<p>One more thought - going CC then UC is making a bet there won’t be a dip in your academic performance, while going to a 4-year college avoids the problem. The transition to college-level classes isn’t always smooth. Its not unusual for kids to have a drop-off in grades for a semester or two when they learn their HS study habits aren’t enough, when they aren’t used to the pace or difficulty, etc. </p>
<p>Now if you go to a 4-year college this doesn’t really matter. Future employers or grad schools are going to be much more interested in what you did later in your college career. As long as you don’t do so bad as to be kicked out then a slow start frosh year is just a bump in the road that won’t matter; you continue on after frosh year and those grades are way in the past.</p>
<p>By contrast if you are going to a CC then you have 3 semesters of grades available when you apply to xfer (you send a grade update in January after you apply at the start of your soph year). A bad semester may be a hit that keeps you from transferring, even though it would have become insignificant in your 4-year record had they let you in. And with the competitiveness of admissions at the better UCs even a middling 1st college semester (B average or so) may really hurt.</p>