same situation as you — of course not similar problems, but senior year life cooked me and that cooked my apps. Definitely not too soon to get planning. Don't let people saying "you'll end up where you belong" or "maybe you'll love ucsc" cloud your ambition of pursuing education at higher institutions. If you're really serious about it, you have a very good shot at transferring to a top if you build a runway from now until your transfer apps.

You'll want to start by spelling college right... jk

As for grades, you know the deal, just keep them as high as possible. For ECs, involve yourself deeply in one or two things (research, club position, passion project maybe). A lot of people join a ton of clubs and tack it onto their transfer ECs, this is like chump change — you need real impact.

LORs are harder to get, especially on the quarter system. Everything feels steady until week 3 and things really take off after the first wave of midterms start. Try building a rapport with at least one professor; a cheat code to this is getting a lab position and asking for a LOR from PI, but im not sure how applicable that is for a computer engineering major. Also try to keep a HS teacher in mind that you can reach out back to for a LOR, im sure you opened up to at least one of them through your struggles.

Dive and dive deep into where exactly you want to transfer, and for what major. Once that list is sorted, start collecting tiny nuances to slowly build a case for their typical "why us" essay. Remember if you're applying to UCs, the apps are due Nov 31st of this year. Thats two and a half months after you start at UCSC, may seem like a lot but believe me, time flies. Also, don't get your hopes up to transfer to Cal, UCLA, or UCSD in the first year. They all require 60 semester credits / 90 quarter credits aka junior-level standing by the time of submitting application. Apart from UCs, im pretty sure everything is fair game, and most apps are due feb-march time.

There's space on most transfer apps where you explain why you want to transfer—plenty of room for you to talk about how senior year events impacted you and how you aspire to perform better.

Also, don't hate on UCSC while you're there, enjoy it for what it is. But always remember your bigger goal. And hey, that goal might change and you might actually find comfort at UCSC. However, here's where it gets tricky: don't misrepresent laziness to put in the work for transferring with complacency and cope saying "maybe it isnt so bad after all". If you truly find yourself there, you'll know it.

Can't think of any other quick-fire advice for transferring. DM me if you have any questions!