Optimal CC to UC engineering transfer plan?
Hi! I'm a graduating high schooler who plans to major in MechE and going to CC. I'm not sure if I should take two years at CC or if its possible/better to transfer within a year. My goal is to enter UCSD, UCLA or UCB to pursue a masters, but in my undergrad, I really want to join FSAE, build some cool projects with friends, eventually research and find an internship. Are there any key benefits or disadvantages of 1 vs 2 year eng transfers? And is my 1-year plan plausible?
Right now, I'm planning on attending two CCs to get the classes I need. However, I realized that on ASSIST, another CC near me offers the strongly recommended courses that articulate to UCs, like MATLAB, dynamics, or circuit analysis, so is it smart to be taking classes across 3 CCs? There are also very similar courses, for example at De Anza there's ENGR 37 (intro to circuit analysis), but they don't pop as articulated in ASSIST, so could I just take those classes?
My stats: 3.87 UW, 11 APs (Calc AB/BC, CS A, Phys 1, Lang/Lit, Stats, Macro, APES, Chinese, WHAP), DE(Gen Chem 1, Multivar, a few SolidWorks and CNC classes)
Here is my 1-year plan to transfer in Fall 2027:
Summer 2026: How many/what classes should I take? I'm going to do Asynch cuz I'm on vacation, but I don't wanna fall behind either. My options are Python or C++(depends, I want to do Python but C++ is required for UCLA?), intro philosophy, psych(for GEs), diff EQ. MATLAB if I go to a 3rd CC.
Fall 2026: Lin Alg, Physics 1, Gen Chem 2, GEs
Winter 2027: Physics 2, Gen Chem 3, circuits, GEs
Spring 2027: Physics 3, statics, MATLAB, GEs
I'm also curious about other engineering transfers and what they did in CC, specifically classes and ecs. Feel free to share. Any advice for sophomore engineering transfers is appreciated.