The discussion revolves around the decision of whether to accept an acceptance offer from Cal State University Fullerton for an undergraduate degree in physics or to delay enrollment by attending a community college (CC) for another year to improve transfer prospects to a University of California (UC) school. Participants explore the implications of each choice on future academic opportunities and graduate school admissions.
Participants express differing views on whether to accept the CSU offer or to pursue additional coursework at a CC. There is no consensus, as some advocate for immediate acceptance while others support the idea of waiting for better transfer opportunities.
Participants acknowledge various assumptions, such as the impact of transferable credits and the specific admissions policies of UCs and CSUs. The discussion reflects uncertainty regarding the best path forward, with differing opinions on the implications of each choice.
Arixal said:I suppose. I'm just worried about the prospects about getting into a good graduate school with a BS from a CSU.
jesse73 said:Despite the fact you already have been admitted to a CSU and have the "bird in the hand" if you want to go to a UC you don't really lose much by going to a CC. A CC will also be cheaper with the only downside being the availability of seats in some classes which you can just pay for priority registration. You would need to have a bit of a drop to not be able to get into the same CSU as a california CC transfer and if you stay the same or get better you will have a good shot at a UC which is shown by the 70% admission rate for CC transfers which isn't near the HS grad admissions pool acceptance rate you just competed with.
Yeah, in other circumstances I would have just followed that logic. The only reason I'm questioning it was because trying to transfer with only 58 units immediately disqualifies me from the majority of institutions despite my academic standing. So, I was wondering if it would be better to reapply after a year when I won't get disqualified solely for technically being a lower division transfer and can be judged upon my actual academic standing instead.mathwonk said:I have known people who were turned down by a college for no good reason, e.g. a bad letter, in spite of deserving to be there. But in most cases one should assume that the school one is accepted by is the correct one to be at, based on talent, background, and achievement. To decide if there is some reason this omission was a mistake, one could compare his own background to that of enrolled students at the more desirable school.
But what is lost by enrolling where one is wanted, and doing well? I.e. start from where you are and progress. it is hard to imagine a college where one cannot learn something from someone.
jesse73 said:The advice I gave doesn't apply in any other situation. It doesn't apply for turning one private university to go to another private university or turning down a college from one state to go to another state. It only applies to the case that you are a graduating high school senior accepted to go from HS->CSU and are considering doing HS->CC->UC in which case the programs/partnerships I mention and the favorable admissions terms I described apply.
If you are going from CC->CSU right now then that is a different case but it sounds like you tried to transfer prematurely in which case you should reapply. It seems like a waste of time to apply to transfer before you were ready in terms of units since it was bound to work against you.