I want to major in Electrical engineering. I have taken two years in community college and will have about 75 units by the end of this semester (currently with a 3.7 gpa). I only applied to CSU’s for the fall of 2020, but now I want to stay another year in CC and apply to UCSD, UCSB, and UCI. I still have about 20 units I can take for my lower division courses at CC. I just don’t want to be a part time student or take a semester off. What should I do?
Since CC units are all lower division, the UC’s will cap the transfer units at 70 units and the rest will get subject credit. You are fine.
From the UC website;
** Limitations on Transfer Credits
Students will be awarded up to 70 semester/105 quarter units of credit for lower-division coursework completed at any institution or any combination of institutions. Subject credit only will be awarded for appropriate coursework taken in excess of this unit limitation and may be used to meet requirements.
• Units earned through: AP, IB, and/or A-Level examinations are not included in the limitation and do not put applicants at risk of being denied admission.
• Units earned at any UC campus (Extension, summer, cross/concurrent and regular academic year enrollment) are not included in the limitation but are added to the maximum transfer credit allowed and may put applicants at risk of being denied admission due to excessive units.
• Note: if all courses are completed at one or more 2-year (community) colleges, a student would never be in danger of having too many (excessive) units.
Examination Scores/Grades
The University of California awards credit for examinations as follows:
• College Board Advanced Placement (AP) – more information
• International Baccalaureate (IB) Higher Level – more information
• GCE, Singapore-Cambridge and Hong Kong Advanced Level (A-Levels) – more information
Additional Guidance
California Community Colleges:
Every California community college has an agreement with UC - a Transfer Course Agreement (TCA). The TCA specifies which courses receive UC credit. To learn if college courses from a California community college are transferable to UC, go to the ASSIST website. The lists are updated throughout the year, so check ASSIST periodically to ensure you have the most current information.
Other 2-yr and 4-yr institutions:
UC does not have transfer course agreements with institutions other than California community colleges. However, using ASSIST and/or referring to any UC campus’ general catalog can provide guidance on the likelihood that courses from other institutions would transfer to UC.
International Academic Records:
UC does not award credit for junior/community college programs that are technical or vocational, or that do not lead to further academic study at a University in the international country.
Elementary/intermediate (lower-division) language courses: no credit is awarded to students who were instructed in that language during secondary school.
Final determination on the transferability of coursework for credit will be made by the admissions office based on UC’s review (not that of another institution).
In addition, UC places limitations on the number of units or courses awarded in the following areas:
• English as a Second Language courses: a maximum of 8 semester (12 quarter) units
• Physical Education courses: a maximum of 4 semester (6 quarter) units of PE Activity; a maximum of 8 semester (12
quarter) units of PE Theory
Thank you so much, this question has been bothering me for weeks. I can finally decide what to do.