Why Should I Transfer from Community College---> UC??

Transfer Students UC Transfers
1

<p>I know its alot, but i know tons of other people besides me are dieing to have these questions answered. Please do your best :)</p>

<p>I know the title might be misleading but let me restate the question:
How can I be sure that it is the right thing to go to community college and then transfer to a UC?</p>

<p>I am in highschool right now and it seems as if my grades are going to either stay or go down(3.3 weighted gpa).</p>

<p>I could probably get into uc santa cruz, merced and riverside, but i would only consider UCSC- and even ucsc might be a slight reach.</p>

<p>If I decide to go to community college, my ultimate goal would be to transfer to UCB, UCLA (TAP), UCSD,UCI, UCD, and UCSB(TAG) as safties.</p>

<p>I know that many people transfer from community college to a UC school, but how was it compared to highschool? Especially if you did not have a good gpa in highschool, but got a good gpa in community college? </p>

<p>Is it really that hard in community college? Have you highschool slackers found out that community college is the same level as highschool? Did you succeed because of the different atmosphere and freedom that community college gives you that you dont recieve in highschool? Were any of you confident that community college would be easy, and then blown away by the level of difficulty? It seems like it is so easy to get into a better UC through community college but honestly, do you need to step up your studying full notch? or is community college just like highschool, but easier for some people to adapt to due to its different circumstances? do you think a 3.5+ gpa will be attainable in community college based on my poor highschool grades?</p>

<p>I am EXTREMELY worried about my future right now, and i hope all you successful transfers and community college students can give me some much appreciated advice. Thanks!</p>

2

<p>…let me say that attending CC and then transferring to a UC is possibly one of the wisest things from many perspectives (even if you have great grades).</p>

<p>Secondly, you must realize that your grades (or lack thereof) are a result of your own slacking off, and not because things were that difficult in high school. If you do, then you will definitely be able to do extremely well in community college. I, myself, am living proof of this.</p>

<p>I am going to be brutally honest: CC is a SIGNIFICANTLY more difficult than high school, but very good grades are definitely attainable, provided you STEP UP and put in the effort!! </p>

<p>I, myself, was a very mediocre student in high school (although that was several years ago - I’m an older student in my 30s). In my case a number of WASTED years being out of high school, doing work that I did not really enjoy, and realizing that I should get off my a** , follow my passion, and make something of myself, got me to join CC and then give it my best shot. I’ve now completed 71 units at CC, have a 3.94 gpa and a great shot at some of the top UCs!! </p>

<p>So, a 3.5 and above is most definitely attainable, PROVIDED you are committed to it. Also keep in mind that it depends on your major. If you’re planning to go into any of the hard sciences (Math, Physics, Chem, Bio etc.) or Engineering, it will require even more effort and commitment, as the “higher” major prep. courses can get very demanding (but again, not undoable). </p>

<p>Another thing to be aware, is that getting into the UCs from CC depends to a very large extent on your major. If you’re not in one of the extremely high demand majors such as Bio/BioChemistry, Biz Econ or Engineering, even if your gpa is in the low to mid 3s, you have a fairly good shot at places like UCB and UCLA.</p>

3

<p>My CC was substantially easier than my high school. If you’re new, I also recommend using ratemyprofessors.com, and subscribing to myedu.com and campusbuddy.com so you can maximize on GPA.</p>

<p>If you actually try you’ll be fine. You’ll get into a higher-rated UC than you would have gone to, almost guaranteed.</p>

4

<p>“…let me say that attending CC and then transferring to a UC is possibly one of the wisest things from many perspectives (even if you have great grades).”
-AGREE</p>

<p>“Secondly, you must realize that your grades (or lack thereof) are a result of your own slacking off, and not because things were that difficult in high school. If you do, then you will definitely be able to do extremely well in community college.”
-AGREE</p>

<p>"CC is a SIGNIFICANTLY more difficult than high school, but very good grades are definitely attainable, provided you STEP UP and put in the effort!! "
-DISAGREE, to an extent. Warriorswillwin, it really depends on the individual and their discipline and study habits. In my opinion, CC is a piece of cake. This is, of course, dependent upon your major and a variety of other factors. Just didn’t want you to get all freaked out! Best of luck!</p>

5

<p>Hey!
Well I actually am at cc only just to get into a UC, but it’s actually been an interesting experience! I worked hard in high school (too hard) and I’m already burning out, so I think people like the OP that do better in CC have a much better chance of succeeding at a UC because they aren’t burned out yet! (hopefully not :P)</p>

<p>But, CC for me is much (MUCH) easier than high school! I’ve never seen so much bonus in my life! If you put in a little bit of effort, there should be no reason why you couldn’t get at least a 3.5. And that’s pushing it! (but it dependson what your major is, too.) If it’s engineering, it’ll be harder, but generally you can figure out a way to get a good grade in the class w/o doing all the work!</p>

<p>Good luck :slight_smile: As an out-of-stater/new CA rez, I’m glad they have this system or i’d never be getting into any of the UC’s ever haha.</p>

