<p>So UW is very selective with transfer applicants, the average GPA being around a 3.6. They also heavily value credits that work towards a major at the university and heavily favor in-state CC students. So it's tough. </p>
<p>I am a freshman at the University of Illinois, and I was waitlisted last year to UW and not accepted. </p>
<p>My GPA here is a 3.1, and I am taking classes that work towards a business major at UW. The classes are difficult, and UIUC is a highly ranked institution (their business and engineering colleges ranked better than UW).</p>
<p>My question is, I heard for transfer students GPA isn't as important as they are for incoming freshman out of highschool. Instead it is the classes you take, and your EC's and recommendations and essays. </p>
<p>I have a justification for my low GPA in that I am essentially working full time at a startup, and we just received 60k in funding from venture capital firms. In addition, I do consulting work for Machinima, a Youtube channel with over 10 million subscribers and over 1 billion views. I also produce content for them, do freelance consulting work for various websites regarding SEO and ad placement, and I am partnered with YouTube and create content on my own channel that brings in revenue. </p>
<p>I am big on supporting my family which is why I do all of this work, and I hope UW sees this and recognizes that I might not have as much time as other students to study and work on formal academics. However, I still believe I am capable of success at UW, and the time spent on my extra work will drastically lower if I move back to Washington. </p>
<p>Would you guys say I have a good chance of getting in, or will my low GPA still be too big of a factor to overcome?
All opinions are welcome, but transfer students would be cool to hear from! </p>
<p>@PinkFloydFan </p>
<p>Although the GPA average is lower for transfers than it is for freshmen applicants, it is still important to maintain a decent GPA.
I dont want to say that you don’t have a chance, but it’s going to be very difficult for you as you are an OOS 4-year transfer.
As a successful transfer applicant, i would definitely recommend finishing your pre-reqs, writing a stellar essay, and improving your GPA (if you have time).</p>
<p><em>Foster School of Business is VERY competitive. FSB puts a lot of emphasis on GPA and WSA.</em></p>
<p>Good luck</p>
<p>In my opinion, here’s what matters:
-upward trend in GPA or a well-maintained cumulative
-completion of prerequisites/good departmental GPA
-personal statement
-test scores (i.e. WSA for Foster)</p>
<p>It is very difficult to transfer as an out-of-state, 4-year.
Your current college’s ranking could help explain your low GPA, but it could also hurt you in gaining admission. If you mention UIUC’s ranking anywhere on the application, you’re going to have to convince the admissions as to why you would want to transfer out of such a good college. </p>
<p>You can definitely talk about your achievements and extracurriculars on your personal statement but I don’t think you get to submit recommendations. </p>
<p>All in all—
I would still give it a try, but I would think once more about mentioning UIUC’s ranking to explain your cumulative. </p>
<p>@UWChancemeh So are you essentially saying that my 3.1 GPA will prevent me from having any decent chance of admission? You don’t think admissions would be understanding that I simultaneously worked full time to support my family?</p>
<p>In addition, getting funding from venture capital firms as a startup is difficult task, and something that most graduates of Foster wouldn’t be able to successfully do. I just have a hard time believing that UW won’t accept me as a transfer when I already have a resume that can get me a decently paying full time job. </p>
<p>I’m sorry if this comes off as arrogant, I just think that my accomplishments demonstrate exactly what Foster is trying to give kids the opportunity to do, and I’ve already done those things. </p>
<p>@PinkFloydFan </p>
<p>No, what I’m saying is that your status as an OOS 4-Year Transfer and having a less than average GPA is NOT going to help you. (UW Seattle gives priority to in-state CC transfers)
I can’t tell you what admissions may or may not understand as far as your resume goes, but I can assure you that arguing that UIUC is better ranked than UW is not going to help you.
I personally think that you’re underestimating Foster, but that’s just how I feel.
Sorry if I’m coming off as an a-hole, I’m simply “chancing” you like you asked. </p>
<p>Like @husky1212 wrote,</p>
<p>I would think twice before comparing your current school with UW.</p>
<p>Oh ofc, and I didn’t mean to come off as arrogant. I would NEVER mention UIUC’s ranking in the application, I just did so here to let you guys know the background/context of my situation. </p>
<p>I understand that UW’s OOS transfer admissions are extremely competitive. Would you say I don’t really have a chance then because of my GPA? </p>
<p>@PinkFloydFan </p>
<p>If you were an in-state CC transfer with a 3.1 GPA, you would still have a fairly decent chance of being accepted given that you submit a well written essay.
Yes, transferring as an OOS student is very competitive; personally, I have never seen an OOS transfer be accepted on his or her first attempt.
I think that the fact you are active in pursuing your goal (major) is going to look very good on your application.
