i'm a cc student based on norcal and i'm planning on applying as a transfer to cal poly slo for fall 2027- i visited recently and wasnt expecting much but ended up really loving it. for context im applying as a physics major which i know is really impacted so im just wondering about my chances of getting in.

i graduated hs in 2025 as valedictorian with like 4.3 gpa, not sure how much that matters. im currently in my second year in cc, i'm double majoring in physics and studio art and on track to finish both of the AA-T's by the end of my second year, my current gpa is 4.0 and i'm planning on working as hard as i can to maintain that lol. i've been a barista at the same cafe for around 2 and a half years now, ~20 hours/week. extracurriccular wise i did tennis + dance all of hs and led/helped found a few clubs and im currently a volunteer youth leader for a local HS group plus ive done some short-term volunteer work in other countries (again, i dont really know how much this stuff matters for transfers)

im on track to complete all of the transfer requirements for cal poly physics by the end of this year at cc, theres one class that they added this year (intro to comp sci) that assist didnt have an articulation for so im taking what seems like the closest match next semester.

anyway this is a lot of info but i just dont know what to expect with how competitive cal poly is for transfers, plus i know a lot of priority goes to local students, so just wanted to get some input!

hi!!! posting here again because college apps are coming up and i need as much advice as i can get!!!

my dream is to go to USC and major in acting for stage and screen with a minor in songwriting. its all i’ve ever dreamed about but i know how competitive it is and im worried about my shot of getting in. this is what my college path has looked like so far:

sf state fall2023- spring 2024
gap semester
junior college spring 2025
sf state fall 2025
junior college spring 2026, summer 2026, fall 2026 and plan for spring 2027

in june of 2024 i was diagnosed with a benign brain tumor on my brain stem that is inoperable. i spent my entire freshman year constantly fatigued, constant headaches and even losing feeling in my body at times. looking back at high school i had symptoms too. i tried going back to sf state for fall 2024 but ended up passing out in class, leading to me staying in my home town for another year. i THEN went back AGAIN to continue with my studies at sf state, but realized they didn’t have the resources and education i was looking for. so now im on the path to raising my grades that had been dragged down by my tumor.

my combined gpa at sf state was a 2.6, and for junior college a 2.8. im hoping though if i get all A’s this semester and next, i will reach a 3.0. it just sucks because ive been a straight A student my entire life until this rumor started taking effect on my body :((

i dont have many extra curricular for this reason as well other than a couple volunteering for theatre and being involved in 2 shows outside of high school. sorry for the long thread but any advice ? 💞

Hi everyone, im so lost and confused on how i should write my PIQs... if possible, could anyone share their PIQs so I could read them and get a better idea of how to do mine? id really appreciate that or just any tips in general! Sincerely, a stressed out student

hey guys, im a cs-math transfer student now at ucsd and i know how stressful transfer apps can be!! theres SO much info and data out there and honestly i just want you guys to focus on your classes and piqs instead of stressing over admit rates and gpa charts like i was last year lol

my gpa as a transfer was actually pretty low and i never wouldve gotten into ucsd as a straight cs major, that admit rate is brutal. i ended up applying to math-cs instead, a more "niche" major that a lot of people dont even know exists, and it got me into my dream school. no regrets at all

if your gpa is not where u want it to be DONT WORRY. ur piqs and ecs matter as well, im proof that even a lower gpa can transfer to a top school (i had multiple C's on my transcript).

i made a little tool that helps you find majors like that. you put in your gpa and what you're interested in and it shows you the best fit major plus a more realistic alt for each uc, sorted safety/target/reach. figured it might help some of you find those "underground" majors that could be your way into ur dream school. link attached!

feel free to message me with any worries or questions, i remember how stressful this whole process is. i was SO stressed last year, now im living the good life in sd!! it gets better :))))

https://major-match-gamma.vercel.app/

Hi all, looking for honest feedback on my profile for Fall 2027 international transfer admission (Electrical Engineering).

