes and make sure things transfer.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the comments guys. It really helps being able hearing a different side to everything. I’ll take a closer look at my options and go from there.</p>