6

<p>CC also saves you thousands of dollars on tuition and housing costs. If you had gone to UCLA straight out of high school you’d be paying 55k for your freshman and junior years. By living at home with mom and pop and going to CC for those first two years you save about fifty thousand dollars. That’s A LOT of money.</p>

<p>UCLA total costs: <a href=“http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/budget.htm[/url]”>http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/budget.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>…I should have clarified a little. Yes, some (a few) courses that I have taken in CC have been super easy (like the generals). Tons of “BONUS” or “EXTRA CREDIT” etc. </p>

<p>However, since I am an Electrical Engineering major, MOST of my courses are Math / Science. I don’t know which community colleges you guys go to, but here at El Camino we have some of the most HARD NOSED Math and Physics teachers (especially Physics). NOT ONE SINGLE EXTRA POINT will be given out for free. Besides that, they will throw in puzzles and a few “surprises” in for good measure. In addition to that the grade is based ONLY on the TESTS and FINAL EXAM (and none of them are dropped). So you have a bad day and do bad on one test, then your A is toast!!</p>

<p>…and if you think any of these teachers will curve for ANY reason, think again!! In my Differential Equations/Linear Algebra Class, out of 38 students that initially started, there were only ~17 people left at the end. Out of those, there were just 2 As (myself and a girl that was sitting across from me). There was 1 B, 4 Cs and the rest were Ds and Fs. I think most of the students were hoping for a curve, but the Prof. would not budge. She said what someone earns is the true reflection of one’s worth!</p>

<p>So, I was just trying to give the OP a “reality check”. I should have clarified that the DIFFICULTY depends ON YOUR MAJOR, and also to a large extent on the teachers at the COMMUNITY COLLEGE YOU GO TO. I know of quite a few of our students who have actually taken their Physics courses at Santa Monica College to escape our Physics dept!! :)</p>

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<p>My highschool is nationally ranked for its academics, so CC is joke for me compared to HS. There are some classes that are challenging, but nothing that can’t be done.</p>

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<p>Keep in mind that some CCs are more rigorous than others, and because of this, some CCs have a higher transfer rate than others do.</p>

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<p>predicthisflick-</p>

<p>so you are saying that cc’s such as Santa Monica and DVC have a higher transfer rate because they are more rigorous? Or, are you saying that they have a higher transfer rate because they are easier?</p>

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<p>As a complete high school slacker I can say I’ve enjoyed CC a lot. That said I know many who have not. The teachers in general are less overbearing, yet most are knowledgable and eager to help if you ask. My advice is like someone else said use sites like rate my professoe to find the best professor. I have had a lot of sucess(enjoyed class) by looking for teachers who are hard(according to ratemyprofessoe concensus) but teach well and are fair. If you want you can search for teachers that hand out As, but I know that is not something I enjoy.</p>

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<p>warriorswillwin-</p>

<p>they have higher transfer rates, because they are more rigorous.</p>

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<p>first off, you save alot of money. </p>

<p>second, if ur not sure what ur major is, u can just take lower division and IGETC at cc for only $26 per unit while u still decide what u want to do.</p>

<p>third, it is actually ALOT easier to get good grades at cc. and thus, it’s even easier to transfer as a junior than it is to get accepted as a freshman outa hs</p>

14

<p>i go to santa monica and the reason they got the highest rate is because theres around 30,000-40,000 students going to this school compared to some schools that only got 5000 students so of course theres gonna be more transfers from SMC compared to a school with just 5000 students. also its really hard to get classes you want in SMC cuz they all come here thinking that if they go to SMC theyll get a free ride to UCLA lol. and the difficulty depends on your teachers as well</p>

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<p>Movingunit-</p>

<p>it’s a little more complicated than that…UCLA wouldn’t accept more people from SMC just because there’s more students attempting to transfer from SMC.</p>

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<p>Hi, I’m a current high school student and I’ve been taking CC classes for a while now. I hope I can help you a bit.</p>

<p>The difficulty really depends on the CC and the professor. I’m enrolled in two different colleges - Moorpark College and Riverside Community College - and the environment’s really different. RCC’s facing serious budget cuts because of the recession and almost all of the classes are full because we have a lot of people coming back to school. The situation’s taxed a lot of the professors. Those that have been nice before aren’t even answering emails, calls, or letters. Moopark’s in a relatively stable area and it’s business as usual there. Point is, check your CC out for more than their transfer rate. If their situation’s not very good right now, go to another. It’ll make it a lot easier on you especially if you’re worried about difficulty. </p>

<p>As for professors, some are pushovers, some are just like high school teachers, some like to make you work for a grade, and some just seem to hate people. Ratemyprofessors.com is a good resource to see what students have to say about them. </p>

