<p>Here’s what you need to know.
I thought about this a lot/know people from both scenarios, and if you really want to go to UCLA, you need to drop out of UCI and get yourself into a CC. The chance from a CC to a UC is much higher than from UC to a UC, which makes no sense at all, but it’s just a fact. Here’s something to ponder: A student at UCB wasn’t happy with his college and wanted to go to UCLA. He dropped out of UCB to go to a CC and is currently enrolled in one so that he could get into UCLA. So, I mean, if you really do want to go for it, this is what is necessary.
Now, you also need to think about this. For one, UCLA is much, much more competitive than UCI, and UCB is much, much more competitive than UCLA. As an undergraduate, your GPA matters more than anything and it’s easier to maximize your GPA at UCI and get into a good graduate school from there. High GPA at UCI> low GPA at UCLA.
Finally, you do need to recognize that UCI is somewhat a young school. UCB is about 150 years old and UCLA 90 years old, as opposed to UCI’s 50 years, and UCI is expanding year by year in terms of quality of education and is also risking up the ranks. It’s evident that UCI won’t be where it is now 5, 10, or 20 years later, while UCB and UCLA have almost fixed ranks. UCI is greatly expanding and it might be the case 20-30 years later that people will be amazed that you went to UCI. </p>
<p>Overall, if you really do want to go to UCB or UCLA, CC is the way to go, but do think what you’re risking and also giving up before you go on and mess it up.</p>