<p>2.67 HS GPA
HS dropout
HS diploma equivalent<br>
~0.80 GPA -first few years of community college, 2 beginning A's, rest F's
3.95 GPA -last 60 units at a CCC, mostly math, chemistry, physics, biology.
chemistry student of the year</p>
<p>Rejected UCLA, UCSD, UCI
Pending UCR. UCM</p>
<p>IGETC was not completed</p>
<p>UC schools were supposed to be safeties and UCR is my top UC choice due to population size and my perceived increased opportunity to do undergraduate research there.</p>
<p>I've heard that schools care about an upward trend though right now I'm feeling like that's just a fortune cookie cliche. What did I do wrong? Most of my science teachers, a history teacher, and an english teacher have all told me I should major in the subject they teach. Personally, I'm interested in neuroscience research and simply value chemistry/physics as providing the fundamentals to biological concepts and liberal arts classes as exercises in communication, reasoning, and objectivity.</p>
<p>I've applied to some private schools that are generally thought to be more difficult to transfer to than the UCs that I've been rejected from. I'm feeling like I won't get into anywhere. What did I do wrong and is there anything I can do now? Any advice or encouragement would be appreciated.</p>
<p>It's across multiple community colleges and the cumulative would be around 2.7-2.8. It looks like I'm going to get straight As again this semester (15 units, 3 finished accelerated during the intersession). My cumulative would still be under 3.0. Would this cumulative result in an appeal being auto-rejected? I don't know anything about how the appeal process works.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Off-topic...why the sudden change in grades? Did you become more focused for some reason?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>In high school I had a sort of mid-life crisis, though perhaps it'd be more accurate to say I had a colorful imagination. I essentially imagined a mechanistic grind from high school to college to a steady job to settling down with a family. In all of this, I was unable to answer the following question: What would I have accomplished in life that was meaningful? Monetary wealth or financial security weren't compelling reasons to me.</p>
<p>So I meandered through school like a rebel without a cause. Two years ago I answered that question. Now that I'm convinced school is important, my grades have improved.</p>
<p>
[quote]
were your essays thoughtful and convincing?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>This is subjective and I don't know how they would've been taken. I can say that during this whole application process, I've written somewhere between 15-20 uniquely different essays/short essays; the UC application essays were the first. My skill in writing--word command, sentence variation, organization, etc.--has improved considerably. I write very personably and have shared some personal insight and philosophy into each. Of the bunch, though, the UC application essays were probably the most poorly written.</p>
<p>At an awards dinner, I happened to meet a professor who chose finalists for a summer research program I applied to. He told me that I didn't make the final cut because I sounded too much like a "pre-med" in my essay. Maybe this has to do with me having biological research interests and applying for a chemistry research program. In any event, it makes me realize that I have no idea what "thoughtful and convincing" mean.</p>
<p>First of all, are you sure that there weren't specific GPA requirements for the major you applied for? Some of the more competitive majors have strict minimum GPA requirements and will automatically discard an application with a lower GPA. In addition, even if there were not minimum requirements, applying for a particularly competitive major may have hurt you--- you have to remember many qualified candidates are rejected for lack of space and it's a fact of life. Even the best application or the most compelling reasons for acceptance simply cannot guarantee anything in the current climate of competive admissions. </p>
<p>Also, were your prereqs completed? That may have influenced your decision.</p>
<p>Also, I want to congratulate on managing to pull your GPA up! That's pretty amazing, and something I and other adcoms should respect. I wouldn't totally rule out private colleges unless you applied only to the top of the top (e.g. Harvard)--- some may weight your progress and upward trend more heavily. And if you had excellent recommendations that will definitely help you--- UCs must consider academic ability solely in terms of GPA, but in your case, I think recommendations will an asset to you at the colleges that will consider them. Wish you the best of luck.</p>
<p>Is the transfer office at your current community college able to help you with this? I'm sure that the quality of advice, and competence of the staff varies from one transfer office to the other, but after all it is their job to get you safely into a four year college/university. Would it be better for you to continue there and reapply for semester 2 admission at the universities that you like?</p>
<p>sorry to hear what happened, UCLA does have a minimum gpa requirement of a 3.2. I'm not sure there is any way around that. I am still surprised UCI didn't accept you considering you are in-state. Good luck to you, if you keep working hard like you are things will start falling into place.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. It sounds reasonable that my rejections are a result of low cumulative GPA. There is probably some streamlined process considering the tens of thousands of applications the schools receive. My past is my doing so I deserve my consequences.</p>
<p>Regardless, I'm not giving up. Are the following two proposed actions valid for an appeal?</p>
<p>The Front Door
If I do not fit the solution set of a standardized algorithm due to a low cumulative GPA technicality, can I simply petition for academic renewal to "line-out" my many F's? I am a science major and none of my F's were science classes. Instead, they were a mixture of computer programming, accounting, and GEs. If I can line out my string of F's, low cumulative GPA is no longer an issue. Do UC schools honor academic renewal?</p>
<p>The Side Door
Grades are correlational predictors. Are they not? If they are used to predict diligence and success, can I provide alternate correlational predictors? At the beginning of the year, I took the ACT and several SAT II tests. I've also won scholarships and awards. Can I appeal by presenting these and/or recommendation letters?</p>