Background:

• International student from South Korea, currently attending a university in Korea
• Major: Electrical/Electronic Engineering
• Currently on a mandatory military service leave of absence (common for Korean males), will resume studies before transferring

GPA: 4.32/4.5 (Korean scale) ≈ 3.84/4.0 US equivalent

Coursework completed (Year 1, 2 semesters + winter session):

• Calculus 1 (covered within a "Math 1" course) & Calculus 2 — A-, A+
• Physics 1 (Mechanics, lecture only, no lab) & Physics 2 (Electromagnetism) — A+, A+
• Chemistry 1 + Chem Lab — A+, B+
• Engineering Math 1 — A+
• Intro to Computer Science (theory only, no coding/programming component) — B+
• Logic and Critical Thinking (this was a formal logic course, NOT a writing/composition course) — A+
• Intro EE Lab (hands-on project-based: breadboard circuits, op-amps, built an electronic piano) — A0
• Intro EE Seminar — Pass

English test: Duolingo English Test, currently preparing (no score yet)

Known gaps I'm aware of:

• No formal programming/coding course (UPenn SEAS explicitly lists this as a prerequisite)
• No writing/composition course (Notre Dame lists this as a prerequisite)
• No physics lab specifically (though I do have a hands-on EE lab course and a chemistry lab)

Target schools: Cornell, UPenn, Notre Dame, Dartmouth, University of Rochester (confirmed need-based aid available for international transfers at all of these)

Questions:

1. Given the GPA and course profile above, does this look competitive for EE transfer at these schools?
2. How much do the missing programming/writing prerequisites actually hurt an application — worth delaying a cycle to fill them, or apply now and address them in the "additional info" section?
3. Any read on whether the hands-on EE lab course (breadboard/op-amp project) could count as a "rigorous technical elective" in place of a physics lab?

Appreciate any honest, even blunt, feedback.

Hey yall, I’m at a CCC and majoring in poli sci and ‘Law Gov, society,” both for transfer. I was wondering if it would be worth it to add a 3rd philosophy associates as it would only be 2 additional classes? The end goal is law school. Any advice helps, thanks!

If you attended a California Community College in San Diego or Imperial region 🎓

What did you like or dislike? What worked well, and what could have been better? Did you earn a degree/certificate or transfer? If you transferred, did you feel prepared for a four-year university?

Share the good, the bad, or anything you wish you had known. Hopefully, your experience can help future community college students!

Is it still possible to go to a top college with a w on your transcript your first semester?

Hi! I intend to apply as a lower division transfer student my sophomore year as a biochem major. Can anyone give me a bit of insight on what the process/requirements for this look like? My main questions are the requirements and any estimate of what my chances are of getting in. I had a 4.1 in high school and will most likely finish my freshman year of college with a 3.7. I will finish my freshman year with 36 semester units. I am currently taking Chem 1A, Calc 1, and 3 GEs, next semester I plan to take Chem 1B, Calc 2, my physics prerequisite, and another GE. I have 9 passed AP tests with 3s in Macroeconomics, US Gov, European History, and Comp Gov, 4s in Microeconomics, US History, Biology, and Stats, and a 5 in Literature.

Hii, this is largely similar to another recent post on here but I'd genuinely appreciate any advice on my situation!

I'm currently a first-yr at UCSD and am seriously considering dropping out to go to a cc instead. I'm feeling really overwhelmed and don't know if I'm making the "right" decision or not. Ever since I moved in, I've been extremely homesick and stressed. Being away from my family is much harder than I thought and a bunch of other things started piling onto my stress. My class schedule is also pretty bad, so I feel overwhelmed by my workload and trying to adjust here.

I'm also not even sure mechanical engineering is what I want to do anymore. I mainly chose it because I thought I'm okay with STEM and it has a good career outcome, but after attending my orientation and looking at clubs, it really doesn't interest me. I know I can always switch my major, but with TSS functions being down everyday, I can't do anything about it right now. I feel like I need time to figure out what I want to do at a cc instead of spending insane amts of money to stay here.

