Advice for a foreign grad: California CC or State U?

[Terpsichore]

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I arrived here in California a just couple of months ago and I'm pretty desperate for advice right now. I graduated last March with management engineering degree - obviously totally unrelated to medicine - and have so far only completed a year's worth of both calculus and biology, and a semester of chemistry. I'm hoping to take the second half of general chemistry over the summer in case I decide to go to a quarter-system school for the rest of the courses.

I applied to take a second bachelor's degree in microbiology in Cal State LA. Though my ultimate goal is to get into med school, I thought it might be wise for me to aim for another degree instead of just taking a few courses. I'm not allowed to work yet anyway, and in case I don't make it to med school on my first try, employers might look more favorably on my resum? if I have a degree from a US university.

But how true is the rumor that AdComs discriminate against you if you graduate from the "easier" universities? Now I'm thinking of just spending the rest of the year in a community college then transferring to nearby UC's like Irvine and Riverside (I heard UCLA doesn't accept second baccalaureate seekers except for nursing). It's supposedly much easier to transfer from CC's to UC than CSU to UC.

All help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[mikematto]

Now I'm thinking of just spending the rest of the year in a community college then transferring to nearby UC's like Irvine and Riverside (I heard UCLA doesn't accept second baccalaureate seekers except for nursing). It's supposedly much easier to transfer from CC's to UC than CSU to UC.

All help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I don't know about the rest of your post (2nd degree from US Uni, etc.), but it is _much_ easier to transfer from a California CC to UC than from a CSU to UC.

This is provided that you do so as a Junior (after two years at a CC). It is very common to get into a competitive UC after transferring as a Junior from a CC. I knew _very_ few CSU transfers. Very, very hard to do.

 

[sidewalkman]

Wow, you're in a tough boat. Not completely screwed by any means, but it'll be an uphill battle. Expect to take several years to get where you need to go.

It sounds like you completed some of your prereqs abroad. Do not be surprised if you have to repeat these prereqs in the US. (In fact to play it safe, you probably should.) Also, do not be surprised if you find that adcoms will refuse to the foreign classes as having met the requirements.

You also already have a degree. The problem is, how many, if any, of your foreign classes will be counted toward that second degree? I am not a recent arrival, but I have been accepted to a second degree program on the east coast. From experience, here's how transfer credits work: The school audits your past record, and sends you a record of what courses they will accept for college credit. What courses "count," from my experience, fall into 3 categories:

1. The course you took seems exactly the same as one they currently offer. You get college credit at that college for that course.
2. The course is "at a college level," but does not exactly correspond to a class that is offered. In this case, you get general "elective" credits, which will shorten the time it will take for you to get that degree.
3. The school refuses to give you credit for your past work, for whatever reason.

I told you that to tell you this: Only after you get that course audit can you decide how long it will take you to get a second degree. Again, don't be surprised if none of your credits are accepted, but don't be surprised if some are. This leads to how you are going to finance this (i.e. are you only financially able to finance 2 years? Three years?). Only you can answer that.

In my opinion, it is smart to get that second degree, for the reasons that you will be more marketable (no offense, but what's management engineering?)....and.... you will have precious US college credits. I can't overstate the value of this enough. Some adcoms may not want to see foreign college credits, but no adcom will disapprove of you taking 90+ credits at a 4-year US university.

Aviod CC's if you can... try to get into a 4-year school outright.... adcoms don't want to see prereqs at a CC period from what I've seen. Aim for a college with a good reputation, of course, but be happy if you get into any 4-year school right now. Lots of schools in my area don't even have a second degree program. Though I'm unfamiliar with the UC system, it seems that any 4-year California state school should be fine considering your circumstances, but ask around. (A UC sounds more prestigious out here, for what it's worth.)

That's what I know... good luck!

 

[LoneCoyote]

I tried to get the 2nd degree at a UC several years ago and it was virtually impossible then because of the high enrollments at UC campuses. Since it takes many undergraduates 5 or even 6 years to get the courses they need to finish a degree, they were not very friendly about accepting second degree students. At that time only UCR was open to it. My guess is that with the budget cuts this year, and the UCs and CSUs having to turn away qualified high schoolers and send them to the JCs, it is still going to be tough. Make sure you call the UCs that you want to transfer to and find out if you will even be eligible to come as a 2nd degree student. Some of them will allow you to take a certain amount of post-bac classes (UCSC was 3 quarters when I looked into it). So maybe you could do the first part of it at the JC and then transfer in.

I understand your fear of the CSU stigma, but if it is the only program you can get into at this point, you might consider it since this is such a terrible time for California's universities budget-wise. I personally ended up leaving the state and did my second bachelor's at the University of Arizona. The out-of-state tuition really was not that bad and I liked having a bigger school with better research opportunities than what I would have gotten at the CSU I was planning to attend. Plus, if you just got here 2 months ago you will have to pay out-of-state tuition to the UC or CSU systems. Definitely look into that because it can be hard to get your residency status switched if you start school before establishing California residency by working for a year. They can say you are in the state for "educational purposes" and can keep you paying the out-of-state ratethe whole time. Talk to someone who knows the system because I have friends who got screwed bythis big time.

Good luck with this. I think you can make it work, just do your research and know what your options are 🙂