I have a D22 who is thinking of doing a 1 year transfer program after high school (taking all the general ed classes at ccc while in high school then full time for 15 months after high school graduation). So I’m keeping a close eye on the California transfer program options. TAG with Assist is great, however, my partner has regularly questioned if this is a program intended for a different socio-economic group than we fit in. Therefore, I look closely for official statements, from the universities, regarding their view of the target student for these transfer programs (e.g. How UC joins adegreewithaguarantee).
Extended family (out of state) think that planning ahead to pursue a transfer program is a horrible idea (they don’t respect community colleges) or that we would be taking advantage of a program for the less fortunate. But I can manage them as long as I keep finding statements from universities which indicate they want the best students in their transfer programs (without setting any socio-economic limits) and consider them at graduation to be just like their freshman admits.
I’m even considering an elaborate transfer program scenario for my D22 which would rival the best freshman experiences at elite US universities (multiple 6-week study abroad opportunities, apartment with friends during the school year in a major city right next to their target university while taking classes at community college, 4 week service program in Mexico, take classes at target university during summer after high school graduation and the next summer, and live in on campus dorms at target university during the two summers). But I don’t want to pursue these transfer programs if this type of scenario goes against what the universities intend for their program.