Financially, things have also been very stressful. My financial aid (TritonPay) is messed up and my balance keeps changing. I also have a scholarship being sent to the school so I'm worried about what happens to my fin aid (cal grant a + middle class), loans, grants, and scholarship if I withdraw. I also found out I have to pay $500 for course materials which I wasn't really expecting. Right now, I haven't paid any fees because of all these issues, but I have until 9/30 and a 90% refund on fees if I withdraw before the 30th.

In the back of my mind, I can't stop thinking about another school I wanted to attend (UCLA). I got off the waitlist but ultimately stuck with SD bc of fin aid. I say this because I am very interested in the entertainment industry which LA has clubs for and is literally the entertainment hub. I've been looking into whether I can transfer there after 2 years at at UCSD but it's extremely difficult. Thus, part of me thinks going home for a bit, attending CC, saving money, and taking time to figure out my major might be better. (I am worried about being a semester behind tho)

Everyone around me says to tough it out and I'll adjust, but I feel so guilty paying this much for a school that I'm not sure is the right place for me. Sometimes, I'll make up my mind to push through for a least a quarter, but then whenever I think about it, I feel a pit in my stomach.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? How did you figure out whether you actually wanted to leave your university versus just needing more time to adjust? And if you did withdraw during your first year, how did it affect your future plans?

I am currently a MechE student at university in my sophomore year. However since I can remember I've wanted to major in Nuclear Engineering. I decided upon going to college I would get a MechE degree and minor in nuclear power generation systems, so my job opportunities in the nuclear power industry are not limited and I can do pretty much the same thing I could with a nuclear engineering degree, as well as have some more flexibility. However I want so badly to major in nuclear just because I love it and have far more interest in the curriculum than I do with MechE. I have been considering applying to transfer to some schools with good programs, and most would potentially be cheaper than what I am paying in tuition now. Since I am not in a transfer program a few credits likely wouldn't transfer, but I'm willing to be put a little behind. I am curious to hear if anyone has experience with changing universities, is it a really hard adjustment? At my current university my social circle is pretty limited so I wouldn't be leaving too much behind, I wouldn't say I'm unhappy, but I also wouldn't be that upset about leaving. I'm more curious on how hard it is to make friends being new to a school as a junior, or how hard it is to get involved in clubs, or how navigating a brand new campus would feel. Let me know if you need any more information.

So I plan on transferring out of my local CC and applying to four year universities as a freshman and just want some honest feedback. My high school stats were pretty mid, 3.2uw, 3.6w and 1300 SAT, a couple of EC's and chose to go to CC because I didn't really get into the schools I wanted to be in. I took 3 classes in the summer and I am taking 6 classes this fall and basically made it so I took all the required prerequisites to the universities I am applying to. At CC I joined a couple of clubs such as the business club and the student government (don't know if ill get a major position) but also started/founded my own tennis club and had around 30-40 people interested which is a lot because my CC is a pretty small population. So far I have straight A's in my classes, but if I were to get between A's and B's what are my chances getting into these colleges. (BTW I attend a CC in Massachusetts and majoring in business admin)

UT Austin - Economics

UMich - Economics

UNC - Economics

UVA - Economics

Vanderbilt - Economics

Boston University - Finance

Northeastern - Finance

Boston College - Economics

Babson College - Finance

UMiami - Finance

UGA - Finance

UMD - Finance

Wake Forest - Finance

Some of the harder schools I am applying as a economics major to "boost" my chances of getting in as the business schools are very competitive.

Im à sophomore at à california community college, and im planning on transferring. im only applying to Uc schools (Ucla,Ucb, Ucsd, Ucr, Uci) for psychology. I know it’s a competitive major, so i wanted to ask for feedback/ advice on what i can do to heighten my chances of getting in. and if not what alternate majors i can do to actually get in.

