Can a 3.2 GPA get in Berkeley or LA?

Transfer Students UC Transfers
1

I already applied fall last year and I am currently awaiting admissions decisions. I’m currently an aerospace or mechanical engineering major and I’ve already been accepted to a few universities. I just have a few circumstances that are out of the ordinary.

My cumulative GPA is around 3.2 but this isn’t a good gauge of my efforts in academics. I graduated high school in 2009 and my grades were not good enough to get me into any kind of reputable university. I decided to attend my local community college but a leopard can’t change it’s spots that easily. I think I averaged around a 1.0 GPA over the three years that I attended but I got into an accident in 2012 and broke my neck. I became paralyzed from the shoulders down and was hospitalized for three years. I returned to finish my education into 2018. I changed my major from Business administration to Aerospace Engineering and maintained a 4.0 since. it hasn’t been easy but I’ve been able to raise my cumulative GPA to 3.2 and my major GPA to 4.0. I know the average admitted student to these institutions has a 3.9 GPA but I’m still hopeful my insight questions can swing things in my favor.

I don’t really know why I am typing this because it’s already so late in the admissions process that there’s nothing I can do to change the results but if I had to name a reason, it would probably be nervousness. As you can imagine, my quadriplegia makes me a bit different from the average transfer student. no matter what happens, I already have a decent school to go to but I’m still holding out hope for Berkeley or LA. I guess it’s because I’m trying to prove to myself that I can change my spots even after I’ve become disabled and I’m not at a dead end in life. Psychology is a funny thing because even though I know I still have a bright future as a quadriplegic, i’m still looking for external validation like being accepted to an excellent university. i’ve been rambling a bit so I’ll just ask my question.

Have you heard of “redemption cases” like me being admitted to Berkeley or LA? I watched a YouTube video of a UCLA student who used to be in prison but his circumstances are a bit different from mine.
http://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/from-prison-to-honors-graduate

thanks for any replies.

2

I have heard of people getting into Berkeley with a 3.2 but it is usually in a major that doesn’t have much demand. Also, educational hardship might also come into play (disadvantaged area, foster care, etc). Engineering will be tough.

3

I remember someone got into UCLA a couple years ago with a 3.14, but they were majoring in philosophy, which is much less impacted than your chosen major.

Maybe it’s too late for this advice, but if you are considering trying again (or if you just want those bad grades removed from your transcript, you should see if your community college has what’s called “Academic Forgiveness” or “Academic Renewal” (I forget which). With these programs, your bad grades would be wiped from your transcript due to extenuating circumstances.