Another Non-Traditional Student, Chances?

Transfer Students
1

<p>I need your help guys, especially from the ones that have been through this process before. I've been lurking the forums on this site for like a month now and I feel I can't get anymore out of this site, unless I start posting. =D...</p>

<p>Schools I've applied to:
Junior Transfer
Georgetown - MSB, NYU (Stern) - First Choice (Whichever school takes me, preferably Gtown over NYU though =P)</p>

<p>Penn (CAS - Econ), *Berkely (Econ), UCLA(Business Econ) - Second Choices (in no particular order, a bit worried about the Econ program at Berkeley though)</p>

<p>*I would've applied to haas, but they have a requirement where certain major classes (ie econ, calc) can't be taken more than 5 years ago prior to admission</p>

<p>My stats:
(Non-traditional), been out of school after 3 semesters from cc,
24 years old now
transferring as a junior</p>

<p>PROS:
73 units at a community college in so cali, 3.94 gpa, tough classes (3 semesters of calc/1 latin/2 spanish/1 calc-based physics-my only "b", few honors courses)
minimal amount of ec, some volunteer work as a tutor
mun, alpha gamma sigma @ college
no leadership positions really</p>

<p>studied korean overseas for a quarter -> 91</p>

<p>CONS:
[4 year break from school]
I got a 4.0 in the fall semester, but all my econ/calc courses were taken either 5or6 years ago.</p>

<p>lived/worked overseas</p>

<p>[Terrible High School Record]
high school:
2.0 gpa, 3 high schools (terrible transcripts, i did take ap/honors courses, but i failed quite a few of em, had semesters with a .16 gpa, .33gpa, etcetc), graduated from adult school ('05)</p>

<p>[Mediocre SAT scores]
SAT i/ii's
junior yr @ hs = 1370 -> (600v, 770m)
junior yr @ hs -> sat ii's 680 (math2), 760(am history)
12/05 = sat 1940 (640v,690m,610w - what is this new writiing prompt? got an 8 on that writing prompt)
11/05 = sat 2 math 2 = 670</p>

<p>[Few AP Exams in HS]
ap tests in h.s.
5 us history, 2 chem</p>

<p>OVERALL
Does high school and the 4 year break from school make me a stretch for some of these schools ? Or does my gpa cover it enough for me to be competitive? I know I have a good shot at UCLA/Berkeley applying from an in-state university and purely by CC numbers, but I really would like to live in D.C. or NYU (love a cosmopolitan atmosphere a la Seoul)</p>

<p>Are there a lot of students like me where they screw up in high school and do well at a community college? I know there's like a good number of students with a 4.0 applying to both berkeley and ucla.</p>

2

<p>It may be a problem as GE requirements are constantly changing what was taught in a class 5 years ago MAY be different than what the current thinking on the subject is now. Hence many colleges don't accept CC work after a certain date. It may not be the case in your situation (I'm mostly talking a 8 to 10 year hiatus) but it's still a possibility.</p>

<p>Your high school numbers don't matter much as a Junior level transfer but the AP courses could be a boost. </p>

<p>I suppose you'll just have to wait it out, and of course, let us know how everything turns out.</p>

<p>P.S.
A good explanation about why you took a break would be helpful. Military? Death? Extenuating circumstances?</p>

3

<p>Reachin' - First, congratulations on what you <em>have</em> accomplished. The evolution from your high school record to your cc/SAT record is something to be very proud of. It is unfortunate that this application process makes us all (applicants and/or their parents) focus on our shortcomings instead of our strengths. You have a LOT of strengths.</p>

<p>Second, although I went to Cal back in the Dark Ages, I no longer have any sense of what it takes to get into the top UC schools, esp. from an in-state ccc. So if your chances are good there, you can ignore my following remarks/qx.</p>

<p>Do you have other schools on your transfer app list? I ask because the ones you've listed above are all pretty reach-y. Your SATs are NOT mediocre - although they may be so in the context of Georgetown, Penn, Cal etc. </p>

<p>If you don't have others on your list, why not also apply to schools with rolling apps/higher transfer admit %/SAT profiles where you are nearer to the top 25% or over it: American, George Washington and Tulane come to mind as urban schools in great cities that could be exciting for you.</p>

4

<p>Thanks for your comments Jmmom =)</p>

<p>I believe I'll get into either Berkeley or UCLA or both. They didn't ask for my SAT scores or my high school transcripts. I think from an in-state Community College, all they'll look at is my 3.94 gpa. </p>

<p>However, what you say sounds like it's confirming my fears about the other school's apps. I'm fairly sure I would want to go to GW or such for an undergraduates when I can probably get into berkeley or ucla, but I probably should have picked another UC as a safety. =(</p>

<p>I was just curious how large of a role my SAT, high school scores, and that 4 year gap makes me look as a candidate.</p>

5

<p>
[quote]
A good explanation about why you took a break would be helpful. Military? Death? Extenuating circumstances?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>It does involve death and marriage. It's actually a bit complicated, but my mom wanted me to leave for a bit. She got remarried, her new husband got diagnosed with cirrhosis,and then he passed away the day before I got back. A one to two year stay turned into four years.</p>