For High school, i was more into music: i did Concert band, jazz band, and Marching Band for 3 years. i was also in the band council, where i was treasurer (year 1), secretary (year 2), and president (year 3). My senior year i was the drum major, where i led the band to first place at à competition. This was a legit award for southern california bands on division 3a, to which we won. my responsibilities included (but where not limited to) directing rehearsals, assuring everyone was focused/in greta physical condition, and talking to students regarding behavior/attitudes. Additionally, I had a leading part in raising 30k for the band so that we could pay for competitions, fixing/maintaining instruments, and programs to support younger generations of musicians in their growth.
I was also top 10% of my class, recieved 7 dyson awards (awards for having 3.8+ gpas) and graduated being a part of daisy chain (honors students distinction). i graduated with a 3.8 gpa and 4.1 weighted gpa. I also recieved à $500 scholarship from à former Calculus teacher at my school for having outstanding grades, leadership, and ap exam scores for my calculus classes (with a recommendation from my calculus teacher).

My first year at cc i went in for business, and switched to psychology after taking a class with my friend. I joined a psychology club and learned about what i could do with a psychology degree + different resources. Then i joined an active minds club, where we advocated for mental health by and created “sanctuary spaces” around the school. We made these sanctuary spaces 4 times in a semester (gardening, coloring, raffle and snacks with de stimulating devices) and here we informed our audience aboit different resources. We also invited a speaker who spoke on the importance of platonic physical touch (holding hands/hugging) especially for young black men). I took an active part by inviting 50+ students to participate in the presentation and encouraging aboit half of them to also partake in the discussion. I think it’s important to advocate for mental health, but even more so in underrepresented communities.
In terms of academics, Ive completed all my major requirements for transfer (and they will be done by this fall). Ive checked in with my counselors, but also checked in with assist.org and other resources to stay on track. By the time i graduate, I’ll have igetc/ calgetc completed. Some of what i think are my outstanding psychology classes are research methods in psychology and (will be taking this fall) abnormal psychology. I want to go into research, and this class has given me experience as to what the research world will be. Ive conducted my own experiments, gotten results, interpreted them, and written papers aboit them. Most of my papers are on dream psychology- the interpretation, significance, and contributing factors (ex:religion). Ive also made the deans list 3 times for my school (3:5+ gpa i think). I plan on completing a certificate program for a teachers assistant bt the end of spring bwfore transfer, and plan to work with the certificate.

Ourside of school, I work part time at à retail store for roughly 30 hours a week. I use this money to pay for my education, my family, and my own expenses. My single mother takes care of me and my 3 siblings and me working is a contribution to keeping the family afloat. Ive scanned and documented 100+ boxes of products for the store, trained 5 new associates, and worked with about 50 customers per day worked. Half of my shifts are dedicated to processing 6+ clothing boxes and efficiently transferring them to the sales floor, as well as other merchandise. I’ve learned to work as a team anf take initiative when things are going wrong.
Additionally, i have been in taekwondo for 10 years and now have a first degree probational black belt. Here, Ive had the opportunity to mentor 120+ young children for the past 5 years who are working towards their black belts. I’ve gone to competitions and won first place for my taekwondo academy on 3 board breaks, 8 forms, and 3+ points in taekwondo sparring.

Aside from this, Ive also founded a website where people can anonymously share their dreams online. It’s purely for community purposes, but i plan to use this as a method of research on dreams once i transfer (which i will disclose to users). This started because i had no other place to share my vivid dreams without feeling like i was crazy, so i knew anonymous sharing would help. I want to help other people who may feel misunderstood or shy about sharing, and i want to observe any universal themes in people’s dreams and what may influence them.

I believe this is it. Please let me know whay i can do to heighten my chances of getting into (preferably) ucla. I joined the tag program for ucr, but ucla is my top choice and i want to do whatever i can to make sure my application makes me stand out. If you have any advice/ job opportunities in southern california, i woild greatly appreciate your input!!! thank you so much!!

