Sometimes you miss out on your top choice school during college admissions. With acceptance rates dropping across the board at elite universities, this is an increasingly common phenomenon. Some students try to remedy this through transfer admissions; attending a school that may not be their top choice, and then applying to transfer later.
There are pros and cons to this approach, especially because transfer admissions themselves are by no means easy. Many schools have transfer acceptance rates as low as, or even lower than, their acceptance rates for freshmen, the UC schools among them. The UC schools, however, do have a special transfer acceptance pathway which guarantees admissions for some transfer students.
In this article, we’re going to go over the Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG). We’ll cover what it is, who qualifies, how it works, and whether it may be a good option for you to pursue. We’ll also cover other related transfer options for UC schools available to community college students. Let’s get started!
What is the Transfer Admission Guarantee?
Students at California Community Colleges can sign up for the TAG program if they meet eligibility requirements, and gain guaranteed admission to one of six UC campuses. The schools that participate in this program are:
- UC Davis
- UC Irvine
- UC Merced
- UC Riverside
- UC Santa Barbara
- UC Santa Cruz
Note that Berkeley, UCLA, and UC San Diego do not participate in this program. While you can still apply to them as a transfer student, they have no guaranteed admissions pathway.
For all of these schools you must meet minimum GPA requirements, have the correct number of credit hours, and apply based on their schedule. You can find these requirements here. You must meet these requirements while applying, and must continue to meet the GPA requirements even after admission, until you finish your time at community college.
All students at California Community Colleges qualify to take part in this program, including international students. You may not already have a degree, have already attended a UC school, or be concurrently enrolled in high school to file a TAG application.
All TAG applications are for a specific campus and course of study at that campus; you must meet the specific GPA and course prerequisite requirements for both. It is very difficult or impossible to change majors after applying in this way, so you should only make use of the TAG pathway if you are certain what you want to major in, and what campus you want to study at.
How to File a TAG Application
All UC transfer applications from community colleges in California, including TAG, go through their Transfer Admissions Planner (UCTAP). This has a specific way to enter your coursework, and allows you to ensure that the courses you are taking meet UC requirements. As you can create an account long before you apply, you can also use TAP to track your progress towards qualifying for transfer admissions.
We recommend creating a UCTAP account early, and maintaining a careful record of the courses you take, along with a plan for what other courses you will need for your intended campus and major. The platform also allows UC staff to contact you about the status of your application.
Pathways and Pathways+
TAG is not the only way to apply for admission to a UC campus from a California community college. The Pathways and Pathways+ programs are similar, but have subtle differences. We’ll go through each here.
Pathways
Transfer pathways is a program intended for students who are certain of what they want to major in, but do not have a top choice of campus from among the nine UC schools. It is primarily intended to be used by students applying to the most popular (and therefore competitive) majors.
Only certain majors are offered through the Pathways program. Specifically: Anthropology, Biochemistry, Biology, Business Administration, Cell Biology, Chemistry, Communication, Computer Science, Economics, Electrical Engineering, English, History, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Molecular Biology, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology.
Not every major is offered at each campus; there are limitations and requirements for each. For each major, there is a set list of courses you need to take in order to qualify, and a GPA requirement. The GPA requirement can vary by campus.
There is no guarantee of admission when applying through Pathways, but it is a great way to secure admission into the most competitive majors at UC schools. Note that you may not get your first choice of campus when applying using the Pathways program.
Pathways+
Pathways+ is a combination of the other two programs, and is intended for students who are certain of their major choice. Students applying to one of the Pathways majors at one of the six TAG campuses can qualify for the Pathways+ program, which guarantees acceptance into your chosen major at one of the six campuses that you meet the prerequisites for.
You will need to fulfill all course requirements for both the major and the basic transfer requirements, but this guarantees you a spot on a campus in your major of choice. As with the standard TAG program, Pathways+ does not work for students who want to transfer to UCLA, Berkeley, or UC San Diego. You may still apply to transfer to these schools using the normal transfer admissions process.
Is the TAG Program Right for You?
Now that we’ve covered the particulars of how this program works, we need to ask: is this the right choice for you? That depends entirely on two things: your own circumstances, and what you’re looking to get out of your college experience.
TAG is best suited for students who already planned to attend a community college in California who are looking to secure a sure seat in a four year university. If your plans feature a tenure at a California based community college already, then we urge you to take advantage of this setup, as it is designed with you in mind.
Students outside of California will not benefit as much, as the major benefit of community college is the savings compared to four year institutions. Attending a community college out of state, far from home, negates many of these savings, even though the TAG program accepts students regardless of California residency, it still is designed to help California residents primarily.
We do not recommend this as a pathway if you are not a California resident. If you are one, then it is a great choice if your performance in high school does not meet the academic standards you are capable of. Community college is a great stepping stone for students in these scenarios, and the TAG program allows you to do so with the confidence you will be able to attend a top research university as well.
While this is not the right choice for all students, it is a great option for some.
Final Thoughts
Community college is a great way to mitigate the rising costs of a college education; the big downside is the vagaries of transfer admissions. The TAG and Pathway programs eliminate much of this concern, and this is a wonderful opportunity for California students considering community college. We hope this article has given you a thorough introduction to this system, and showed you how you can take advantage of it.
Of course, most schools do not have guaranteed transfer programs, and in many cases transfer admissions are just as competitive as freshman admissions. We’ve worked with transfer students before, and had great success helping them find programs that suit their needs and interests. To learn more about how we can help you with this, or any other aspect of the college admissions experience, schedule a free consultation today.
