Conflicted About Transferring Need More Opinions

Transfer Students
1

I am currently a student at a California community college (CCC) finishing up my second year. I have received a transfer admission guarantee (TAG) to UC Davis for Pharmaceutical Chemistry for Fall 2017. It’s horrible timing considering acceptance letters are being sent out soon, but I don’t want to pursue pharmacy anymore. I’ve become more passionate about nursing, and after shadowing several nurses, I am convinced that this is what I want to do.

The problem is that I have completed 50 semester units of ASSIST certified courses and including Summer 2017 and AP credit, I’ll be at around 90+ semester units completed. Also, most of these units are not for classes that are needed to complete the nursing pre reqs. Therefore, I would have to spend another year at my current CCC.

Another dilemma is that I have one more class to complete my contract for my TAG, however it is not a nursing pre req for the schools I want to apply to.My first option is to withdraw from this class and take the W on my transcript. This would also break my TAG contract, but I can take the class again and apply for the TAG for the following year. My second option is to risk lowering my GPA by taking a class that doesn’t complete any nursing pre req at all. I’ve heard that one W isn’t detrimental, and am leaning towards for first option because I’ve already dropped from a 3.8 to 3.57 from taking Pharm Chem pre reqs Fall semester.

My counselor has told me that I should just transfer and get my BS while also taking pre reqs for nursing on the side so that I can apply for nursing schools right after I graduate. She made the case that having both the BS for Pharm Chem and BSN will open up more job opportunities, but frankly I am in no financial position to be pursuing two degrees and do not really see the benefit of having both.

Friends and family have told me to not waste time on something that I won’t enjoy, but if I do want to switch, I should decide soon.

Now I am turning to you all for more opinions on my current situation. Sorry for the lengthy post, but I feel that by giving more information it will be easier to respond.

Other Side Notes:

Will be IGETC Certified at the end of Spring semester.
Looking to apply to DUC, USF, SJSU, UC Irvine and out of state schools in Arizona and Nevada because of how impacted nursing is in CA.
By completing the nursing pre reqs, I could potentially get my AS.

2

If you break the terms of the TAG will you be unable to try to pursue it again?

Paging @Gumbymom perhaps she would have more valuable input.

3

@OneCCCStudent: This is a tough decision. Pursuing what you love to do is the key. If you want to pursue Nursing, I would drop the class and stay an additional year to take your Nursing Pre-req’s. As stated below, you can reapply for TAG next year. Spending the next 30+ years in a job that you find fulfilling, is worth another year at your CCC.

According to the UC Davis website:
What happens if I am unable to meet the provisions of my TAG?

You may still be a competitive applicant through the regular UC application process if you are unable to complete the provisions of your TAG. Speak with your community college counselor regarding your circumstances. You can apply for TAG again the following year, if that better suits your circumstances.

4

@philbegas: Thank you!

@Gumbymom: I didn’t even think about that last part where you said that I could still be competitive through the regular UC application. Even though I did receive the TAG, I still needed to submit the application as if I was just a regular transfer student. So hopefully they are still able to consider me even without the TAG. Thank you for your response!