6

<p>Since you're from an instate cc in California the highschool grades and SAT scores won't affect you at all. They ask for a highschool transcript after you get accepted though, well I know some UCs do.</p>

<p>Your gpa will most likely get you in if you finished a guaranteed transfer program or IGETC it would raise your chances too. What you should be worried about is which classes you took four years ago. If its the more "important" ones it could hurt your chances. And when applying there should've been spots for you to explain certain things. You could've explained why you took four years off or even made it part of your personal statement.</p>

7

<p>
[quote]
Your gpa will most likely get you in if you finished a guaranteed transfer program or IGETC it would raise your chances too. What you should be worried about is which classes you took four years ago. If its the more "important" ones it could hurt your chances. And when applying there should've been spots for you to explain certain things. You could've explained why you took four years off or even made it part of your personal statement.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Yes I'm very worried about this actually. I had 3 semesters of calc (2000-2001) and 2 semesters of econ (2000). </p>

<p>I applied as a pre-Business Econ major to UCLA and Econ major to Berkeley. IGETC will be done at the end of this semester. I did make it a part of my personal statement.</p>

<p>Re: the other schools, should i just not apply? Perhaps, it's just a waste of time/effort. That 4 year is a killer; although, i feel ill do much better at the upper division level now than lets say at that time</p>

8

<p>this is really scaring me. his stats look almost identical to what my ideal would be at his position, and yet, he may not be competitive to stern or haas? this is either just being nicely harsh or a serious rude awakening.</p>

<p>would he be competitive at haas? yes or no?</p>

9

<p>
[quote]
this is really scaring me. his stats look almost identical to what my ideal would be at his position, and yet, he may not be competitive to stern or haas? this is either just being nicely harsh or a serious rude awakening.</p>

<p>would he be competitive at haas? yes or no?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Perhaps some of the people that transferred to UCLA or UCB and who also applied to schools like NYU, Gtown, Penn can answer this ?&lt;/p>

<p>p.s. add Univ of Chicago to this list (at the very bottom) =p</p>

10

<p>any updates?</p>

11

<p>unfortunately, no :(</p>

<p>however, i did not finish my application to UoC (despite the great school and excellent econ program, i couldn't picture myself in the midwest). also, berkeley and ucla decisions should come out next week. berkeley's is non-rolling so ill definitely find out next week. ucla, i might not find out until the latter part of may.</p>

<p>but either way, good or bad, i ll post my decisions.</p>

12

<p>Reachin, </p>

<p>A friend of mine was in your situation--with similar stats--and wound up transferring to UPenn for IR on a full scholarship. It's totally doable. Go for it!</p>

<p>Pips</p>

13

<p>Thanks pip :) . </p>

<p>Yeah, I definitely need some encouragement at the moment. This is finals week and I just found out that I got rejected from Berkeley after my transfer counselor said that i "was assured of getting in."</p>

<p>Gonna set up an appointment with him now :o</p>

14

<p>I feel much better that I have a safety school now. For those that might be in a similar situation in the future, please do not do what I did. Apply to a UCLA or Berkeley with a safe major (at least one of the two schools). Biz Econ at UCLA accepted like 16% last year and very similar to Berkeley(22% by entire division, but that also includes less selective majors). I was so scared after yesterday's Berkeley rejection.</p>

<p>Accepted: UCLA (Biz Econ)
Rejected: Berkeley (Econ) :o
Pending: Penn(CAS), Georgetown(McDonough), NYU(Stern)</p>

15

<p>The Transfer Admissions Process I've been through for the past several months has allowed me to answer my own questions out of experience. Hope that this provides some information for next year's transfer applicants and beyond. :) </p>

<p>Accepted: UCLA (Biz Econ), Berkeley (Econ, first rejected then accepted via appeal)
Rejected: Georgetown (MSB), NYU(Stern), Penn (CAS)
Will be Attending: Berkeley this fall</p>

<p>Things I've learned:
I've learned how much your high school record could drag you down and by the way, my high school record is very atypical in taht i have about 20 F's, AP courses, and a few high schools i've attended. Graduated through adult school just this year, but no matter what I did in my first two years, private schools especially do not want to gamble on those with such troubled pasts. However, I think it's only after the completion of undergraduate studies that high school records becomes irrelevant (and even then I believe graduate schools look at high school transcripts and so those that have had troubled pasts will need to make sure that their record in college is spotless). For me personally, I will try to put in even more work at Berkeley and be able to go on to an ivy league graduate school afterwards. </p>

<p>Also, a break, especially a long one, from school is not something I would recommend to anybody (mine was not out of choice, but circumstances).</p>

<p>And for Berkeley, personal essays mean a lot more than some people say, such as 1/3 of essays are read. I believe the main reason I was rejected in the first place was that despite my g.p.a. I had terrible essays.</p>

<p>Good luck to all.</p>

16

<p>gj reachin, i'm happy you got into berkeley.</p>