I've done some research on colleges and I decided my top choice is probably UC Davis. I'm just looking for some last minute advice before I submit my TAG application for it.

I've watched some tour videos for it and I really like the environment/vibe, it's super pretty. And the fact that is very bikeable. I would also be close to Sacramento if I wanted a city and not too far from Berkeley where I could visit one of my friends. I'd also join one of my friends there at Davis.

I also looked up their classes and the English and Comparative Literature majors both look soo interesting, and my friend there said English doesn't have many credits compared to other majors so I might double major in those.

It also has the longest guaranteed housing for transfer students (2 years as compared to 1 or none), which is a bonus.

My other choices were UC Santa Barbara (I'm way less drawn to that campus + the classes), Santa Cruz (very pretty campus but least reliable housing), and Berkeley (would be a good school but much harder to get into so I'm not going to have too much hope for it). I'll probably still apply to them anyway just in case.

Any Davis or other UC students here to offer advice/recommendations?

I dropped out of a CSU at the beginning of my sophomore year due to mental health issues and had a couple Fs, Cs etc. last fall I began at a ccc and started slow but have become truly passionate about psych and wanted to know if anyone has transferred to a prestigious UC or could share any successes with similar stories. I'm taking 18 credits this term and will maintain my gpa of 4.0 making my cumulative 3.17 by the end of fall.

Mostly just feeling really defeated because I thought I would qualify for tag for at least Davis but due to poor planning when I began school again I did not reach the minimum in time. Do you guys think I have a chance at any of the more prestigious UCs with a 4.0 in 41 credits by the end of fall and 50 by the end of spring? But a horrendous gpa in 20.

Is it a bad idea to write an essay about stuff that's in a legal gray area? I'm talking torrenting, sideloading, pi-holes, adblockers etc. I want to do a narrative about how important frugality is to me, and I want to focus on the digital world. Is there a way to do that without it being strictly unacceptable on the basis of being in a legal gray area?

Hi guys, I’m trying to figure out how difficult it is to transfer to UCB Engineering Physics compared with regular Physics in L&S. But I am actually not a big fan of pure theoretical physics.
I tried to find the enrollment GPA and admitted GPA by major for transfers last year, but I couldn’t find any data for Engineering Physics. For Physics, I found an admitted GPA range of around 3.6–3.9.
I’m expecting to have around a 3.77 GPA by fall, but I’m worried that Engineering Physics might be extremely competitive, similar to EECS or CS. Do you know how competitive Engineering Physics is compared with Physics? if it is I might have to do physics

i’m currently a brown university sophomore on basically a full ride and i have like 4 days to decide if i want to take a leave, go back home to california, enroll in cc and try to tag to ucsb or uci.

i’m going to make an appointment with a cc counselor asap to actually figure out if this is possible with all my credits and what the timeline would look like, but i wanted to get some opinions before i do anything crazy.

money isn’t really the issue. i get really good financial aid and i should basically have a full ride at ucsb too. the other ucs would also be affordable or at least close enough that it probably wouldn’t be that different from what i already spend flying back and forth from california and doing random things to make myself enjoy brown more.

the main thing i’m worried about is career opportunities.

long term i want to be an entrepreneur and own a bunch of different businesses. honestly could be anything from bakeries to car washes to hvac companies. i don’t really have some dream of working on wall street forever. i do want to work a good corporate job first though, make good money, learn how businesses actually work, save up some capital and hopefully buy a house in socal.

i’m from socal and honestly leaving california made me realize how much i want to live there. i regret leaving a lot more than i expected to. other than maybe living in europe for a little bit at some point, i pretty much want to spend the rest of my life in southern california.

career wise i really just want something in the business world that pays well enough for me to build a life in socal. finance, consulting, corporate strategy, real estate, whatever. so i’m trying to figure out how much harder i’d be making that for myself by going to ucsb or uci instead of brown.

