I began attending a private liberal arts university this year, and am not happy with the experience. It’s around 50th on the US News list-- a reputable school but by no means an Ivy equivalent. Transferring to a UC would make me happier, plus save about $5,000/year and possibly lead to a more prestigious degree (depending on the UC).
I had a (weighted) 4.0 in high school, including a 4.4 senior year. I will likely earn a 4.0 in college.
I passed the following AP tests:
Psychology- 5
Government- 5
Macroeconomics- 5
Environmental Science- 5
US History- 4
Microeconomics- 4
Calculus BC- 4
Physics B- 4
After searching this forum, many users advised people in similar situations to switch to community college (as cc students are preferred). This seems like a rather drastic option (what if it doesn’t work out!)… how hard is it to transfer from a private? Is switching to cc even possible given that I have roughly a year worth of AP credits? How can I best prepare to to jump ship?
Yes, you can switch to a CCC. Considering your calculated savings, I assume you’re OOS and have taken into account the OOS tuition. So, yes, you’re best bet - go to a CCC, and assuming you maintain a comparable GPA, Berkeley and UCLA could 100% be in your sights.
The AP credits won’t affect any maximum unit counts. Just don’t take any upper division courses. I mean, you can take a couple, but they are calculated in differently, so better not to. Don’t worry about lower division courses.
If you’re really sure, I would say drop out after this semester to save a boatload of moulah.
Otherwise you would apply as a transfer for junior year. You can do it via OOS, but you are lower down the priority ladder.
It might make sense to do a 1-year transfer. You have tons of AP credit. If you don’t know what you want to major in yet (you probably don’t, not many freshmen do), then you may want to take an additional year.
Switching to a CC wouldn’t be too bad. If you think you can get a 4.0 at a private university, then you should think the same about CC. You’ve taken many AP units, you seem well-prepared. I’m guessing you’re more into the social sciences / humanities than STEM fields. That makes the 1-year route slightly more realistic (still depends on the major).
I do live in state, so going to cc would mean simply moving back home. If I opt to follow this path after this semester, I’m guessing I wouldn’t technically be seen as a cc transfer student (the only grades they would see are those from my current private university).
What are the minimum time/units I would have to spend at community college to gain priority treatment? Are there any negative repercussions (grad school, etc.) to hopping around so much that I should consider?
You need 30 semester units from a CCC to be eligible - by the time you complete the equivalent of your sophomore year.
So if you went to CCC this spring, and applied next November, you need the 30 semester from the CCC by the following spring. You really wouldn’t lose any time at all.
Going from a private to a CCC and then a UC will not affect anything in terms of grad school. They will look at GPA, and mainly from the last two years of undergrad.
Yes, you can, assuming the course fulfills the general scope of the subject. It has to go through some sort of verification process at the CCC. They look at course catalog description and syllabi. Sometimes they can clear it simply by looking the course up online (supposedly). You need to bring it to the advisor’s attention.
I wanted to add that since your coming from a liberal arts college, it’s impertinent you save all your class syllabi as they will use those along with the course descriptions to determine equivalency. The alternative is get a divisional course analysis from an evaluation service (e.g. Spatran, ECE, etc.) and that can cost some money.