should i transfer to a cal state university from a university?

Question

I'm a sophomore attending a uc and was going for my BS in biochemistry for pharmacy, but i got discontinued from this major due to bad grades. i am now undeclared at the uc. i never had bad grades, but the last two quarters werent so great for me. I am thinking of transfering to a cal state where it offers BS and masters in Nursing. The thing is that i would have to do the GE's all over and do the pre-reqs for the impacted major. I would waste a year to get this done, bc the classes i took at my uc wouldnt satisfy the requirements at the cal state. I dont know if i should transfer and start all over (i would do one year to finsih up the requirements, then two years to get my BS in nursing) or stay at the uc and get my bachelors in something else. But then i wouldnt know what career path to go afterwards..maybe pharmacy? (but that would be another 5 years). what do u think is the wisest decision? Serious answers only please! thanks in advance.

Answer 1

From what I understand, if you complete ALL of the GE requirements at a state school in CA, then if you transfer to another state school you won't have to take any more GE. I could be wrong, and you should confirm this with a counselor at both schools. But it is something you should consider, staying at the UC long enough to complete your GE before transfering.

I think whether or not to transfer depends on why you got bad grades. If you didn't study enough, or had unfortunate circumstances in your life, then a CSU isn't going to be any better than a UC. CSU's are not easier than UCs, maybe slightly, and a lot of them have high drop out rates because they are easy to get into but hard to graduate from.

If your bad grades were due to your being bad in a subject (like chemistry) then you should consider changing majors. Nursing would be better to do at a CSU (because I don't think any UCs offer a BS in nursing). But for anything else, you are better off staying where you are and switching majors to something you enjoy. Have you had any general ed classes that you loved? Maybe you should consider majors outside the realm of pre-health, with less emphasis on science and more on writing if you are good at that.

Answer 2

I would talk to someone at the school -- also go to assist.org to look a schools and transfer credit -- it seems strange that the GE wouldn't count...they should....I could see the GEs not transferring from a CSU to a UC but not the other way around - sometimes you need to go to the school you would be transferring and ask what they will accept....plus time really isn't a big issue of how long you stay in school - one or two more years isn't really a big deal if you will be working for over 30 years - just make sure you do what will make you happy - that is what counts...

good luck!

Answer 3

I would say stay where you are and try to use the credits you have earned towards a different academic degree plan. Instead of transferring which can set you back as you have stated and may be costly in terms of moving expenses and other incidentals, try and see if you can stay where you are and finish out some kind of undergraduate degree. Explore your options where you are! Go into a career office at your current school and see what they can do for you!

Answer 4

What is worse to you: a wasted year, or a wasted life?

That sounds extreme. But look at it this way: if you really, truly want to be a nurse, do you want to look back ten years from now and say, "Wow. If I'd just taken that extra year, I'd be doing what I wanted to do now, instead of what I'm doing."

Talk to an advisor at your school about what you would need to do to get back on track, and talk to an advisor at a Cal to find out what you'd need to do to transfer. Try to get it in writing so there's no problems or second-guessing. You don't want to have an ill-advised advisor telling you one thing, only to get on campus and find out they were wrong about what you really needed to do.

The wisest decision is the one that is going to get you into the career of your choice. A year is just a year. Good luck.