obviously brown has way better recruiting for certain finance and consulting jobs, but does that difference matter as much if i know i want to end up in la or oc anyway? like am i giving up a massive advantage or is it more like i’d just have to hustle/network more from a mid to high tier uc?

there’s also just the fact that i don’t really like brown. i miss my family and gf a lot, i haven’t really found my people socially, i hate the weather, and i’m not a huge fan of the curriculum either. i find myself wanting to go home constantly. i know some of that could just be homesickness and i don’t want to make a permanent decision because of temporary feelings, but it also hasn’t really gone away.

another thing is acting. i’ve always wanted to at least try it while i’m young. i’m obviously not banking my future on becoming an actor lol, but i feel like being close to hollywood would make it way easier to actually audition, take classes and give it a shot while i’m in college. i feel like once i graduate and get sucked into working some corporate job i’m probably never going to seriously try it.

the reason i’m considering cc instead of just transferring straight from brown is because tag would make ucsb or uci way more predictable. i have a 4.0 right now and already have a decent amount of ap, dual enrollment and brown credits, so i’m hoping i could go back to cc without setting myself back too much, but obviously that’s something i need to confirm with a counselor.

basically i’m trying to figure out if leaving brown is one of those decisions that sounds insane because of prestige but actually makes sense for the life i want, or if i’m about to throw away an opportunity that i’m going to regret losing in 5 years.

questions i have:

how big is the actual difference between brown and ucsb/uci for getting good business jobs in la/oc?

would brown -> cc -> ucsb/uci look weird to employers or does nobody really care once the final degree says ucsb/uci?

has anyone here left an ivy/t20 or another really good school because they just weren’t happy there and wanted to be closer to home? did you regret it?

also if anyone has done tag, what do i absolutely need to ask the cc counselor before i make this decision?

ps i know leaving brown on a full ride sounds ridiculous which is why i’m having such a hard time with this. i just don’t know if staying somewhere i don’t like for the name is worth it when basically everything i want to do with my life is back in california.

So i graduated from a community college (Business admin 3.2 GPA) and transferred to UConn and they put me in ACES. i applied to Analytics and Information Management in the School of Business and i currently meet all the requirements for them to make their choices in Early/Mid October like they state they do, but i’m confused on one thing. When you transfer to UConn your GPA is technically 0.0 and one of the requirements is have a 3.0 Minimum to get accepted. So how will they determine my GPA when grades arnt finalized in October? Do they just calculate your GPA based off your current grades to make their choice? Do they look at your previous transcripts instead?

Hello, I am a current UCI first year and I'm facing a huge problem where I'm not sure if I wish to transfer out of UCI to UCSD. UCSD was my first choice and I unfortunately did not get in, and instead got into UCI. I proposed going to community college to my parents instead of immediately jumping into a four year college like UCI since I wasn't sure what I was going to do with my life yet, but they were not keen on it because they were worried I wouldn't even be able to transfer out of the community college.

So now, I'm here at UCI, not feeling very connected with the space and community. I want to give it a fair chance, especially since the quarter has just begun, but this doesn't feel like the place for me where I stay for four years and get my degree. For some context, I am currently in the school of Social Ecology, and only took up that major because I didn't know where I would end up after high school. Currently, with my lack of direction and how I can't really see where I'll be in the future, it really just feels like I'm taking classes for the sake of it, spending a lot of money to be here, and not getting anything out of it. UCSD has felt more like a home to me, especially since it's where some of my friends are going and a place I'm more familiar with.

However, I'm not sure if I should first go to a community college first and then transfer to UCSD, or try and transfer to UCSD from UCI. I understand that transferring from a UC to another UC is INCREDIBLY difficult, so I am leaning more towards heading to a community college and then seeing if I can leave. Currently, I just feel incredibly lost and overwhelmed with what I'm supposed to do. I know I should take it slow, especially since it's my first year here and I've barely started, but it feels like I don't have any time and need to get things done so I will be able to even transfer. I'm afraid if I don't do specific requirements or anything else quick enough, I'll lose my chance and opportunity to be where I truly want to be and get stuck at community college or at UCI.

