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Let's keep this straight, plain, and simple.
I'm currently a college student at UHMC (College in Maui Hawaii)
I'm planning on transferring to SDSU or UCSD.
Reason: no reason at all just thinking and expanding my options!
What I'd like to know;
What's my expected plan in doing this when I'm also thinking of moving there as well?
I appreciate every answer good or bad. :-) but mostly I want positive possible answers.
Thank you!
San Diego is a pleasant place to live. You may enjoy living here, and traveling elsewhere on the mainland. However, how much extra will it cost you? We need more info to gauge whether it would be worth it.
What's your major? If it is in the sciences, then transferring to UCSD would be worth the higher costs, both for the degree and for putting you within a hub of the biosciences industry. However, if you are going to SDSU for a degree in tourism marketing (if there is such a thing), I don't see the net benefit over UHMC. Both Hawaii and San Diego will put you in an epicenter for the tourism industry. The benefit is that you could begin building business relationships sooner, but these are business/career relationships and we don't know what your business and career plans are so we can't put much value on them.
The immediate negative that comes to my mind is that you will have to pay out of state tuition rates. Also, at UHMC are you living at home or are you paying for housing? If you are already paying for housing then the overall cost increase from transferring may not be so much. I hear the cost of living for basic necessities in Hawaii is high for everything. Other than housing and tuition, you may find your other costs are lower after a move. However, I doubt it would be enough to make up for the tuition costs.
The costs need to be weighed carefully against the value of your major, from where your degree is granted, and the difference in your housing costs.
Let's keep this straight, plain, and simple.
I'm currently a college student at UHMC (College in Maui Hawaii)
I'm planning on transferring to SDSU or UCSD.
Reason: no reason at all just thinking and expanding my options!
What I'd like to know;
What's my expected plan in doing this when I'm also thinking of moving there as well?
I appreciate every answer good or bad. :-) but mostly I want positive possible answers.
Thank you!
I'm a retired college admissions counselor who has helped many students from around the world apply to both UCSD and SDSU (as well as many other schools). Here's what you need to know about applying.
University of California San Diego - Only accepts applications for junior transfer admission. Preference is given to transfer applicants in the following order: (1) transfer applicants from California community colleges (2) transfer applicants who are California residents (3) all other transfer applicants.
All of the UCs have very specific minimum requirements for transfer applicants. Be sure you understand what is required and plan your coursework accordingly: Basic requirements | UC Admissions
UCSD is highly competitive and admitted out of state applicants will usually exceed these minimums. In particular, your Grade Point Average at your current school will be closely scruntinized. You'll need to write two essays (personal statements) for your application, and the UCs and UCSD use those to evaluate and choose between equally qualified applicants. The biggest mistake transfer applicants make in applying to the UCs is not taking those personal statements seriously!
Deadline to apply: The UCs only accept transfer applications for the following fall between November 1 and November 30 of each year. So, if you are planning to start for Fall 2016, you've missed the deadline. But, you could apply for Fall 2017 next November.
All of the UCs use the same application, so it is possible to apply to multiple UCs all at once. I generally recommend this, especially for out of state students, because admission is so competitive.
You'll find all the details you need to know about applying here:
Cost of attending. For out of state students, the cost of attendance is $56,000 living on campus. This includes $38,000 in tuition and fees. You may be able to spend a little less living off campus, but don't expect to live on $500 a month. Federal financial aid is available, of course. But since most institutional aid and state aid goes to instate students, in my experience out of state students typically will end up with more loans to cover expenses.
This is getting long, so I'll start a new post for SDSU.
Like UCSD, SDSU accepts upper division (i.e., junior) transfers only. SDSU is what is known as an "impacted" campus in the Cal State system, so they only accept transfer applications for the Fall semester.
Also like the UCs, the Cal STate system has established minimum requirements for transfers. You can learn about these requirements here: San Diego State University | Admissions
Meeting the minimum requirements doesn't guarantee admission for non-residents. SDSU is one of the more competitive campuses for admission, and certain majors have their own requirements, so you want to read the information on the transfer website and for individual majors carefully and plan your schedule accordingly.
While it is somewhat less competitive for non-resident transfers to get into SDSU than it is into UCSD, SDSU is still highly competitive for non-resident transfer admission, especially in certain majors.
The Cal State system uses one application for all campuses, thus you can apply to multiple Cal State campuses. There is no essay required. It is a fairly straightforward application. You can find the application and more information about transfer admission here (read this site carefully): http://www.csumentor.edu/planning/transfer/
Application deadline: The deadline to apply for the fall semester is November 30 of the previous year, so if you want to apply for next fall, you're out of luck, but you could apply for Fall 2017 next fall.
Cost of Attendance. The total cost of attendance for out of state students living on campus is $33,000 a year. This includes $18,000 in fees and out of state tuition. Again, some students living off campus may be able to slightly reduce their cost if they share with roommates, but San Diego is expensive so don't expect to live on $500 a month. As with the UCs, Federal financial aid is available to out of state students but since out of state students aren't eligible for California state assistance programs or many of the scholarships/institutional aid, in general, nonresident students will end up paying more out of pocket and taking more loans.
I want to add that many out of state students and their parents believe that it is possible to come to California and attend a UC or a Cal State for a semester or so and then get "instate tuition."
