I’m a current UCSC alum interested in transferring to U of M LSA as a sophomore for CS. Apps for us are due in about a month and a half, but I was interested in seeing how my odds are looking for transfer admission. I believe my HS GPA is the worst part of my application, but since I have 29 quarter credits from the Summer and Fall quarters, I don’t know how much U of M will look at my HS GPA.
Here are my HS stats:
1.) GPA Unweighted: 3.356
2.) SAT: 1500 (Math: 800, Reading/Writing: 700), Best Essay: 20/24
3.) Went to an extremely competitive high school but had relatively decent ECs (Founded a tutoring organization that teaches chess and programming, did a software test engineering internship, did an internship at MathEdge, Secretary of Youth Public Policy Institute)
Here are my UCSC stats:
1.) Current GPA Unweighted: 3.87, Projected GPA Unweighted: 3.7 - 3.78 (Taking CSE12, one of the hardest lower-division CS classes and will receive B or B+)
2.) 29 quarter units (Summer 2020 + Fall 2020)
3.) ECs: Involved in Google DSC club and doing an independent mathematics/computer science research project.
4.) Ok/Good Essays
5.) Hoping to get an academic recommendation letter from Math and Writing professors
I can’t chance you, but are you applying to CS in engineering, or CS in LSA? Thinking that CS engineering will be more competitive to get into, but I am not sure…both likely have precious few transfer spots.
Have you done a virtual transfer spotlight session? Worked with someone in the transfer center? UMich transfer staff is very helpful at helping you understand which classes will transfer, and helping you best target your application.
If you want to be certain to transfer, make sure to apply to some match schools, as well as a safety.
Thx
. So any credits under the junior status they will look at your high school information. You are now going to a good school and killing it so that is a huge plus. Don’t worry about a bad college grade or two. College is hard and I will tell you… Michigan is harder… Lol.
Give it a shot… Just make sure you fulfill what they require on the transfer page for engineering and more importantly make sure your classes transfer. Michigan is very picky on math and science and don’t be surprised if your retaking a class or 2. They have a transfer Tuesday that you will meet with a counselor and give them your transcripts or just send them into a counselor now and they will let you know.
I’ve not spent a lot of time in the UMich transfer area, but the HS GPA is well below the 25/75, the 1,500 near the top of the 25/75 level. The Santa Cruz GPA is outstanding, UC CS is brutal, which I would hope UMich would regard highly. CS in LSA will offer a slight advantage over CoE in terms of acceptance rate.
Overall, the transfer acceptance rate was 42% last year. I think essays are crucial. UMich wants the love. I’d guess the odds are good. Good luck.
Hi, so ya I’m not transferring to CS in engineering but rather CS in LSA. I’ve worked with an admissions counselor in LSA and they told me that there aren’t really any requirements to get into CS in LSA, as in specific required courses.
Thanks for the info! I am applying to CS in LSA, so I hope that if I can get 3.78 cumulative GPA this quarter, they will be regarding my college GPA more than my low HS GPA. In terms of the essays, which I also believe will be the make-it or break-it part of my app, do you know if there any good resources available from UMich admissions?
Thanks for the info! I just want to clarify that I’m not applying to the College of Engineering as it has a lot more transfer prerequisite courses that I won’t be able to complete by the time of my application.
My D18 was accepted EA in 2017, so its been 3 years since I saw her essays.
I’m not going to tell anyone here anything new, but I remember her researching various departments on the UMich website and finding one or two that she thought she wanted to do outside of LSA. Maybe show that you have interests beyond just computers.
Also, D18 is also a BIG sports fan, like dad. For example, we were both texting each other yesterday about NSD (National Signing Day). When I run around my neighborhood or at the trail wearing Michigan swag, I can hear “Go Blue” all the time. Bleed Maize and Blue.
One other thing I’ll mention. D almost took a summer course at UCLA, with a friend at UCLA, but in the end decided not to take it. Her UMich advisor said something to the effect that UC courses, particularly this one, are easily transferable/accepted between institutions.
Now UCLA and UCSC are different, but I’d like to think there’s a strong UC-UMich “transcript transference” connection. Big leap, I know.
This is not CS transfer. S’s friend (both seniors now) a few years ago applied to transfer from UCSC to UMich and USC as a sophomore. He was accepted to both schools. He was a Political Science major with a 3.96 GPA in his freshman year at UCSC. He decided on USC (he is now in the business school) because he disdained the cold weather in Michigan. Some people don’t mind the cold while others do. Michigan is a great school with all the amenities.
Oh, that is very interesting as I’m also applying to USC as well! May I ask, if you know, to what extent did your S’s HS grades and SAT/ACT matter in their admission process to USC and UMich?
You may want to check the Michigan transfer credit pages. Michigan is not great with transfer subject credit, so it may force you to retake some courses that you have already taken, potentially delaying entry to major or graduation. For example, UCSC MATH 19A, 19B, 23A, 23B, 24 (single variable calculus, multivariable calculus, differential equations) are all listed by Michigan LSA as MATH 101X Departmental (i.e. general math credit, does not fulfill any Michigan math courses), although a combination of UCSC MATH 19B and 23A is listed by Michigan CoE as MATH 116 (single variable calculus 2).
However, it has neither an articulation agreement nor any transfer credit history with UCSC, so any transfer credit will have to be determined after you commit if admitted. This is obviously a risk in terms of possibly having to repeat courses you have already taken, delaying graduation. However, existing articulation agreements (mostly with California community colleges) and histories (some with other UCs) suggest that USC may be more generous than Michigan.
@CS2021Transfer : Son’s friend had a HS weighted GPA of around 4.2 to 4.3. I don’t know SAT/ACT. Applying from high school, he was wait listed at UC’s such as San Diego, Irvine, etc. He chose UCSC because that was the best UC in his mind. UC’s have gotten very competitive to get into the past few years. I don’t know how much the high school stuff played in the decision for USC transfers, but I am sure they were factored in the decision process because it is a one year transfer. For 2 year transfers (transfer as a junior), the high school records are less important and more importantly are the college grades. Both are thriving at USC. The friend changed major to business school. Son has not had a college grade lower than an A-.
