Questions about SoCal city colleges (live, campus, teachers)

[CESpeed]

Whatever classes you take will allow you to go to almost any school. The Community College level classes are also the same lower division classes for the Cal State Schools. If you know what schools you might be interested in, call them and ask what classes will transfer over. Better yet Welcome to ASSIST will tell you if certain classes transfer to certain schools.

[lucero32]

The following is posted on Santa Monica College's website and I'd though I'd post it up just as general information. I had no idea the requirements were actually so manageable. To think that a 2.8 GPA at a JC guarantees admission to a UCSD, or a 3.2 to UCLA! Wow, there really is no excuse for someone not to go to college.

Here's the link: Guaranteed Transfer Admission Programs

Guaranteed Transfer Admission Programs

UC Davis - "TAG" (Transfer Admissions Guarantee) - Transfer Admission Guarantee(TAG)
UC Irvine - "TAG" (Transfer Admissions Guarantee) - UC Irvine - Office of Admissions and Relations with Schools (http://www.admissions.uci.edu/tag.html - broken link)
UCLA Scholars Program - "TAP" (Transfer Alliance Program)
UC Merced - "TAG" (Transfer Admissions Guarantee)
UC Riverside - "TAG" (Transfer Admission Guarantee) - http://my.ucr.edu/prospective/tag.aspx (broken link)
UC San Diego - "TAG" (Transfer Admission Guarantee)
UC Santa Barbara-"TAG" (Transfer Admission Guarantee) - UCSB Admissions
UC Santa Cruz - "TAG" (Transfer Admission Guaranteed)
CSU Northridge - "TAA" (Transfer Admissions Agreement)
Notre Dame de Namur University - "TAA" (Transfer Admissions Agreement)
UC Davis - "TAG" (Transfer Admissions Guarantee) - Transfer Admission Guarantee(TAG) Return to the top of the page

* International students are eligible!
* To be eligible, complete 30 UC transferable semester units with a grade point average of 2.8-3.1 (GPA) depending on major to be considered. See website above for details.
* Students must complete a contract with an SMC counselor after the criteria above has been satisfied, between May 15th and September 15th.
* Former UC Students, who left in unsatisfactory standing are not eligible.

Call (310) 434-4210 to see a SMC counselor to complete a contract.

UC Irvine - "TAG" (Transfer Admissions Guarantee) - UC Irvine - Office of Admissions and Relations with Schools (http://www.admissions.uci.edu/tag.html - broken link) Return to the top of the page

* Go to the website above to review grade point average (GPA) and majors selected guidelines for TAG.
* Students must have 30 UC transferable semester units completed and one transferable English and math course completed to be eligible for TAG.
* Eligible TAG students must then complete the UC application entirely, print it out and meet with a UCI representative between October 14th and November 29th.
* Appointments can be made with the UCI representative at SMC at (310) 434-4210 or at Irvine at (949) 824-6703.
* International students without international university records are eligible for TAG!
* TAG is not available for the following majors: Arts and Humanities, Dance, Music, Humanities and Arts, Nursing Science, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Humanities (Interdisciplinary).

UCLA Scholars Program - "TAP" (Transfer Alliance Program) Return to the top of the page

* New freshmen must have a 3.0 high school grade point average (GPA) and be eligible for or have completed English 1 (it is recommended that continuing students complete less than 24 transferable semester units).
* Complete 60 transferable semester units, 15 units of Scholars classes and maintain a grade point average (GPA) of 3.2 .
* The Scholars Program is recognized by Loyola Marymount University, Occidental College, CSU Northridge, UC Irvine, UC Santa Cruz, UCLA, Cal Poly Pomona, Mills College, and Chapman University.
* Satisfactory completion of the Scholars Program mean "priority admission consideration" into the aforementioned universities in most majors.

Call (310) 434-4371 to make an appointment with a SMC Scholars counselor.

UC Merced - "TAG" (Transfer Admissions Guarantee) Return to the top of the page

* Fill out a contract at anytime with a counselor. All students are welcome and all majors at Merced are available.
* No Deadlines!

Call (310) 434-4210 to make an appointment with a SMC counselor.

UC Riverside - "TAG" (Transfer Admission Guarantee) - http://my.ucr.edu/prospective/tag.aspx (broken link) Return to the top of the page

* All coursework must be completed at a California Community College.
* Complete a contract (available at the website above) with a UCR representative at SMC or at UCR.
* Must have 30 transferable semester units completed to complete a contract.
* Must have two (2) UC transferable English courses and one (1) UC transferable math course completed to complete a contract.
* TAG is not available to International Students. See the website above for majors and GPA's required of TAG students.

