I actually go to Saddleback College and CA community colleges offer a TAG(transfer admission guarantee) program. Pretty much just maintain a decent gpa(above 3.0 or something,varies for UCs i believe) and you choose a UC school you want to TAG into, meaning you are guaranteed to get into that one school. I believe Berkley is off the list, but obviously schools like UCLA and UCSD will require higher gpas due to the amount of applicants. But going underclass at a community college then junior and senior year at a 4 year school would definitely be cheaper than 3 or 4 years at that UC, that is if you can get in. If UC system is where you are trying to get into, the TAG program might be worth looking into.