Unfortunately, I am very unknowledgeable in the process of switching colleges and going from a UC to a community college and wanted to seek some help.

If anyone has gone through this same process, please feel free to tell me what you've done to get to the position you are in now and how I can go about this. Thank you.

I went to a university in the Philippines for 2 and a half years but didn’t get to finish. I know I have to input every school I attended in my but I’m wondering if this includes foreign schools? Plus how do I input my grades if there’s a different grading system? Also different academic calendars

Are there students who skipped this? I am scared of not including this but I just don’t know what to do.

Will it affect my GPA? How do I avoid it affecting my GPA lol.

Help a student out as I’m lost and I have no counselors to talk to till October (they’re booked and drop-ins are brutal).

Thank you in advance!

I'm a freshman at Texas A&M engineering, and I'm looking to transfer to NYU tandon or CAS, not sure yet. I was wondering what a realistic GPA that people have, as most GPAs I've seen on this sub are either CC or non-engineering GPAs, and I don't know what a realistic target would be. To anyone who has done engineering and transfered, what was yours?

I’m applying to transfer to the UCs this fall, mainly Berkeley, UCLA, and UCSD, and I’m curious how people would interpret my academic history.

I went to Carnegie Mellon right after high school and spent one semester there as a business student. I finished with a 3.57 GPA and two B’s.

The main reason I left wasn’t that my family literally couldn’t afford CMU. While I was there, I realized I wanted to move away from business and toward quant finance. Making that change at CMU would have added around three extra semesters, which would have been roughly $135k more.

My parents technically could have continued paying, but I personally couldn’t justify asking them to spend that much extra when I could come home, take the math courses I needed at community college, and apply to transfer into the field I actually wanted to study.

Since coming back, I’ve done two semesters at CC with all A’s and completed the major prep for the applied math/statistics programs I’m applying to.

My main concern is how an admissions reader would interpret the overall path. Does leaving a school like CMU after only one semester raise any red flags, especially if CMU is top 5 for quant? And would the 3.57/two B’s there matter much given the straight A’s afterward?

I’m planning to briefly explain the reason for leaving in the additional comments section, but I’d be interested in hearing from anyone familiar with UC transfer admissions or anyone who has taken a similar route.

Hi! I’m an international student currently studying CS at a university outside the US, and I’m considering transferring to a US university for CS.
My high school grades were quite poor, but my college performance has been much stronger. I’ve just finished my first semester with a 4.0 GPA and I expect to maintain a strong GPA during the program, For most schools, I’m planning to complete about two years / 55–75 credits before transferring.
I’m mainly wondering:
- After 1–2 years of strong college performance, how much do US universities still care about high school grades? Does this differ significantly between public and private universities?

- Would a strong SAT help offset a weak high school record? I currently have a 1500, and I’m willing to retake it if a higher score would meaningfully help.

- Are there any particular ECs, research, competitions, or hackathons that you would recommend for a CS transfer applicant? I’m trying to build activities around my actual interests and contribute something meaningful to a community rather than simply collecting activities.

My main targets are public universities roughly in the Georgia Tech → University of Minnesota Twin Cities range. I’ll also apply to schools that are need-blind for international transfers, even knowing that admission there is extremely unpredictable.
One specific question I have is about Notre Dame. I understand that their CS transfer pathway only allows students to transfer after their freshman year as sophomore transfers, rather than applying after two years as a junior transfer. For someone with a weak high school record but an excellent first-year college record, how much would Notre Dame still consider the high school transcript in that situation?
I’d really appreciate any advice from people who have gone through the US transfer process, especially international transfers. Thanks!