So I am at a community college in California and want to transfer to a 4 year in the fall. My gpa in college is a 3.78 on a 4.0 scale and I am interested in finance and business and want to become an investment banker. I was an athlete in high school and went to this community college to play football and transfer after 2 years but then covid hit and we did not have a season. I didn’t feel the urge to play anymore so I am now looking at schools to not play at. I am looking every where in the U.S but have not found anymore schools that have really stood out to me. Where I am applying so far is, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Indiana University-Bloomington, University of Oregon, University of Arizona, and University of Texas-Austin. I am currently a Freshman but at the end if this semester will have 32 credits. I want to apply to some more safety schools and some schools I have a pretty good chance of getting into. If anyone has any suggestions please reply!
budget?
Not really at the moment. I get a hefty amount from FAFSA and have applied for many national scholarships.
Does your school have TAG - transfer admission guarantee? Have you met with a school counselor?
Yes, but I am only eligible for TAG after 2 years. I met with my counselor last semester but have not been able to get an appointment recently.
that will give you a sense for admit GPA for each UC by major. Unfortunately, they (and the CSUs) require transfers to have 60 units so you will have to wait another year to be considered at any CA public. If you decide to stay put, TAGing UCR would be a good safety.
WUE is a program that allows students from Western states to get tuition discounts at SOME public colleges in other western states.
That will show you who participates, note though, the list is pretty short for transfer applicants.
https://wuesavingsfinder.wiche.edu/search-results.php
UNR stands out on that list as offering a solid Biz program, transfers to students with 24+ units and WUE for transfers. It also looks like they are accepting transfer aps for Fall 21 - it’s cerainly worth a shot.
Few other OOS publics offer transfers much financial aid so validate your cost of attendance at UofA etc. before getting too set on them.
Good luck.
If you’re in CA, you have a ton of affordable options in-state. Out of state public universities are triple the tuition. They’re designed around state residents, so they’re going to offer very limited financial aid and expect parents pay the difference. One exception would be University of AZ. They tend to offer good merit aid for out of state residents. University of AL is similar, as well as many other schools in the deep south (Ole Miss, Miss State, Auburn are examples.) You’ll need to look at what they offer with transfer scholarships.
UT-Austin reserves 90% of applicants to be Texas residents. Don’t expect much from them 
Plus the business school is near impossible to get into, unless you’re admitted as a freshman.
To me this means that you are going to have significant financial constraints. Most public universities do not meet full need for out of state students. I am not actually sure if there is any public university that meets full need for out of state students.
Are you in-state in California? I understand that you attend CC there, but is California where you and your parents are from?
Fafsa provides very little compared to how much universities cost.
Are you instate for CA (you graduated from a CA HS, or your parents live there…)?
Yes I my residency has been in california for the past 10 years.
Yes I graduated from a HS in CA and my parents live here.
Financially and academically, your best bet is to stay in California. Consult with an advisor at the Community College, to see where you would have a guaranteed transfer within the California public college system into a business program.
Community colleges are usually far less academically challenging than 4 year colleges. Your cheapest and best option would be to dash through the classes needed to transfer to the best business school at a public California college that has a transfer agreement with your community college. If you were to take a heavy load for summer and fall semesters, you could finish your “gen eds” and your AS in business by the end of December, probably, and start in January 2022 at a California public college that has a transfer agreement with the community college. This would be your cheapest option, and also, probably the best school with most value for your money, under the circumstances.
While the schools you’ve mentioned are all great schools, they’re not likely to admit you, and they’re unlikely to give you the large amount of financial aid you would need to afford them. Better to take advantage of what’s available to you through guaranteed admission articulated agreements between your community college and the California state school system.
Continue taking classes at your CC and get As (this is very important).
For now, apply to CMC (McKenna) via CommonApp; it’s incredibly difficult to get into so it’d be easier if you played football for them (D3), contact the coach with your HS gpa, cc GPA, and athletic stats. They’re private and are nationally known for economics&finance. They also “meet need” so very good scholarships and admit transfers with 30+credits.
Other colleges where you could apply include USC, LMU, Occidental(+football), St Marys California(+football), university of Puget Sound(+football), Lewis and Clark, Whitman. They’re all private so aren’t under the “60 credit” rule. D3 football will help you get in+get sufficient need based financial aid even if D3 colleges dont have athletic Scholarships (dont ask about that).
If none of these are affordable, stay at your CC, continue getting As, and apply to all UCs after completing 60 credits.
Thank you!
Amherst has a commitment to accepting transfers from community colleges. It’d be perfect for an investment banker. You would certainly get aid. Consider that.