Transfer to UC Berkeley in sophomore year from another UC campus

oceanpartier
Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:48:09 +0000

Yes, it is true that some UC’s do take sophomore transfers. Unfortunately, Berkeley is not one of those, so unless you have a significant amount of AP/previous CCC coursework completed (enough so that you will have 60 semester units completed by the end of your first year at whatever UC you’re going to) you cannot transfer. You have two options:

1. Don’t go to a UC at all, attend a CCC, and transfer to Berkeley. The time to do this depends on whether or not you get the classes you want.

2. Go to a UC for two years, not knowing if you will truly like the school, and apply for transfer to Berkeley in the Fall of your second year.

Both options have their pros/cons but I will tell you right now, the pros of going to a CCC far outweigh those of going to another UC. Of course you already know this, but odds do not favor intercampus applicants. Why spend all that money to go to a school you don’t know if you’ll like and then face the horrible odds of transferring?

Anyway, back to your original question about what you can do to maximize your chances of getting into Berkeley as a sophomore. The answer is nothing. There’s nothing you can do. I don’t even think they will let you apply. If you still insist on getting into Berkley by the fall of 2013, what you can do is load up on CCC/UC units this summer, maybe take and pass a few AP tests. That might give you junior standing at your UC school by the time you transfer. It’ll be tough, but go for it if that’s what you really want. The worst that could happen is that you’ll be rejected but still be at a UC, from which you can apply again the following year.