I’m a senior in high school (not in California) right now and I’m deciding on which college to attend in California( I want to go to Cali b/c I’m originally from here). I want to go to a UC, but the only thing that holds me back is the financial cost; I just don’t want to be 200k in loans on my parents back. I’m also pretty much a straight A student and I don’t mind going to a community college. Despite my parents skepticism about it.
So basically, I’ve been talking with my parents about my game plan. I am leaning towards going to community college for 2 years, complete my GED, IGETC, etc and transfer to UCLA or UCB. However, my family has a different idea for what I should do. They think I should attend a CSU for 2 years and then transfer to the UC.
I know that California community college is more of the gateway to enter into one of these UC, but my parents just don’t believe that. They don’t seem to get why a UC school would pick from a Community college rather than a Cal-state. I tried to explain it, but all conversations just end up being a yelling match.
What do you think I should do? Is my parents decision actually the better decision and I’m just to tunneled vision to realize? Any advice would be helpful! Thanks
Thank you for the response. I will certainly show this to my parents. The tuition for out-of-state community college is not an issue; it’s the tuition for university tuition. I’ve done some research about the business school I would like to attend after 2 years of GED/IGETC classes; it seems to be little to no difference in tuition. Eg Haas. However, thank you for the response again. Appreciate it.
understand that LA and B are really selective to transfers too. UCB, for example admitted 106 Biz applicants last year - LA, 212. See for yourself here: https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/infocenter/transfers-major
I would say, transferring to either to study biz is pretty unlikely, regardless of how hard you work and the grades you earn. DO NOT SADDLE YOUR PARENTS WITH DEBT TO PURSUE THIS FOOLISH COURSE.
Not sure where you are from or what your stats are but, the left half of the US participates in a program called WUE, where students from as far East as Colorado get discounted tuition at select public schools in other Western states. In CA, for Biz, these include Cal Poly Pomona, Chico, Sac and SF State, all of which have respected business programs which have much more obtainable admissions. UNR - a stone’s throw from CA is another. read about it here https://outofstatecollegefairs.org/western-undergraduate-exchange-wue-faqs/
There are lots of good schools for Biz in CA, but without your stats i am wasting keystrokes - tell us more about your qualifications and what state you live in for more help.
Agree with @NCalRent that UCB/UCLA are not a guaranteed transfer if you attend a California CC. So OOS community college costs are not an issue? For Santa Monica College, you are looking at $300/unit not including student fees. Add transportation costs, living expenses (rent/board), personal expenses and books and you could be looking at $20K+/year with no guarantee you will get into your target schools.
I think you need to think this through along with your parents. Also the Cal States will be around $40K/year to attend so still a significant cost.
What you should do is look at affordable schools in your home state, get your degree and come to California for work or Grad school.
Transferring from a CSU (assuming you get in as an out of state applicant) to UCLA, UCB or even another UC is more difficult than from a CC to UC for reason as mentioned above and also the fact that CC transfers get higher priority over CSU applicants. UCB Haas accepts transfers primarily from UCB and CC. For 2018, the average GPA to get into Haas from a CC is 3.9 and the acceptance rate is around 5%, not very good odds. Have backup plans if you still intend to come to California.
Well, the first 2 years of high school I lived in California and went to pretty decent schools. Then I moved to Hawaii, where I’m finishing my last 2 years of high school.
My gpa is a 3.9 UW
I’m a pretty straightt forward and dedicated person
I have done multiple internships at business firms
You are no longer a CA resident so it does not matter that you went to HS in California for 9-10th grades. If your parents cannot afford to pay for the UC’s but are willing to pay for a Cal State and you interested in a Business major, then Cal Poly SLO, San Diego State, CSU Long Beach and CSU Fullerton are great options to get your Bachelor’s. The UC’s are good options for graduate school.
A CSU to UC transfer is possible but not as straight forward as the CC to UC transfer. Below is some helpful advice for a CSU to UC transfer:
Get informed and and make a plan.
Use assist and college confidential to get informed and go out to look for any answers you might have. From ASSIST you will get all the information you need for the prerequisites you need for your major. Look up the major prereqs for every school you are interested in transferring to. When you know all the information for which classes to take, make a plan. Plan out which classes you need to take each semester before you transfer and how you will reach those mandatory 60 semester units needed to transfer to a UC. This is probably the most important part of transferring. The faster you have a plan the faster you get to transfer and you will have a easier and clearer path. And look through all the threads on the website and get a sense of what you need to do and what it takes to get a UC.
