Hi,
I’m Callum, currently 17 and from the UK. I’m looking to study as an international student at a California community college, then hopefully transfer to a UNI. I completed high school and received C/B’s, with these grades would I do well in community college and have a high chance of transferring? I messed around a lot in high school and didn’t study much, I know if I tried I could have achieved a lot better results. What courses should I take to have a good chance of transferring, and is it also a pass or fail, or are you given a grade at the end that the uni will look at.
Any help is appreciated!
Community colleges in the US are not really set up for international students. You won’t get any financial aid. Generally there is no housing and meal plans. You’d also have to figure out transportation.
Did you take any A levels while in the UK? The A levels are considered to be slightly harder than a typical US first year college course. So if your C/Bs are from A level, then you would struggle in a community college as well. You might consider starting slow (1 or 2 classes) and then expanding your study skills. The reason is that transferring to a 4 year university would be highly dependent on your Community College grades.
Why do you want to go to California?
What is your budget?
I am worried that your preparation might be weak, particularly in math and English.
I was sorta in your shoes last year. I’m not from the UK but my high school used the British Curriculum. I also received C’s and B’s in high school. I got 3 E’s in my Alevels. I flunked most of my exams because I didn’t put in much effort. I started community college in the US last year and so far, I have a perfect GPA. It’s really all about the effort you’re ready to put in.
The courses you need to take to transfer depend on the major and the university you’re transferring to. You have to compare courses at the community college and the university. You also have to check transfer policies at the university you plan on transferring to. You can talk to an academic advisor at the community college and they’d be happy to help. You’re given grades at the end of community college that the university will look at.
@Gumbymom might be able to tell you for sure, but I wouldn’t count on a CC-to-UC transfer automatically giving you in-state tuition. There is more to residency in California for tuition purposes than just an address in state. Can you afford $60,000 per year to pay for your junior and senior years (years 3 & 4) of college?
To get in-state tuition for the UC’s, you have to meet all of following conditions:
** There are THREE requirements for qualifying for residency for tuition purposes.
- Physical Presence
You (or your parent) must be physically present in California on a continuous basis for at least 366 days immediately prior to the residence determination date.
Residency may not be established in absentia and the prior residence must have been relinquished.
You or your parent must be able to demonstrate physical presence in California with sufficient documentation. The documentation can include receipts, bank statements, credit card bills, and housing contracts. The burden of proof is on you to demonstrate that you were present (as opposed to the University having to prove that you were NOT present).
Within the 366-day period, you or your parent can be absent from California for a total of six weeks.
A residency classification will not be granted for absences that exceeds six weeks.
2. Intent to Remain in California
You (or your parent) must demonstrate the intent to make California your permanent home and relinquish ties to your previous place of residence. Examples of establishing California legal ties include but are not limited to:
obtain a California Driver’s License or State Identification card within the first 30 days of arriving in California
register vehicle in California (if applicable) within the first 30 days of arriving in California
register to vote in California (if applicable) within the first 30 days of arriving in California
file California state income tax returns as a resident or part-year resident on all taxable income earned in or out of the state after arriving to California
file out-of-state income tax returns as a nonresident or part-year resident on income earned prior to arriving to California
3. Financial Independence
FOR UNDERGRADUATES ONLY:
If you are an unmarried undergraduate under the age of 24, you must be financially dependent on a California-resident parent. If your parent does not meet the UC residency requirements, you must be able to verify financial independence for the two full years immediately before the term in which you wish to enroll.
Relevant documentation to support a finding of financial independence may include tax returns from the student to verify the student’s income, as well as W-2s, two year budget of income and expenses, official apartment rental contracts or leases, and copies of all financial documentation (bank statements, loans, trust, etc.) to verify the sources of the student’s income/savings. The student must not have accepted any type of financial assistance from any individual, including California residents, during the required two years.
Requirements: An undergraduate student or a student enrolled in a degree or non-degree program who is not dependent on a California-resident parent will meet the financial independence requirement if s/he meets the following criteria:
a. student was not claimed as an income tax dependent by any individual for the two tax years immediately preceding the term for which resident classification is requested.
AND
b. student is self-sufficient. Student has supported self with own resources (employment, commercial/institutional loans in student’s name only, financial aid and savings from earnings, all of which require official documentation) for two full years prior to the residence determination date for the term s/he proposes to attend the University.
What’s your budget?
Community College will likely cost you $25,000 a year, and after that as an international transfer you won’t qualify for any financial aid. UCs would cost $65,000 a year, and CSUs 40,000.
Did you complete GCSE’s only or A-Levels also, and if so in what subjects?
If you got B-C grades at A-Level, you’d likely qualify for UCM, UCR, perhaps less selective majors at UCSC (major in the US = “course” in the UK).
(it’d be a 3.2-3.3 GPA in the US, with high rigor).
If that was for GCSE’s, we’d need more detail.
Some universities will admit you with B-C grades - and, due to coronavirus, some may even admit you for Fall 2020. However they’d be unlikely to give you a scholarship that late in the game.
Have you taken the SAT or ACT?
What are your EC’s? (sport, job, etc = anything you do do when not in school)
In California, College of the Siskiyous has dorms.
In NYS, TC3 does, too.