I am currently a high school senior. I applied to a lot of private colleges and HBCUS but I decided that I did not want to go. I live in california and the only schools I applied to were CSU’s such as SJSU, SFSU, and CSUEB. Know that I decided that I do not want to go to any of the privates or HBCUS those are my only options because they are not only too expensive but not the schools I want. I don’t know why I did not apply to any UC’s but my goal is to go to a CSU then transfer to a UC. My top choices as of now is SJSU or SFSU. I wanted to know if that would be possible, I don’t necessarily want to go to UCLA or UCB but maybe UC Merced, UCSD, UC Santa Cruz, etc. The major that I am pursuing is history.
If you KNOW you want to graduate from a UC, then the best path is either gap year or a CC. With a gap year, you get a fresh application window and some time to make $ while you wait. With a CC, you get a well paved path to your transfer (and TAG) People can and do transfer from CSUs to UCs every year. No question it is possible.
https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/infocenter/admissions-source-school
You can use the tabs and radio buttons on that tool to find that dozens of people move from a CSU to a UC while thousands move from CCs to a UC. When you register for classes at a CC, you will know exactly which box the course checks on your requirements list - and you will be surrounded by many people with the same objective. At a CSU, course mapping isn’t simple (but, obviously, it can be done) and you won’t have many people to validate your plans and progress toward transfer.
Of course gap years and CC to UC transfers both have risks and downsides. In all likelihood, you won’t graduate in 4 years (which may, or may not be a big deal to you) unless you have a ton of AP credit, . You don’t get the 4 year experience and you have to start over with friends, etc.
I’d suggest you spend some time on SF and SJ’s campuses, talk to existing students, maybe sit in on a class or two. If you hate both, great! decision made! I would discourage you from attending either with the mindset of “I plan to upgrade to a UC in 2 years”. You won’t engage with the campus, make friends, etc. It won’t be an enjoyable experience - and, frankly, you’d be over-paying for tuition(vs a CC). My guess is, you’ll be impressed with one or both - if so, why not go? If you feel the need to transfer after a couple of year, know that door is open too - just not as plan A.