Call (310) 434-4210 to see a UCR Representative for more details.

UC San Diego - "TAG" (Transfer Admission Guarantee) Return to the top of the page

* Participants must complete a UCSD TAG specific contract, complete 60 transferable semester units with a grade point average (GPA) of 2.8. (12 transferable semester units must be completed at the time the contract is written).
* Participants must follow a unique general education curriculum, called the TAG GE Core Requirements.
* This program allows students to transfer in Fall, Winter, or Spring quarter. Contract deadlines are September 30th for Fall, May 31st for Winter, and August 31st for Spring.
* International students and former UC students (who left in unsatisfactory standing) are not eligible.

Call (310) 434-4210 to see a counselor to complete a contract.

UC Santa Barbara-"TAG" (Transfer Admission Guarantee) - UCSB Admissions Return to the top of the page

* International students are eligible!
* Submit a common UC application for Fall admission November 1-30. No special contract is necessary.
* Complete UC Transferable English and math (both courses) and have a UC grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher by the end of Fall, one year prior to transfer.
* Complete remaining UC admission and major requirements by the end of Spring prior to Fall transfer.
* TAG applies to all major in the College of Letters and Science, and the College of Engineering. Excluded majors are Dance, Music, Thatre, and the College of Creative Studies.

Call (310) 434-4210 to see a counselor for more details.

UC Santa Cruz - "TAG" (Transfer Admission Guaranteed) Return to the top of the page

* Complete a "TAG" contract between August 1st and October 15th for Fall admission.
* Must have 30 UC transferable semester units completed with a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 to complete a contract.
* Complete all UC transfer admission requirements with a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 by the end of the Spring prior to Fall transfer.
* Students with 20 or more semester units from a 4 year college or students with international coursework are not eligible. Effective Fall 2008, students who have visas may apply for "TAG" (as long as they meet all UCSC "TAG" criteria).

Call (310) 434-4210 to see a counselor to complete a contract.

CSU Northridge - "TAA" (Transfer Admissions Agreement) Return to the top of the page

* Participants must sign a contract with a SMC counselor, complete 60 transferable semester units and maintain a grade point average (GPA) of 2.0.
* Not open to international students, former CSU or UC student or students who possess a Baccalaureate degree.

[JTGJR]

I repped you lucero32. My 17yo is beginning the whole college search process and really hasn't figured out what she wants to do. Although her GPA is in the 3.5 area, she doesn't score well on standardized testing (SAT) so we've considered the possibility of CC as an alternative, in the event she doesn't land a school of her liking. The info that you've provided in this thread is outstanding. Thank you.

[jakobw]

SMCC is a great community college, but Santa Monica is VERY pricy. Kids only go there, if they are dead set on going to UCLA, unfortunately they won't be saving any money by going to a Jr. College first, as the cost of living will kill them.

Last week I visited Los Angeles Valley college. It was AWFUL. It was rundown, ugly, the workers were very unfriendly, and there was a vibe coming from students, as well as teachers that told you, "I hate being here."

I had a similar experience at West Los Angeles College. It was more inviting, but the workers were again rude, it had rundown buildings. Also, this wasn't something I cared about because I went to middle school in a predominantly black community, but the majority (52%) of the students there are black. Some people may love this or hate it, but it's the truth. I will say this, though, it's located in a very nice area and extremely close to Sony Pictures.

Long Beach City college is good/bad depending on the campus. The Pacific Coast Campus is GHETTO, very rundown and not in the best area of Long Beach.

The Liberal Arts campus Is VERY Nice, comparatively(sp?), (It's no University, but it's nice for a CC). The workers are very friendly, there is a very nice diversity, (almost an equal portion of all races) and they have rabbits hopping around all over the campus. (no joke) After looking at all the CCC's I could, LBCC is the one I'm going to.


Also, I didn't visit Pierce, but I wish I did. It has a VERY high acceptance rate to UCLA (along with other UC's) and CSUN/CSULB. I was very disappointed with the LACC's but Pierce looked very nice. If you were going to an LACC, Pierce would probably have the highest quality education.

[CESpeed]

Originally Posted by jakobw

SMCC is a great community college, but Santa Monica is VERY pricy. Kids only go there, if they are dead set on going to UCLA, unfortunately they won't be saving any money by going to a Jr. College first, as the cost of living will kill them.

Last week I visited Los Angeles Valley college. It was AWFUL. It was rundown, ugly, the workers were very unfriendly, and there was a vibe coming from students, as well as teachers that told you, "I hate being here."

