Q&A: Community College Transfers to a UC

Below are two questions, with my answers, about community college and the UCs.

I graduated from high school last spring and took one class this fall at my local community college, then dropped it. I am planning to apply as a freshman at UCI.  Will the W hurt my chances?

Once you take a course at a CCC or any other college, you can no longer apply to the UCs as a freshman, and must apply when you are a junior-level transfer  Even one course. Even a W. You are now looked upon as a prospective transfer student. There are two exceptions: (1) If you took community college courses while in high school, those do not count and you can apply as a freshman; and (2) summer courses taken at a CCC directly out of high school are also not counted, and you can apply as a freshman.  But once you enroll in any college term after that initial summer, you are no longer eligible to apply as a freshman.  The good news is the UCs will not look down on  a W.

Will it affect my admission if I spend three years at a CCC?

No, the UCs do not care how long you attend as long as you have explanations for any gaps or part-time attendance.  And even then, regarding gaps, they just want to know what you were doing. It’s not a trick question.”

Both questions and answers are excerpted from “How to Transfer to a UC from a California Community College,” by Lindy King.

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