Don't lose sight of the goal!
I know how hard it has been for me to keep my grades up and take enough classes to stay on track. So when you are striving to get As in those classes and you want to give up, don’t lose sight for what you are doing this for. CSU students probably have to the most to transfer because the odds are against us. If you are not willing to put in the work and you do not have the heart then trying to transfer is not for you especially if you are a CSU student. If you do put it in the work, trust me it will be worth it.
Applications have to be perfect.
When you are finally applying to those UCs, make sure they are perfect when you submit them. Call all the schools you are applying, talk to some counselors, going to workshops if you can… do everything to make sure they are perfect. And for your personal insight questions, start early and and get some expert advice on them. Every CSU has a writing center to my knowledge, go to them with your essays and have them go over it for you and they’ll help you. Talk to counselors because they know what schools are looking for in a good essay and what an applicant should write.
Plan for the worst.
The truth is that CSU students have last priority for transferring to UCs right after 1st) CC and 2nd)UC students. Some of us will not get into the schools we want or might not get into any that we apply to and that is the sad truth. So make a plan for every outcome that is possible. You might go to a UC that you did not expect or you might have to stay where you are now.
if your test scores match your 3.9 UW GPA, you wont have any trouble getting generous merit aid offers from privates. A few to look at for CS, Santa Clara, Univ of San Diego and Loyola Marymount. Net, each will cost substantially less than an OOS UC.
Hawaii participates in WUE so, CPP Chico, UNR, Boise State, Sac, U of Colorado all have good biz programs and will give you manageable tuition.
The reason I said it isn’t a problem is because I have a place to live down in California with my grandmother and the community college I want to go to is right next to her house. I am also fortunate enough to go a to private high school, so the cost of an OOS CC is not that much of a difference
Of course, thank you for the reply. I UCB and UCLA are my top choice, but my alternatives are UCSD and UCI. And I understand that UCI has a transfer program as well, however sadly UCSD does not
Thank you for those wise words; I will certainly follow your advice. I am very driven to complete my goal of transferring to UCB or UCLA. However, if worse comes to worse, I will have a backup plan. Thank you for your response.
Also, living with your grandmother will not make you a California resident, although you may get a break on rent.
As an OOS resident, you won’t get a break on tuition for the UC’s. Living with Grandma makes you even less eligible for instate tuition.
You will be full fees at both the CCC’s and the UC’s/CSU’s. @NCalRent has mentioned the WUE schools which you may want to consider since you seem desperate to come back to California.
… I understand that I won’t get in state tuition. The only reason I mentioned living with my grandmother in Cali is because someone said that board/room would be expensive. That’s why I suggested community college in California intially. My question was if I should go to community college in California or a CSU.
Thank you for the clarification of your possible living situation when coming to California and why you are leaning towards attending a CC
You have a good plan and the CC to UC transfer pathway is better defined than the CSU to UC transfer pathway. Also TAG will make the CC to UC transfer easier if you meet the requirements. What is important is that you get your parents on board including the eventual transfer costs.
I understand your desire to attend UCLA or UC Berkeley. I am very familiar with many Hawaiians attending colleges outside Hawaii based on my own experiences when I was in college and from own relatives’ and friends’ kids recently or currently attending colleges in the mainland. Many of the reasons has to do with more jobs; opportunities in the mainland vs. Hawaii. Also, the big name colleges in the mainland are perceived to be better than the University of Hawaii. Many of these Hawaiian people are will to pay high out of state tuition or private school costs.
You have a good plan. The community college route is the best to transfer to a UC and least expensive. For UCLA or UC Berkeley, you should maintain the high GPA, say around 3.7+, to have a good chance in transferring to those schools.
If affordable, many Hawaiians also like USC since the school gives out financial aid if you qualify. Same for other private schools.
Yah I definitely agree with your statement about the mainland vs Hawaii. Many of my senior friends did that last year for the exact same reason.
Yah I’ve been wanting to go to community college due to the money you save and bridge to UC from ccc connection. However, my parents have a whole different opinion about it( probably cuz their uninformed). I will show them the message you sent me. Thank you for your response.
Are your parents borrowing the cost of CA universities? If you have to borrow $200k to be able to go OOS, maybe you should think about less expensive schools.