Moving to Los Angeles NEED ADVICE (Pasadena, Berkeley: transferring to, theater, best schools)

[Chrissie_Cole]

Hello,

I currently live in Pflugerville TX. I am aspiring director and I have found a community college called Los Angeles Valley College. I was wondering if this is a good college or if there is another community college that is better. When I'm done I would like to transfer my grades to UCLA.

THANK YOU

[Charles]

There have been similar threads. One thing I read was Santa Monica College has some sort of "guaranteed admission" to UCLA policy of some sort - don't know the details.

Other colleges I am familiar with:

Moorpark College - suburban
Pierce College - suburban

[margan]

There are a few worse community colleges than Valley, but it is not at all what it was years ago. Particularly if you are considering transferring to a university, you would be better off at Santa Monica College, as another poster mentioned. You might also want to look into Pierce, Pasadena, College of the Canyons, and the Ventura colleges. They are all public community colleges.

[Chatteress]

Originally Posted by Chrissie_Cole

Hello,

I currently live in Pflugerville TX. I am aspiring director and I have found a community college called Los Angeles Valley College. I was wondering if this is a good college or if there is another community college that is better. When I'm done I would like to transfer my grades to UCLA.

THANK YOU

If you are looking at Community Colleges, Santa Monica does have good transfer agreements with UCLA. My advice to you is to work with a counselor right from the start and get straight A's as UCLA admission for their theater program is highly competitive. In terms of transferring to UCLA, the highest priority does go towards California Community College students but you still have to meet the competitive standards. Good luck.

[Lifeshadower]

Originally Posted by Chrissie_Cole

Hello,

I currently live in Pflugerville TX. I am aspiring director and I have found a community college called Los Angeles Valley College. I was wondering if this is a good college or if there is another community college that is better. When I'm done I would like to transfer my grades to UCLA.

THANK YOU

Haha, I worked at LAVC and was a student there before I transferred to UC Berkeley.

You should definitely look at the Transfer Alliance Program (TAP), which is basically the Honors program. Once you're in it and complete all the requirements (along with the IGETC and Major requirements), its almost nearly guaranteed admission into UCLA.

Transfer Alliance Program - UCLA Undergraduate Admissions
Any of these schools will work.

ASSIST Help Pages
This website helped me A LOT, along with the IGETC guide in the back of almost any LACCD College Coursebook (which you'll get when you sign up for classes) in terms of planning for classes. I hate to say it, but it almost made it unnecessary for me to go to a counselor (which I only did like 2-3 times).

The only community colleges with better transfer rates than LAVC in the LACCD is Pierce (but not by much). Santa Monica College is outside the LACCD, but also is really strong in terms of sending transfers to UCLA.

If you need any more help, just shoot me a message. I've been through it all before

[nmnita]

SMCC which has been suggested is a great place for you. Do remember, which I am sure you know, you will be paying out of state tuition and even at the CC level it is going to be pricey. That being said, good luck to you. Hope everything works out.

Nita

[Chatteress]

Originally Posted by Lifeshadower

Haha, I worked at LAVC and was a student there before I transferred to UC Berkeley.

You should definitely look at the Transfer Alliance Program (TAP), which is basically the Honors program. Once you're in it and complete all the requirements (along with the IGETC and Major requirements), its almost nearly guaranteed admission into UCLA.

Transfer Alliance Program - UCLA Undergraduate Admissions
Any of these schools will work.

ASSIST Help Pages
This website helped me A LOT, along with the IGETC guide in the back of almost any LACCD College Coursebook (which you'll get when you sign up for classes) in terms of planning for classes. I hate to say it, but it almost made it unnecessary for me to go to a counselor (which I only did like 2-3 times).

The only community colleges with better transfer rates than LAVC in the LACCD is Pierce (but not by much). Santa Monica College is outside the LACCD, but also is really strong in terms of sending transfers to UCLA.

If you need any more help, just shoot me a message. I've been through it all before

The advice you gave is valuable but regarding the comment about it being unnecessary to see a counselor, let me just say this: It is VERY easy to take the wrong classes so it is advisable to consult with counselor at least at the beginning. UCLA looks at honors coursework, GPA and major preparation. IGETC is the GE plan to follow but not required for admissions. If your major has lots of prep involved (such as sciences), IGETC is generally not advisable. I believe for a theater major, she may find it useful to follow IGETC but consult with a counselor beforehand to maximize the time you are at the community college. My two cents.

[Chatteress]

Originally Posted by nmnita

SMCC which has been suggested is a great place for you. Do remember, which I am sure you know, you will be paying out of state tuition and even at the CC level it is going to be pricey. That being said, good luck to you. Hope everything works out.

Nita

Thanks for bringing that valuable point up but for someone determined to enter the UC from out of state, their best hope is a California Community college due to the fact that the UC places higher priority in admission decisions on CA community college students and low priority for out of state students. This is especially critical for a competitive school such as UCLA.

[Chrissie_Cole]

Hello,

Thank you everyone for taking time out in replying to my post. Your thoughts, opinions, and ideas are very helpful to me.

THANKS AGAIN

[Lifeshadower]

Originally Posted by Chatteress

The advice you gave is valuable but regarding the comment about it being unnecessary to see a counselor, let me just say this: It is VERY easy to take the wrong classes so it is advisable to consult with counselor at least at the beginning. UCLA looks at honors coursework, GPA and major preparation. IGETC is the GE plan to follow but not required for admissions. If your major has lots of prep involved (such as sciences), IGETC is generally not advisable. I believe for a theater major, she may find it useful to follow IGETC but consult with a counselor beforehand to maximize the time you are at the community college. My two cents.

You're right as well. I just don't like going to the counseling office because their advice, at least IMO, isn't really that helpful since they'll end up looking at the Assist website anyways. In the beginning, they are at least somewhat of a guide, but what they can tell you can be easily figured out by looking at a combination of the IGETC/Major Requirements for a particular school/Honors Requirements.

Berkeley had some weird requirements for my majors, and wasn't signatory to the Honors Program at my Community College. Nevertheless, a large chunk of students my year (I think like 22-23) got into UC Berkeley, which is a huge number considering where LAVC is in California.

For the OP, California Community Colleges are great for transferring to some of the best schools in the country. In addition, you can also gain California residency by working (I forgot how many hours) so your rates can be even cheaper (in-state for CC's are like $26/unit, as opposed to more than $100 as an out of state). Once you transfer to a UC/CSU, it will also be much cheaper as a California resident.