I had a similar experience at West Los Angeles College. It was more inviting, but the workers were again rude, it had rundown buildings. Also, this wasn't something I cared about because I went to middle school in a predominantly black community, but the majority (52%) of the students there are black. Some people may love this or hate it, but it's the truth. I will say this, though, it's located in a very nice area and extremely close to Sony Pictures.

Long Beach City college is good/bad depending on the campus. The Pacific Coast Campus is GHETTO, very rundown and not in the best area of Long Beach.

The Liberal Arts campus Is VERY Nice, comparatively(sp?), (It's no University, but it's nice for a CC). The workers are very friendly, there is a very nice diversity, (almost an equal portion of all races) and they have rabbits hopping around all over the campus. (no joke) After looking at all the CCC's I could, LBCC is the one I'm going to.


Also, I didn't visit Pierce, but I wish I did. It has a VERY high acceptance rate to UCLA (along with other UC's) and CSUN/CSULB. I was very disappointed with the LACC's but Pierce looked very nice. If you were going to an LACC, Pierce would probably have the highest quality education.

This is an incredibly racist post. I have yet to go to a school that has sweet, polite administrators. This includes white schools. To qualify myself, in order to give myself a varied college experience, I took advantage of cross enrollment and visitor programs and went to CSU Northridge (not polite or helpful but at least you can get your transcript immediately) and I went to CSULA and I graduated from CSUPomona. I also visited Pasadena City College. My mother and sister both graduated from West LA College. They both went on to Pepperdine University and graduated. They did have a positive experience there. As for LBCC, the Pacific Coast campus is in the process of being rennovated, so a reasonable person wouldn't expect it to be the Taj Mahal.

[jakobw]

Originally Posted by CESpeed

This is an incredibly racist post. I have yet to go to a school that has sweet, polite administrators. This includes white schools. To qualify myself, in order to give myself a varied college experience, I took advantage of cross enrollment and visitor programs and went to CSU Northridge (not polite or helpful but at least you can get your transcript immediately) and I went to CSULA and I graduated from CSUPomona. I also visited Pasadena City College. My mother and sister both graduated from West LA College. They both went on to Pepperdine University and graduated. They did have a positive experience there. As for LBCC, the Pacific Coast campus is in the process of being rennovated, so a reasonable person wouldn't expect it to be the Taj Mahal.

First of all, CESpeed, no offense but you didn't give very many useful facts on the CCC's, rather, you gave us a long, and thoroughly uninteresting history of where your family went to college.

Secondly, I have yet to find how my remarks were racist, but maybe it came out wrong. Let me clarify:
I didn't like lavc because it was rundown and unhelpful. Same for LBCC pacific coast, the fact that it's under renovation still doesn't help that it's not in a very nice area. Even when I visited, one of the employees told me to go to the Liberal Arts campus for that reason. West LA was rundown, as I said, but more friendly. The fact that I said it was a predominantly black school is not racist, because it's just a simple statistic. If someone new to the area were searching for a community college and are coming from a different community they need to know this to be prepared for culture shock, and they would be curious about that sort of information.

LBCC liberal arts college (as I said before) doesn't really have a majority. There seems to be an even mix of all the races, which I think brings a great diversity to the college, and better mirrors the city of L.A., which is completely multi-ethnic.


I still have yet to see how my post was racist...
I guess our country has just become too sensitive, that even some rational, and logical statements can't be said, in case they huwt somewoons wittle feelers.

[ffknight918]

If you go to any community college and do good, you will get into UCLA. Just talk to a counselor to make sure that you take the right classes. It's not that hard to transfer into most colleges. The requirements aren't high because you are already halfway through college and know what it's like.

I go to Milwaukee Area Technical College in WI. They actually have programs here to keep you on track with the right classes to transfer to the bigger colleges in WI. You need a 2.75 with the right classes after graduating MATC to get into UW-Milwaukee and 3.0 to get into UW-Madison.(known to most of you and University of Wisconsin) UW-Madison is ranked as one of the best public universities in the country. 3.0 isn't hard to get at MATC either. However, barely getting the 3.0 will almost guarantee failure when you transfer to a place like that.

Community College is actually a smart place to start. I started college at UW-Milwaukee. I went there full time while I went through the fire academy on the side. I then realized that it was a waste of money. Most fire departments are requiring degrees in fire related fields now.(which is why I've talked about CSULA in the past, but some claim I'm stupid if I go there) I transferred to MATC and took many of the same classes for half of the price. I actually thought some were even taught better because of the small class size.