This is NOT true. It is almost impossible to qualify for instate tuition once you have enrolled in a UC or Cal State, so you should assume you will be paying out of state tuition.
Some additional advice: The UCs and Cal States are not the only colleges and universities in California. In fact, we have many EXCELLENT private colleges and universities. As you're considering your transfer options, you may want to also look at some private schools. I have found that some private schools are more generous with financial aid and scholarships for qualified transfer applicants, and, in general, are more willing to smooth the path for out of state students in terms of transferring credits.
In San Diego, the University of San Diego is an excellent option to consider.
There are over 200 private colleges and universities in California, but here are a few very good options for transfer students to consider besides the University of San Diego: Occidental College, University of Southern California, University of Redlands, Chapman University, Loyola Marymount University, University of San Francisco, and Santa Clara University. This list isn't all-inclusive, though -- we have a lot of great schools between the UCs, Cal States and private schools! So don't limit your options. Think big and explore all the options; you may find a school that surprises you.
Feel free to send me a private message if you have any questions or would like to talk about which schools might be a good match for you.
Honestly, if you're just going by geography, you're really not thinking this through.
UCSD and SDSU are not in the same league. Figure out how good you are (if you're considering SDSU, you're probably not good enough for UCSD), then go from there. If you're coming from another state anyway, then you're already not saving money by going to a state school, so why not expand your search a little? If you're good enough for UCSD, then you might as well try for all of the competitive schools.
If you're not good enough for UCSD, then you're probably better off finishing your bachelor's degree in Hawaii and then going on to grad school or work in California, since you're save a fortune in tuition.
UCSD is a good school, but it's probably not worth out-of-state tuition, since your local options are just as good. UCSD is worth it. Places like UCLA, Berkeley, Stanford, and Caltech are even better.
As a rule of thumb, I wouldn't advise anyone to change states for a school that isn't in the top 50 unless the school offers a lot of scholarship money.
Honestly, if you're just going by geography, you're really not thinking this through.
UCSD and SDSU are not in the same league. Figure out how good you are (if you're considering SDSU, you're probably not good enough for UCSD), then go from there. If you're coming from another state anyway, then you're already not saving money by going to a state school, so why not expand your search a little? If you're good enough for UCSD, then you might as well try for all of the competitive schools.
If you're not good enough for UCSD, then you're probably better off finishing your bachelor's degree in Hawaii and then going on to grad school or work in California, since you're save a fortune in tuition.
UCSD is a good school, but it's probably not worth out-of-state tuition, since your local options are just as good. UCSD is worth it. Places like UCLA, Berkeley, Stanford, and Caltech are even better.
As a rule of thumb, I wouldn't advise anyone to change states for a school that isn't in the top 50 unless the school offers a lot of scholarship money.
This is good advice. Except I would say top 20 instead of top 50. If you can't break into the top 20, you should carefully consider your total cost for undergrad. You don't want to spend your next 10-20 years barely able to breathe under a mountain of crushing debt.
Honestly, if you're just going by geography, you're really not thinking this through.
UCSD and SDSU are not in the same league. Figure out how good you are (if you're considering SDSU, you're probably not good enough for UCSD), then go from there. If you're coming from another state anyway, then you're already not saving money by going to a state school, so why not expand your search a little? If you're good enough for UCSD, then you might as well try for all of the competitive schools.
If you're not good enough for UCSD, then you're probably better off finishing your bachelor's degree in Hawaii and then going on to grad school or work in California, since you're save a fortune in tuition.
UCSD is a good school, but it's probably not worth out-of-state tuition, since your local options are just as good. UCSD is worth it. Places like UCLA, Berkeley, Stanford, and Caltech are even better.
As a rule of thumb, I wouldn't advise anyone to change states for a school that isn't in the top 50 unless the school offers a lot of scholarship money.
I went to UCSD only because I did not get into CAL/UCLA, and honestly I regret not going to CSUN and saving money on tuition costs. In general no one really cares what public school you go to after those two, CAL/UCLA. Most people know the other UCs and CSU schools are reject schools.
People like to crap on SDSU (mostly people that went to UCSD) but it is a decent affordable university. I transferred there from a local community college and it was a great experience. It is so much more than a party school. The most used classification in academia is the Carnegie Classification, which ranks SDSU as RU/H, i.e. Research University with high research activity. The only higher ranking, research-wise, is RU/VH, which only 108 universities have. US News, which is more for people outside academia, ranks SDSU at around 150th nationally, which is consistent with the Carnegie rankings. Internationally, there are various rankings, but they generally have SDSU in the top 500. For example, Shanghai Rankings has SDSU around 350th in the world.
Last edited by aboveordinary; 01-01-2016 at 06:25 PM..
People like to crap on SDSU (mostly people that went to UCSD) but it is a decent affordable university. I transferred there from a local community college and it was a great experience. It is so much more than a party school. The most used classification in academia is the Carnegie Classification, which ranks SDSU as RU/H, i.e. Research University with high research activity. The only higher ranking, research-wise, is RU/VH, which only 108 universities have. US News, which is more for people outside academia, ranks SDSU at around 150th nationally, which is consistent with the Carnegie rankings. Internationally, there are various rankings, but they generally have SDSU in the top 500. For example, Shanghai Rankings has SDSU around 350th in the world.
Agreed, the JC to SDSU option is a great one too. Most employers don't care where you obtained your degree anyway unless you are in a specialty field.
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