Why Do UCs Prefer Community College Transfers?

<p>Freshman students who attended a UC other than, say UCB or UCLA, show that they were initially content with the BA or BS degree that their UC offered. These students didn't have the initial desire to transfer to UCB or UCLA in the first place, because if they had, they would have gone the CC route. So no, the top UCs are not accepting transfer students for transfer's sake. Not only are they admitting top CC students who didn't get the initial chance to transfer to their institutions, they are also admitting A-average students who had turned down other UC offers to enroll into a CC with the initial desire to transfer to their institutions.</p>

<p>EDIT: So it works out all for the best. UCB and UCLA get transfer students who both NEED and WANT to be there.</p>

<p>Ok, but a lot of students go to a four year college because while they may not have the desire to get the BA or BS degree their school wants, they do have the desire to be away from home. There are other reasons to go to a school other than to get the degree that school offers.</p>

<p>Lol, and you can't be away from home by attending a community college? Granted, you'll have to work and support yourself if you're at a distant CC since there are no dorms. But by accepting a UC admission offer for whatever reasons, it shows that the freshman is much more content with that UC than his possible option of attending a CC in hopes of transferring to a top UC.</p>

<p>Being away from home, you can move to california to a community college away from your house. Its probably cheaper than going to another college anyway. </p>

<p>UC's weren't and aren't meant to satiate your hunger for prestige, but rather provide a good education to the most intelligent students of California.</p>

<p>And the state of California already pays for the CCC students, why not continue to invest in these people at a higher level?</p>

<p>because cc students do not always constitute "the most intelligent students of California." Just because the state has a vested interest in the future success of cc students does not mean they are the most intelligent candidates for transfer admission.</p>

<p>I was a pretty good student in high school, took all AP classes, As and Bs in everything, ended up with a 3.9 (UC Weighted) w/ a 1210. I applied as a DAP (dual admissions program) where you defer your admission and go to a CC for 2 years, then transfer, for UCI, UCSB, UCSD, and UCLA. UCI and UCSB offered me freshmen admission, UCSD rejected me, and UCLA gave me a deferred admission. </p>

<p>I do agree that my stats were not as competetive for UCLA, but after going to a CC for 2 years, high school is irrelevant. Succeeding in college courses (even CC) requires a different mindset than at a high school, as there's a lot more independence and no one really cares if you don't do well. </p>

<p>I have a newfound respect for CC students to are able to transfer because it shows that they really wanted it...we deserve it. And really, I could've attended UCSB as a freshman and spend 20,000+ a year, but should I do that when I just have to grin and bear it for 2 years, save 40,000+, then transfer to a better institution (no offense UCSB)? CC is the smart, economical choice, not merely for students who slacked off in high school. I think UC transfers shouldn't get any priority at all- you're already at a degree-earning university, stick w/ it and stay there. I agree with ee_stu- if you wanted to graduate w/ a Cal or UCLA degree but didn't get in as a freshman, why would you go to a 4 year and transfer? That never really made sense to me.</p>

<p>I concede that not all ccc students are the some of most intelligent in California, that's why they don't all get into the UC's.</p>

<p>And why should students outside of the State's higher education system be given equal chance as someone who's already in the system?</p>

<p>I would like to see evidence that high GPA CC transfer students are of lower intellectual/academic quality than HS seniors and UC transfers...Current evidence relying on current trends and performance i.e. not old GPA and old SAT scores. And this 'hearsay' that CC is soo easy therefore the CC students themselves must be dumber doesn't sound like evidence :p</p>

<p>bfired, that was a great post.
to eani, mind you, that all the UCs started out to serve california residents....there was no "prestige" involved, and many of their traditions still hold true today.</p>

<p>"because cc students do not always constitute "the most intelligent students of California.""</p>

<p>UC students do not either, I am sure you will agree</p>

<p>I never used the term "hearsay" in reference to cc being easier than UC. I simply said that cc students shouldn't take what their friends tell them as truth or what they have heard about UC being easier than cc.</p>

<p>And to Sweetny007, yeah I agree that UC students don't make up the best and brightest of California. That was exactly my point; it is a combination of cc students and UC students among others that constitute the most intelligent.</p>

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That was exactly my point; it is a combination of cc students and UC students among others that constitute the most intelligent.

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<p>Well it's nice that you say that, but I found this statement to be quite derogatory:</p>

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I don't think it is fair for a cc student to comment on the quality or difficulty of a UC education based on hearsay or their own biased opinions having only set foot on a UC campus during a field trip from their cc.

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<p>This sort of language, whether you intend it or not, paints CC students as uneducated morons that are too elementary for the big, grown up UC. Especially the choice of using "field trip." I don't think that such rhetoric is necessary to an objective discussion on this topic, especially when you speak of bias.</p>

<p>I'm not trying to attack you. I was just irritated with the way that you phrased the statement.</p>

<p>My parents could afford a UC right out of HS, but I went to a community college because I got bad grades in HS. I got bad grades in CC too but I am doing academic renewal and now have a 3.27 GPA and am transferring to the UC system. I am a late bloomer and am now serious about college. Because of my CC, I am not doomed because of past mistakes and I hope to further raise my GPA, apply for my school's honors program, and then attend UCLA or UCB (or UCSD as a backup). The average GPA of transfer students to UCSD from CCs was 2.9!!!</p>

<p>ucbhi,
I was merely defending myself and my school against attacks by mojojojo69 who stated earlier that, </p>

