Advising Prospective Transfer Students

Prospective University transfer students should understand that a UC education is good preparation for advanced study and for many professions, but it is not necessarily a direct path to a specific career. Community college students should thoroughly investigate the best means of achieving their particular career goals.

Transfer students should be alerted to the differences between community college and University study that they may experience. Their academic responsibilities may be more demanding at the University, in large part because much of their coursework will be at the upper division (junior and senior) level. Students changing from a semester to a quarter system should also be prepared for the more accelerated pace of the quarter system. All UC campuses operate on the quarter system — three quarters of 10 weeks in the academic year — except Berkeley and Merced, which use the semester calendar.

Transfer students may need guidance in selecting a campus and major. In addition to the student's post-undergraduate plans, this decision should involve consideration of other relevant factors, including the level of competition for admission to particular University campuses and programs and how this might affect the qualifications necessary for admission. Students can investigate options using the Exploring Majors feature of ASSIST.

The UC campus Admissions Offices can provide up-to-date information about highly competitive programs. It is essential that students meet the admissions requirements, as well as any additional University, college or school, and major requirements. The more comprehensive and challenging a student's community college program, the better prepared he or she will be for University work and the better the chances for academic success.