Transfer from SMC to UCSD

I’m still currently in my junior year of highschool right now and have decided to plan my next step in my academic career. So far I haven’t been putting my best effort forward these past few years as I slacked off but still maintained a 4.0-4.2 GPA. I haven’t done much extracurricular activities and such so I decided as a plan B if I did not get into UCSD to first spend 2 years in SMC then transfer. I know that I want to pursue a career as a Biomedical engineer and is one of the main reasons I want to attend UCSD. Will this plan be as easy as people make it out to be? Also a side question, any advice from anyone who is a biomed major as to what undergrad classes to take and what things I should do in order to boost my chances of getting into a BME graduate program?

Yes your Plan B could work. Use http://assist.org to help you figure out what classes to take at SMC. Good internships will probably help you for grad school.

I don’t know how easy people have made it be to you. It is certainly possible, but I don’t think “easy” is the right word here. It’s more than just taking 2 years of the right classes and you’re in. UCSD doesn’t seem to make a lot of stats about xfers available online, but they do have this chart: http://studentresearch.ucsd.edu/_files/stats-data/admissions/transfer/aptrans.pdf I suggest working with the xfer center at SMC as soon as you enroll there, if you end up going the SMC path to make sure you are taking the appropriate courses and to get a full understanding of the process.

I also suggest you apply to all the UCs with a BioMed program and if accepted at any that you attend. For a number of reasons. It’s easier to get involved in research if you’ve been at the school all 4 years than if you xfer in. Typically you’ll start small and get increasing responsibility, the kids there all 4 years have 2 years of this under their belt the day you show up if you xfer. The lower and upper division classes will likely integrate better at the same school. SMC has a lot of smart kids, but your typical peer student at a UC will be much more likely to get a 4-year degree (the xfer rate from SMC to 4-year colleges was 47% in 2013).

Grades, recs, and research experience are going to be what determines if you get into a BME graduate program. Any of the UCs will give you all the opportunity you need, the rest is up to you.

CC is a great route to UC’s. It isn’t extremely easy in that you have to do most of the planning yourself, but if you look into things well enough (as it seems you will), then you should be fine.

Just as some background, I graduated high school with something like a 3.0; I completely blew off my first two years (worst GPA I received was a 0.73) and only got somewhat serious about school until my junior year, which was unfortunately too late. Now, I’m at Berkeley City College (humanities major, not a science whatsoever, but you might be interested in looking at it) with a 4.0 currently, and I’m working hard to transfer to Cal. I have a spreadsheet of my specific plan that I could email you if you’d like, it’d sort of show you what course schedules are like. Transferring to a top UC is very feasible through CC, though. Because you want to go to UCSD in a specific program you ought to take curriculum to correspond into that specific major rather than IGETC (a less focused general education program), which assist.org and UCSD’s website can help you with.

Also, I wholly recommend taking as many AP tests as you can; you can knock off dull requirements that way, which saves a good deal of time and money. With enough AP test units you can either have a lighter schedule, or even transfer in a shorter amount of time than two years, although the latter is unlikely. Keep in mind that you will miss out on two years of the experience of a 4-year, which may not be desirable.

I agree with @mikemac‌ ; it may not be easy, but it is definitely workable.

Thanks for your reply :slight_smile: , I also planned on applying to UCR because it is easier to be accepted, and they have a biomed program. If i worked hard and did research at UCR would it be feasible to then apply to UCSD for a graduate program? Does it make a difference at what college you did you research?