Honestly, if you submit a strong personal statement, you should be fine.
In your essay explain why your GPA is where it’s at, emphasize your dreams, why do you want to pursue business, what sparked your interest in business, and why do you want to transfer from UIUC to UW?
I was accepted with mediocre grades, but I feel like my essay really helped me.
Heck, I even received a 1.7 in one of my classes and even had a W on my transcript. </p>
<p>@uwchancemeh Thank you so much, you just gave me a lot of hope. Would you mind sharing if you were OOS or in-state CC?
Again, thanks for taking the time out of your day to help. I really appreciate it. Do you thinking listing my second major as a non-competitive one will help me get accepted? I’ve heard for transfer students, the uni often just defers the decision to the specific department. </p>
<p>@PinkFloydFan </p>
<p>I applied as an In-State Community College transfer.
I’ve heard of people doing that, but I’m not too sure.
I think it’s important that your pre-requisites and classes pertain to the majors you choose.
You should choose business as your first choice and something in relation to business, which isn’t the most competitive.
I chose: Public Health (Competitive) and Individual Studies (Not Competitive).
I had all my pre-requisites complete for PH. Honestly, I had/have no intentions of pursuing individual studies, it’s just something that I planned/plan on pursuing alongside PH if I get into the SPH.
I know that a few years ago some people were accepted to their major but denied GA.
I heard that it has been changed so that you cannot get accepted to your major unless you are admitted as a student to the university itself.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that the UW gives considerable weight to WHY you need to transfer to UW. Honestly if you just want to transfer because UW has a better program, your chances probably aren’t spectacular (not because you’re not a good student, but simply because UW is very reluctant to take transfers from 4-year colleges). However, if you have a compelling reason why you need to go to UW (ie you need to be in Seattle for some important reason), then your chances increase. </p>
<p>Right. The reason I need to transfer is because my mother lost her job, and so I need the in-state tuition. The specific program isn’t better, it’s actually worse. I just feel that explaining this will hurt my chances because they want someone who can afford the school without financial aid. </p>
<p>Honestly, I think your chances of getting into UW will be extremely difficult, let alone getting admitted directly into the Foster program. The odds are stacked against you being an OOS 4-year transfer. Also, your academic performance at your current college institution hinders your chances of being directly admitted into Foster. (80% based on stats and the last 20% the holistic approach is taken into account)</p>
<p>The UW gives priority in the following order:
- Washington Community College students
- WSU students & other 4 year Washington programs
- Out of State Community College students
- Out of State University Students</p>
<p>To put it into perspective: my new student orientation had about 9 students transferring into Foster from a cc. (Note that this is for winter admission.) Makes me believe that the majority of Foster admits are UW native students, and the above priority list would include UW natives above wcc for Foster. </p>
<p>As for the ranking, I would take it with a grain of salt. College rankings are often bias. The only thing I would consider worth comparing is the percentage of people who end up with a desirable job/return on investment. Linkedin’s college rankings can’t even do that properly, so I’m pretty sure the other rankings can’t either.</p>
<p>UW: <a href=“http://www.foster.washington.edu/about/pages/rankings.aspx”>http://www.foster.washington.edu/about/pages/rankings.aspx</a> (ranked 21) </p>
<p>UIUC: <a href=“http://illinois.edu/about/overview/facts/rankings/us_news_undergrad.html”>http://illinois.edu/about/overview/facts/rankings/us_news_undergrad.html</a> (ranked 15)</p>
<p>In the end, you need to come take the WSA before you can get a general idea of how you stack up. I too had the odds against me applying to UC Berkeley’s Haas School. I was still offered admission, so nothing is impossible. </p>
<p>Eh…. Comparing the 15th ranked undergrad business program to the 21st comes down to preference. The ranking of the two schools is negligible, especially when the ranking criteria takes class size into account. As for the engineering ranking…. I don’t even know why you bothered bringing this up…… For me, as a business student, it’s like bringing up UW’s highly ranked nursing and medicine program… it makes for a cool story but nothing else.</p>
<p>@spectatin understand what you are saying, thanks for the input! The main point of this post was really to ask if the university would be understanding of my extenuating circumstances. My mother lost her job, I was in dire need to support my family’s income, and I essentially worked a full time consulting job for a company that just got 35 Million in funding from Google. So it’s not like I was working at McDonald’s or anything. </p>
<p>I also have a need to transfer to UW that goes beyond “Your program is better and I want to be at UW”. I need to transfer to a school in WA to be closer to my family in this time of hardship. </p>
<p>Assuming I do well on the WSA, do you think it would be at all possible for the school to understand the reason behind my poor GPA? (3.1-3.2) </p>