Hi, I’m Ishaan . I recently acquired a Green Card to the USA . I am seeking advise on whether I should join a Community College or take a gap year to do my SAT . I consider myself a hardworking student and wish to Major in Computer Science . I am searching for Community Colleges in California that will give me good opportunities to transfer to top universities . I would like to know -
Whether it is probable that I would be able to transfer to a good universitiy (such as Berkeley , UCLA, USC, UCSD, Irvine etc ) , if I maintain a good gpa in courses required for my Major (CS) .
Will it be better to take a gap year and prepare for SAT to get into the university of my choice .
Does the Community college one goes to effect the chances of transfer to a certain university?
Hi @Ishaandham – welcome! And congratulations on your Green Card.
I’m not an expert in California Community Colleges, but from what I’ve read on this forum, California has a great system that helps students successfully transfer into four-year colleges. Without knowing your GPA it’s impossible to know whether to advise that you first go to CC or to try to go directly into a UC.
Perhaps consult the California College forum or repost your question there. This forum has a lot of people from California who can help you.
UC schools do not even allow students to submit SAT scores. Focus on major prereq classes using assit.org. Get good grades and you should be fine. Do not spend time on SAT unless you are considering out of state schools. USC requires SAT only if you are sophomore transfer. UC schools only accept junior transfers.
If you maintain a high GPA and complete all the major and GE required courses at California Community college, then yes you would be able to apply and transfer to a UC.
Some UC’s: Merced, Riverside, Santa Cruz and Davis offer TAG (Transfer Admission Guarantee) for Computer Science. You need to complete all required courses and maintain a specific GPA to get a guaranteed transfer into one of these UC’s.
UCI and UCSB no longer accept TAG for CS. UCLA, UCB and UCSD do not participate in TAG.
UC’s only accept Junior level transfers (60 semester/90 quarter units) and the SAT is not required. As stated above, if you plan to apply to other schools (Not UC’s or Cal States) you may need to take the SAT.
Some community colleges may have more of the required transferable CS courses than others, so if you have a choice, look over their course catalogs and use assist.org to help determine which courses you will need for transfer.
There is some lack of clarity on whether this OP actually has CA residency. He has a green card, but might not actually have CA residency.
If he doesn’t have CA residency for tuition purposes…how would he pay for the CA public universities…any of them…since they don’t give need based aid to those who are not CA residents.
@Ishaandham One of the top community colleges in the nation is Santa Rosa Junior College. It was made for students to go right into UC Berkeley after they graduate. It has some of the best teachers in the state (many graduating from UC Berkeley, UCLA and Stanford). It has the highest transfer rate to UC Berkeley in the nation. Also, it has a great STEM program. However, the STEM program is very difficult as the classes there are modeled after UC Berkeley. Students who have gone to both Santa Rosa Junior College and UC Berkeley say the STEM classes have about the same level of difficulty. I would think UC Berkeley would be a bit more challenging however. People say Santa Rosa Junior College is the Ivy League of Community Colleges. It even looks like one.