You just need to make sure you are taking the right classes that will transfer. Many Associate Degree programs require certain classes at a lower level. Many of my GER classes were like that. So I took ones at a higher level so that I could use them if I transfer someday.

The only problem with community college is that you miss out on the "college experience". No big sports and campus life. There are also a lack of clubs. I was a sportswriter for the biggest newspaper on campus. It was an amazing experience, but also helped me a lot with class.(was a Journalism student)

So everything turned out great and I'll be graduating in December with about 70 credits from MATC and 12 from UW-Milwaukee which is more than enough to get me into many schools.(have a good GPA) If I don't get a full-time job offer from LAFD or somewhere that I've applied to in WI by then I might be coming out there for college anyway. CSULA(regardless of what people on here have said, it's a great school for Fire Administration), paramedic school at UCLA, or University of Maryland.

Only problem that's holding me back is the cost of living in LA. Also that fact that I need to make two more flights there before I would even get accepted into medic school.

Well good luck with everything. Definitely talk to a counselor because he/she will know a lot more than anyone on here will.

[CESpeed]

Originally Posted by jakobw

First of all, CESpeed, no offense but you didn't give very many useful facts on the CCC's, rather, you gave us a long, and thoroughly uninteresting history of where your family went to college.

Secondly, I have yet to find how my remarks were racist, but maybe it came out wrong. Let me clarify:
I didn't like lavc because it was rundown and unhelpful. Same for LBCC pacific coast, the fact that it's under renovation still doesn't help that it's not in a very nice area. Even when I visited, one of the employees told me to go to the Liberal Arts campus for that reason. West LA was rundown, as I said, but more friendly. The fact that I said it was a predominantly black school is not racist, because it's just a simple statistic. If someone new to the area were searching for a community college and are coming from a different community they need to know this to be prepared for culture shock, and they would be curious about that sort of information.

LBCC liberal arts college (as I said before) doesn't really have a majority. There seems to be an even mix of all the races, which I think brings a great diversity to the college, and better mirrors the city of L.A., which is completely multi-ethnic.


I still have yet to see how my post was racist...
I guess our country has just become too sensitive, that even some rational, and logical statements can't be said, in case they huwt somewoons wittle feelers.

The fact that you are being condescending proves you know your remarks were racist. Your remarks were racist because you felt the need to point out the racial balance of the schools as though the fact that the people are Black or that it's a predominately Black school as the reason why you had a negative experience.

YOU have yet to state why was important to mention the race of the people you had a negative experience with? Only racist people do that because they are identifying the action with the person's race rather than the individual person. You were trying to say that because a high number of students and workers are Black you'll get an inferior education and have a negative experience, even though it's near Culver City. I guess no one told you that whole area is predominately Black. I guess for that whole area just became "ghetto".

My point was that regardless of the workers race, the administration people at the schools I dealt with, Black, White or any other race were not the most helpful. And maybe you should examine why you felt the need to equate your negative experience with race. Only racists do that.

[Hungry For Cheese]

I go to LAMC...very small, very nice/clean. You only get out what you put in. You sound real lazy or unsure. You could go to SMCC and not even finish your AA. On the other hand, someone like myself could go to "lil ole LAMC" in ghetto Sylmar, pull out a 4.0, make deans list and transfer in about ONE year with over 60 units while working FT, and transfer almost anywhere they wanted to, choosing CSUN for a reason though.

I wouldn'y worry about all these politics of which school has a higher transfer rate and all that. Do what you gotta do. I've known people who graduated with a 4yr from UCI, UCLA, USC and don't make much out of it. I've known people who went to CSUN or lesser and make $200k easy.

Do you want to say "I went to UCLA, live in Santa Monica and drive a BMW", perhaps while making 60k, or do you want to say "I went to CSUN, saved money and own property in various locations and drive what I want"....JMO* Screw the clout from saying you went to UCLA, show me the money.

*Exceptions apply.

[Rats]

Originally Posted by Hungry For Cheese

I wouldn'y worry about all these politics of which school has a higher transfer rate and all that. Do what you gotta do. I've known people who graduated with a 4yr from UCI, UCLA, USC and don't make much out of it. I've known people who went to CSUN or lesser and make $200k easy.

Do you want to say "I went to UCLA, live in Santa Monica and drive a BMW", perhaps while making 60k, or do you want to say "I went to CSUN, saved money and own property in various locations and drive what I want"....JMO* Screw the clout from saying you went to UCLA, show me the money.

*Exceptions apply.

yep.. that's the truth. it historically doesn't matter to employers whether you got your Bachelor's degree from Harvard or Cal State LA.