<p>High school work is A LOT different from college work. One thing you might want to consider is the pace. In high school, you have a full academic year to learn the stuff, but in college, it’s a semester or even an intersession or a fraction of an intersession. I’ve been in classes that lasted for 3 weeks. If you weren’t on top of it, you’re gone. A regular semester’s 10-13 weeks for us, which is OK but not as luxurious as months to learn and get tested on the material. </p>

<p>I’m probably making it sound worse than it is. Your GPA’s not so bad and you’ll probably do fine, if not great, in CC. I’ve met people with high school GPAs of 2.0s and lower who are excelling in CC. The atmosphere is very different. It’s mature. You won’t have a teachers threatening to call your parents if you don’t do the work; they’ll just kick you out. Self-discipline and time management is important. </p>

<p>Here’s what I’d try if I were you: Don’t apply as a freshman - you’ll have opportunities to go much higher than UCSC through CC. Start at your college but take it easy at first. It’s like getting used to the water in a swimming pool. You have to get used to the cold, then go off swimming. I guarantee you’ll do swimmingly once you learn the ropes. 8D You’ll get the chance to go to top schools and you’ll save two years’ worth of tuition (which is rising) and boarding.</p>

<p>EDIT: Forgot to mention this. After taking CC classes with high school, my high school GPA leapt enormously. I was slacking a bit before but now I’m #1 in my class. HS teachers baby us. </p>

<p>I was actually shaking the first day of class at college. I was shocked that it wasn’t as bad as I imagined. The professors still challenge you a bit, or at least the ones I consider “normal” do, but it’s not the academic nightmare I was expecting.</p>

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<p>“I am going to be brutally honest: CC is a SIGNIFICANTLY more difficult than high school, but very good grades are definitely attainable, provided you STEP UP and put in the effort!!”</p>

<p>Not my high school. Ranked top 1000 in the nation, though.</p>

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<p>^^my HS was ranked #2 in the nation by US News last yr, although it dropped to #4 this yr. generally speaking, CC is easier than HS. but some of the courses at CC are harder than my AP courses. but those CC courses are pretty rare. in most cases, if u did poorly in HS u’ll do better in cc</p>

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<p>Most people that say CC is as easy or easier than high school are mainly social science/liberal arts majors. Don’t get me wrong, there ARE some tough history or philosophy courses at some CCs (I’m a history major and have taken courses with stingy professors or ones that require a TON of essays) but for the most part the material is not that hard. </p>

<p>However if you’re taking science classes like physics, chemistry, or biology expect the classes to be A LOT harder than high school. You’ll cover a lot more material in one semester/quarter than you do all year in high school. Plus most professors who teach those subjects expect you to be a lot more independent and self disciplined in comparison to high school teachers who sometimes will hold your hand through the whole process. There’s a reason why so many science classes weed out potential engineering/pre-med students, even at the CC level. Expect to put in A LOT of work if you want to get an A. Be sure to do good on your placement exams for your CC classes as well because a ton of bio and chem courses fill up quickly since everybody and their grandma (literally) want to become nurses or dental hygienists. </p>

<p>If your hard work ethic carries in from high school, then there should be no problem for you to succeed in CC and transfer to a top tier UC.</p>

20

<p>warriorswillwin, I’m going to be 100% honest with you. Going to a community college is by far the BEST decision you could possibly make. In fact, I would even advise starting up on some college classes next semester if you could. If you insist on finishing your last semester of high school instead of getting your GED (which is what I did), then focus strongly on the CC classes and get good grades.</p>

<p>By the time you begin as a freshman you’ll have an idea of how college works, what class is like, the academic rigor, etc. Even if you’re thinking that college courses with high school is too much, it still won’t matter. UC’s DO NOT look at high school GPA whatsoever. Example: I had a 2.0 in my public high school. Then I did “Middle College” (concurrent high school and college enrollment) and had a 1.0. Then I did community college exclusively, (received my GED), declared a major that I now love (Psychology), got in the flow of CC life, and now I have a 3.57 UC GPA.</p>

<p>By next semester I hope to bring that up to a 3.81. In other words, I did horribly in high school. In fact, I could not have cared any less. Community college offered redemption for me and a chance to turn it all around. I took advantage of my last shot to further myself and my passions in school. I hope to be at Cal next year, and (since I applied as a Philosophy major) I’ve heard that I have a decent shot.</p>

<p>Although, even if I don’t get in, I still have TAG’s to Davis and UCSD, which are fantastic schools. I failed so badly in high school. Today, I’m on here every day finding out new information and working hard to go to one of the top public universities in the nation. Keep up the positive attitude and work ethic, and you will thrive!</p>

<p>If you get in to UCSC, I definitely would say that’s an opportunity you would have to consider, but honestly, if you go to a CC I’m willing to almost guarantee that you will be more successful than you were in high school. From your original post I can see that you’re genuinely interested in eventually transferring and committed to turning things around at a CC.</p>

<p>It’s not important to acknowledge that you did poorly in high school because you were lazy or anything like that. What is important is to take advantage of this opportunity and apply yourself. Who knows, maybe we’ll both be at Cal someday. Best of luck!</p>