<p>"i actually have friends at UCSB, and my community college offers a better education than UCSB, in fact, we are more competitive. Do not tell me that a 4.0 at UCSB should be more valued than a CC, because you are totally wrong."</p>

<p>Mojo made a definitive statement regarding the quality of UCSB in relation to his/her cc based on his/her friends' experiences. I am not saying UCSB, or any UC for that matter is "better" than any cc. All I have been trying to do is discourage people from making statements regarding a school they have never been to. One of my points from an earlier post was that many, if not most UC students, including myself, have taken classes at the community college AND UC level, and therefore are qualified to pass judgement on the two (at least the two individual schools they attended). Someone who has only attended cc should not comment on the difficulty/quality of any UC. That was my point and I apologize for iritating you with my derogatory comment.</p>

<p>I hate the argument "CC is easier and the people trasferring are dumb" First of all I know many people, the ones who had 4.0+ GPAs in HS on academic probation who couldnt' make it in UCs. Second, the classes transfer and the material is the same, taught by PhDs from well known Unis. I had professors who had PhDs from UCI, UCB, Stanford...CC is known for its small class sizes and one on one interaction with students and professors aren't required to research so they prefer to teach there instead of some 4 year uni. As for it being easier, that's not true either...easy depends on the subject taught and the professor teaching it. I have had classes ranging from ridiculously easy to ridiculously difficult...one of my Physics class was taught by a prof who only gave out 3 As and 5-6 Bs...the rest of the 30 or so people got Cs or Ds...I have also had classes where the entire class has gotten As or Bs. So a class being easy has nothing to do with it being in UC or CC...it's not like the classes at CC are deliberately being dumbed down...that is ridiculous. As for students being less intelligent...yes CC is filled with kids who couldn't get into a good 4 year college and are generally underachievers...but it's also filled with very intelligent people who couldn't afford the 4 year education (and if you live in CA you know how this has increased over the years) or have some difficult personal circumstances and international student who are looking for an affordable alternative. </p>

<p>eanicich: you are basing your argument on taking a couple of classes in CC...so if I had taken an easy class at a UC and then compared it with the difficult physics course at CC should I conclude that UC is easier compared to a CC?</p>

<p>Why does nobody in here understand my point!!! I never made the statement that I thought UC was harder than cc. A cc student did, however, make the statement that his/her cc was harder and more competitive than a UC. I called that person out and made the argument that only those who have attended both have the necessary perspective. I left it at that. YOU are saying I came to the conclusion that UC is harder than cc...never said that.</p>

<p>Gadzooks, this thread is huge! I really didn't mean to start something so big.</p>

<p>To the person who said that someone who couldn't afford to be a private college wouldn't attend at a first place: I got a lot more aid from Duke last year and had more outside scholarships. Now Duke'd be a lot harder to pay for and I don't really know what to do.</p>

<p>I'm in no position to compare CCs to UC classes, because I've only attended a few classes at UCB and heard what other UC students say, and have likewise only taken a few [terrible] LACC classes. </p>

<p>However, I can provide my own story how the priority thing might make UCs overlook other qualified students. I applied to transfer from Duke to UC Berkeley in my first year and came out with a 3.8 GPA. With AP credits, I would have ~100 transfer units at the end of my first year. I'd gotten into Berkeley before while applying in my senior year of high school, but I was still worried 'cause I was relying on my AP credits a great deal as a basis of transfer and visited an advisor at Berkeley last semester. She seemed very sure that I'd be fine and was all smiles. After I was rejected, I submitted my appeal to the Admissions office at Berkeley in person (I was visiting again) and there to accept the appeal was the same advisor I'd seen. She seemed genuinely surprised I needed to appeal and said these as parting words: "I did tell you during the advising meeting that we favor community college transfers, right?"</p>

<p>As if that would make me feel better. Throughout the process, I gabbed frequently with a friend of mine who was also trying to transfer to Cal from SMC. Only she had a wealth of resources with which to help her do it. I understand that CC students deserve to have some outreach people tell them their CC achievements can get them to a four-year college (and these officers certainly wouldn't be going to Duke), but I couldn't help but feel terrible every time my friend mentioned just how much help she was getting. She was in a CC-to-UCB recruitment program of some sort. She talked regularly to admissions officers and counselors on a regular basis who practically begged her to let them see her application essays. She offered me the email address of one of the officers, sure the officer would provide me with some assistance if not the same amount the friend was getting--and the officer was positively cold with me, even asserting that I could not receive help from anyone barring those advisors I would have to fly out to visit at Berkeley.</p>

<p>Needless to say, my friend got in and I didn't (not even after an appeal).</p>

<p>Poor thing.</p>

<p>If it makes you feel any better, I got into UCLA on a 3.1gpa.</p>

<p>"I got a lot more aid from Duke last year and had more outside scholarships. Now Duke'd be a lot harder to pay for and I don't really know what to do."</p>

<p>Did you not realize you would have to come up with tuition for all four years?? You should have realized it would be a stretch for you financially and gone with the less expensive choice to begin with. Seems silly to me, sorry.</p>

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Poor thing.</p>

<p>If it makes you feel any better, I got into UCLA on a 3.1gpa.

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<p>Oh, loads. :) </p>

<p>I suppose I can find cheer in the fact that Cal sent my app to Riverside and Merced for some reason and I was accepted to those schools...w00t?</p>