Any chance of transferring in?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Virginia
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<p>Right now I am at a community college in South Florida and am hoping on transferring to UVA for the fall of '09</p>

<p>High school:</p>

<p>SAT: 1270/1600 and 1880/2400</p>

<p>AP & Honors: Didn't take AP's but took a lot of Honors</p>

<p>GPA: 3.95 weighted, 3.3 unweighted</p>

<p>ECs: Wrestled 3 seasons</p>

<p>Job/Work Experience: 3 summers as a camp counselor, one at a pool store, one with an advertising agency, and one with a restaurant</p>

<p>Community College:</p>

<p>I'm in the CC's Honors program. Also the VP of the Honors Student Committee which is the core club and figurehead of Honors program.</p>

<p>SAT: Should I retake it? I might be able to find somewhere in Spain to take it or take it as soon as I get back, probably in January of 2009.</p>

<p>GPA: After 29 credits I have a 3.89. I am expecting to have over a 3.9 after 40 credits at the end of this summer.</p>

<p>Essays: Not sure if transfers are required to have essays but I have good topics and would polish them nicely</p>

<p>Teacher Recs: above average</p>

<p>Ethnicity: Hispanic</p>

<p>Gender: M</p>

<p>I'll be applying as an Systems Engineering major.</p>

<p>I'm not sure if there's a place for this in an essay or application, or if UVA cares about this sort of thing, but I won a scholarship at my school which pays for an entire semester of study abroad. I'll be spending this fall in Seville, Spain but the downside is that there is no math, physics, or science there. The upside is obvious because life is not all about math, science, and physics, and it will be an incredible growing experience.</p>

<p>Also, another thing that I have going for me that UVA might care about: I had planned on joining the Marine Corps out of high school but lost my left kidney a couple of months before leaving for boot camp. I faced that adversity and since then, my grades and dedication towards school have increased as shown by my GPA and involvement in school, showing the upward trend. This could be an essay topic.</p>

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<p>So your unweighted HS GPA is a bit low, but I think you have a solid chance since you're a URM, going into SEAS, and have a good CC GPA.<br>
As for your story, it will be an excellent essay topic. You'll find a way to fit it in, and if not, write it as part of your last "optional, free-for-all" essay (the question is "is there anything else we should know?). Or write a whole separate letter and use the application for other things.
One more thing: I know you mentioned "life isn't all about math, science, and physics". Well, SEAS pretty much is. Try to take at least one science/math-type class, even if it's enviormental science or something like that. Do you have basic core engineering classes done? (chem, physics, calc, etc) If not, you definitely need to find a plan to get those done. Google UVA Systems Engineering and look at the required courses and see what you have and haven't completed. Try to fill in the gaps of the first and second year courseload as much as you can. Also, feel free to email either the systems dept or the main office in SEAS, they're great people and love to help!
Good luck!</p>

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<p>Anyone else? And I forgot to add that I am a first generation college student.</p>

<p>What I meant by "life isn't only about...." was that I hope the adcoms don't penalize me for taking a semester off of my engineering prereqs while in Spain this fall. I will be studying only language and social studies type courses which are unrelated to my major. So I said that because I hope the adcoms appreciate the experience I will have overseas even though I am applying for engineering. I am very much into math and science. I will have calculus 2 and physics 1 finished in the spring of '09, and I may take calculus 3, physics 2, and/or differential equations in the summer before transferring.</p>

<p>Does anyone else have ideas on how I can strengthen my chances?</p>

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<p>Do I simply not have a chance? I saw that on UVA's collegeboard profile that they really put a heavy weight on ethnicity and first generation in college, both of which I have going for me, for admission.</p>

<p>Should I retake the SAT? Anyone have any opinions of my chances?</p>