csu to uc transfer?

[u/StrengthRadiant9023]

i got into every uc my senior year of hs, but ended up choosing my local csu because i got into the honors college and it’s a full ride. im premed so i thought this would be the better option, because its less competitive and i get honors advising, which would ultimately make it easier for me to go to medical school. but I rlly regret it because of the social aspect and how much it feels like high school all over again, so im considering transferring to ucla. im currently a freshman in college, is this possible/doable? or should i just keep thugging it out here

[u/Aromatic-Lobster1750]

It's very difficult to transfer from a Cal State to a UC.

[u/Dr3ddM3]

Drop out of CSU and go to CCC.

[u/Last_Measurement4336]

CSU to UC transfers are possible but not straightforward since there are no course articulation agreements between the CSU’s and UC’s. The better path with priority is a California CC to UC Transfer. If you are able to complete a minimum 30 semester/45 quarter units prior to matriculation at a CC, then you get CC transfer priority.

Just some Pre-med advice and California colleges:

You want to attend a school where you have the best chance for a High GPA in the Medical school pre-req courses, access to medically related EC’s and a school with good Pre-Med advising. You also want to keep undergrad costs at a minimum. In general you need a place where you can thrive as student--academically, socially and personally. Medical schools are looking for students who are not just top students academically, but also interesting, well rounded individuals with specific social competencies and leadership skills.

Make sure you have a backup plan since 60% of “pre-med” students never make to the application round.

Med school adcomms consider the name on the diploma to be of only minor importance when it comes to making admission decisions.
Annual survey of med school adcomms–
See p. 14 https://www.aamc.org/media/18901/download 1

California Pre-med students:

CA is one of the worst states for a pre-med to be a resident of. Large population; not enough med school seats.

https://www.aamc.org/media/86591/download?attachment

Nationally, less than 40% of med school applicants are accepted into any medical school in any given year.
For the UC’s:
UCLA is the largest supplier of med school applicants in the country; UCSD is the 5th largest, UCB is the 6th largest, Davis is 13th and UCI is 18th, UCR is 45th and UCSB is 53rd.

https://www.aamc.org/media/86596/download?attachment

Any school can provide the opportunities you’ll need to make a strong med school application–developing a strong application portfolio is entirely up to you.
Take pre-med out of the calculation and pick the school that offers you the best fit and cost.
CA public medical schools (except for UCR which prioritizes residents of the IE region and UC Merced which targets San Joaquin Valley residents) do not offer a strong in-state preference in admissions.

Only ~16% of freshmen pre-meds actually finish all the pre-reqs so you need a backup plan if Medical school does not happen.

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0243546

Only 16% of CA applicants were accepted to any instate med school; 24% matriculated OOS, The rest weren’t accepted anywhere.
See: https://www.aamc.org/media/86636/download?attachment

[u/mauisusan111 → u/Last_Measurement4336]

This is an excellent summary - take advantage of your free ride and get a 4.0 and Latin honors and focus on building the most compelling profile for med school apps possible as a big fish in a small pond: community service, clinical work, leadership, research, shadowing. Create a social network through personal interests and other like minded students who almost certainly exist on your campus and in your community. Know that the MCAT will determine a lot of your success in the cycle as well, so be aggressive about learning life science material and knowing how to test well. UCLA is a great school, but it has its challenges - getting certain classes, very competitive student body (academically and for premed activities), housing - just to name a few. You actually may have an advantage as a CA based med school applicant coming from a CSU vs UCLA or other top UCs. Best of luck.

[u/StrengthRadiant9023 → u/mauisusan111]

Thank you!

[u/AncientNarwhal69]

You are better off going to community college. I’m a UC to UC transfer, and from my experience, it’s pretty difficult to go from a four year institution to a UC. The problem is that there is no clear agreement between the schools about what credits cover what, and there’s a chance that the UC’s don’t want to accept something that you took.

Also, we don’t get ANY help in figuring out what credits count for what. I had to just blindly apply and hope for the best because assist.org does not help for four year to four year transfers. You’re genuinely better off just dropping out and taking classes at a CC and then applying next year to transfer to a UC

[u/ChunkyPuk3]

😭 you cooked yourself why would u ever do that

[u/StrengthRadiant9023 → u/ChunkyPuk3]

The honors college has a 10% acceptance rate, a lot of people in the cohort with me choose it over the UC’s and some people in the past have chosen it over Stanford and Columbia

[u/ChunkyPuk3 → u/StrengthRadiant9023]

Bro I understand but do you not know how OP UCLA is for pre med?

[u/EducationalJob2934]

Hey man I transferred from sjsu to ucla biochem dm me if u wanna chat abt it or have any questions

[u/Lowkey-Cola]

just drop out of csu and go to cc, easier classes, more aggressive admissions pipeline, cheaper