Steps to Apply for A Four-Year University

Hello, everyone! One of the advantages of a community college is option to get in to very good universities.  I started at MiraCosta with the goal to attend UCLA and UC Berkeley.  I am going to cover the general steps to apply for transfer admission at a four-year university or college.

1. Find Targets                 

Before you take any actions, it is always important and helpful to locate which school or college you want to transfer to. You can make decisions based on the following factors:

2. Location

You want your future school to have a beautiful view or a comfortable environment for academic studying. It also helps if the school is located at an area that has entertainments for after school hangout. I highly recommend a trip to the school to actually see and experience yourself whether you are fond of the school or not.

3. Tuition 

Before you start on dreaming about Harvard or UCLA, maybe it's better to check out your budget. Are you paying for the next tow years of school by yourself or from your parents? Do you have a financial-aid plan? What about scholarship? Depending on individual school, there might be a significant amount of change in turns of tuition fee. If you are an International student, it is likely that you are going to pay an addition nonresidence supplemental fee of $22.878. So CHECK YOUR BUDGET and do some research before you make your final decision.

4. Major

You want to choose a school that has 
high reputation for its program in the major that you are studying right now. For instance, California State University offers variations of programs for business, accounting, biology, nursing, and so on. Based on your major and what the school can offer you, you want to make sure that the school you are thinking about has your major and also a good program that complements your major.

5. Meet with a Counselor  

  

After you decide the schools that you are interested in, I highly highly highly recommend you to make an appointment with a consoler at the transfer center, or if you are an International student, you want to sit down with a counselor at our International Office. Depending on your education goal, a consoler will make specific plans in order to compete your transfer major requirements for the schools you are going to apply to. Go to Assist. org and find out more about your major requirements for the colleges you are thinking about.

6. Follow your Educational Plan 

After meeting with a counselor, you are expected to follow the educational plan assigned for you. Remember to register classes on time to unsure your enrollment. MiraCosta College offers students new class schedules for the upcoming semester towards the end of every term. Therefore, I highly recommend students to plan ahead what they want to take next semester and map out their schedules even before the online enrollment opens.  Make sure to check your progress with a counselor every semester in order to ensure you are on the right track.

7. Preparing your application 

 

Depending on which school you are going to apply, you want to know the specific dates for the application drop-in season. For instance, UC schools normally open up their online application sections on November 1st and close them at the last day of November for students who want to study the fall semester new year. Also, many schools have online systems where students can update their information online instead of mailing directly to these colleges. Note the transfer workshops offered at school about UC or CSU applications and personal statements. More importantly, you want to sit down with a transfer counselor before and after you fill out your applications.  

8. Submit and update  

After you have correctly filled out your applications, you want to submit them before the deadlines. Note that depending on the schools you apply to, the deadlines may vary. 

9. Good Luck!