A slightly different transfer applicant...

Colleges and Universities A-Z Carnegie Mellon University
1

<p>I'm a little different than most of the "chance me" applicants on this site. I graduated high school in 2000 (I'm 29) and didn't take the SAT or ACT. I was near the bottom of my high school class and had absolutely zero drive to do anything. It's not that I was incompetent, I just found a way to work the system. I would make straight A's 1st and 2nd semesters, then just not show up the next two semesters (obviously getting F's,) take a final and end up with a C average for the class based on grades. I saw that as doing half the work with 1/10 the effort and making the same grades as people who were there the entire year. It was a cocky skewed way of doing things, but the bottom line was I still passed and at the time, that's all that mattered.</p>

<p>Lets just say growing up opened my eyes a bit. I've done things (owned and sold my own company at the age of 24 and WSOP televised dealer in 2008 to name a few,) so I have quite a bit of experiences to add if I ever get to an interview process. But I'm unsure if my severely lackluster high school grades will destroy any chances I have, even if the college grades are what's important as a transfer student. I actually didn't even send high school transcripts to anybody.</p>

<p>My application was completed by the middle of January so it was likely of the first submitted if that matters. Anyhow, here's the lowdown on my academic (college) history. Anybody able to chance me? Obviously I've googled the chances and whatnot, so it's kinda a moot question; I'm just kinda curious to see what the general consensus is on my chances. I'm a MechE major transferring as a Junior (I'm currently wrapping up as a sophomore.) so I'm not really competing with the freshman and high school kids.</p>

<p>3.7 un-weighted GPA
Campus Math Tutor
ALL Honors designated classes in my sciences and math as well as some English courses
Very strong letters from my Math and English professors as well as the Honors Academy director (well rounded since it's both math and english???)
Receive numerous merit and academic based scholarships on teh national and institutional level
Have a strong recommendation from an industry internship</p>

<p>If you look at my transcript, the only reason my GPA is marred is because I chose the most rigorous professors (extremely low pass rates) as well as chose to designate them my honors classes (which means about a 20% additional course load for depth of understanding and/or non-covered topics.) I'm unsure as to whether this will help or hinder me because I do have the deeper understanding of the topics, but I'm not sure if they see past the GPA score despite my letters of recommendation even stating "my risk taking is commendable and very unusual at this level."</p>

<p>What do you guys think? Due to the pact Florida colleges have with each other, if I attain my AA I'm automatically accepted into UF. Not really a bad fallback school, I just don't care for the University of Florida.</p>

<p>Based on older thread, people get things on their personal accounts saying reviewed or something of that nature. Mine just shows all of my documents being submitted and has been the same. The only thing that changed is when they downloaded my tax forms from IDOC on March 1st...otherwise, it hasn't changed.</p>

<p>Thanks for your time!</p>

2

<p>Have you taken any engineering classes? You have an interesting background, but as a MechE, if you have only taken math/science prereqs, it might be a tough sell because you would at least a year behind on your degree, since we start taking our core engineering classes sophomore year. </p>

<p>Other than that, I’m not really sure, but good luck!</p>

3

<p>I applied for the fall term, but naw, I haven’t taken any MechE classes. </p>

<p>But by the fall term I will have completed all my Calcs, Physics, and POSSIBLY DE (I say possibly because I’m not sure if I want to have a summer term with DE a 7 week Calc III and Phys 2 along with a speech class to wrap up my AA.) All of those classes will also be designated Honors as well. So really, all I will have left to do is MechE classes at where ever I transfer to which will put me right on track as far as my tentative graduation date goes.</p>

4

<p>I agree that you should plan on being a year behind. Check out [Degree</a> Requirements-Mechanical Engineering - Carnegie Mellon University](<a href=“Undergraduate program”>Undergraduate program) to see a typical sequence. There are a number of basic engineering courses that students take in their first two years.</p>

5

<p>There’s only 3 classes I haven’t taken that are on that list for a sophomore:</p>

<p>Thermo
Fluid Dynamics
Stress Analysis</p>

<p>Looking up those, I could take them in place of the gen ed and elective requirements that other sophomores/juniors are taking since I have satisfied all my Gen Eds and electives. I also don’t take summers off, so that’s probably another reason I shouldn’t be behind another year.</p>

<p>But I can see what you’re saying how I would be a year behind. I’ve had numerous other friends that gone to UF taking the same track I have (no engineering courses first two years) and they still come out at the 4 year mark for a Bachelors in MechE or ElecE. Part of the reason I did this was so I have all the nonsense out of the way so it would be full bore engineering from this point forward.</p>

<p>But those things aside, how good do my chances look?</p>

6

<p>As for chances, who can say? If you’ve done well with college level material, that sure seems promising.</p>

<p>On the courses, in addition to the three you mentioned (thermo, fluid, stress), you’ll want to be sure that you’ve covered these six courses from the first two years:</p>

<ul>
<li>Fundamentals of Mechanical Engineering</li>
<li>Secondary Introductory Engineering Course</li>
<li>Statics</li>
<li>three restricted technical electives (4 credits each; check the specific requirements for MechE).</li>
</ul>

<p>If you’ve got all of these courses covered, then great! But you didn’t mention them, and they’re not really Gen Eds or free electives. So you’ll want to check the details for planning purposes.</p>

7

<p>I did take statics, but I just assumed it was a general science class geared towards engineering and physics majors like physics is. I haven’t taken the other mentioned courses.</p>

<p>Hmmm. I’m kinda perplexed at why my personal account hasn’t changed to reflect anything. A couple weeks back I called the admissions office asking if there was anything else they needed, more specifically my high school transcript and or my parents W2’s, and they stated the high school transcript wasn’t necessary since I was 10 years past graduation (not to mention I pointed out my HS no longer has them on file without putting in an order to the State) and neither was the parents W2’s for obvious reasons. </p>

<p>I just hope there isn’t/wonder if there’s an automated system where it flags my account as “incomplete” as a result of missing those items since it doesn’t even say “complete” or “reviewed” and the decision dates (based on last years dates) are quickly approaching. I’d hate to get denied for having an incomplete account when I was told otherwise long before the deadline.</p>

<p>Thanks for your input and time!</p>

8

<p>My son is Chem Eng at UF.</p>

<p>That said, I think your resume is probably more interesting and shows a deeper interest than the “usual”. I truly believe the path you have taken makes you an asset to whichever school you choose.</p>

<p>UCF and FSU both have solid engineering programs, if you aren’t interested in UF. As to the course work, you’ll get it done. If it takes a summer session, so be it.</p>

<p>Good Luck!!</p>

9

<p>Thanks orangemom12! Hopefully they will see that.</p>

<p>Honestly, the only reason UF isn’t a 1st choice for me besides the fact of the pact Florida colleges have is I don’t like that sports atmosphere. I’m not really a football fan, let alone a Gators fan. I don’t like the fact that I’ll always be associated with Gators the football team rather than the school itself. I know that that’s something to be said about the school camaraderie, it’s just not my bag…</p>

10

<p>When I had student W-2 forms listed as a requirement(which I did not receive), I called CMU and specifically asked them to waive it for me. You might be able to do the same with your required documents.</p>

11

<p>According to the lady at admissions, my application package is complete, however, the website doesn’t reflect anything different than it was 3 weeks ago…</p>

<p>Also, anybody know when are the decisions going to be released for transfer students?</p>