How do community college credits transfer to a UC?

Hey! I'm planning on attending community college first and then transferring to a UC. Can anyone explain how the credit transfer process works and any tips on making sure all my credits count toward my major?

The University of California has a fairly comprehensive and fair process for transferring credits from community colleges. Here's a general outline of how their process works:

1. Review Guidelines: The UC system has a set of guidelines that specify which courses at California community colleges are equivalent to courses at UC schools, and these are the credits that will transfer. The website Assist.org is an excellent resource for understanding which courses will transfer from a specific community college to a UC and for ensuring that you're taking the right classes.

2. Meet with a Counselor: It's advisable to meet regularly with a counselor at your community college who is familiar with the UC transfer process. This individual can help guide your course selections, ensuring they align with your intended major, and will transfer to your target UC school.

3. IGETC pathway: To ensure that you complete all lower-division general education requirements for UC, consider the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC). This approved sequence of courses will fulfill many requirements and help streamline the transfer process.

4. Monitor UC's Transfer Course Agreement (TCA): Some community colleges have a Transfer Course Agreement with specific UC campuses, which provides an additional pathway for ensuring your classes transfer.

Remember that UC schools require a minimum of 60 semester (or 90 quarter) units from a community college for you to be admitted as an upper-division transfer student. This can typically be achieved by full-time attendance at a community college for two academic years. Lastly, your grades matter, particularly in courses relevant to your intended UC major. High performance in these courses will not only boost your admissions chances greatly, but they may determine whether some of your credits are accepted for transfer.

Finally, be aware of deadlines. UCs generally open the application period for transfers in the fall, a full year before you plan to enroll, and the standard application deadline is usually near the end of November.