Chance at transferring to UCLA/UCI

Transfer Students UC Transfers
1

<p>Hi, I apologize for the long post in advance and there must be millions of topics like this. I hope you can let just one more slide! </p>

<p>I'm on my second year at Santa Monica College (CC), and I've had a pretty rough past with school. I'm hoping to get into UCLA or UCI as a Psychobiology major, and these are my stats; please bare with me until the end: </p>

<p>FALL '09 (Units go by semester):
MACROECONOMICS 2 - B (3 units)
PSYCHOLOGY 1 - B (3 units)
SPANISH 2 - B (5 units)</p>

<p>WINTER '10:
ANTHROPOLOGY 2 - B (3 units)</p>

<p>SPRING '10 (rough grades start here):
ENGLISH 1 - F (3 units)
STATISTICS - C (3 units)</p>

<p>No classes summer</p>

<p>FALL '10 (right now):
ART HISTORY 1 - Dropped; W
MATH 21 - ? (3 units)
PHILOSOPHY 1 - ? (3 units)
GEOLOGY 1 - ? (3 units; non lab) </p>

<hr>

<p>Total GPA: 2.40, 23 units completed. </p>

<p>As you can see, my grades are horrible and obviously I won't be applying this year. I know everyone has his/her own stories to their failures in grades, and I definitely have mine... It's personal, but I've had a really rough time with really all sorts of things and my grades clearly show it. </p>

<p>I was never really a straight A student either in the past, but through many realizations and regrets I think I know and am confident that I WILL get As from now on, but hopefully my actions can show more than my words in the future. </p>

<p>I'm actually going through the worst point of my life right now, and I hope I don't sound like a drama king but I really am. I'm honestly predicting a W, C, C, B this semester accordingly to my classes listed above. </p>

<p>Yes, I've thought about giving up, but like I said through many realizations, I'm slowly starting to pick myself up again. My total GPA as of now is 2.40. However, if I remember correctly, UCLA sees the later grades only <em>for transfer (not for graduate college)</em> and if that is true, I'm going to retake ALL my classes I did poorly on during SPRING '11, which will be English, Statistics, Philosophy, and Math 21. Since it will be a retake and I have a whole new mindset to top it off, I'm confident I could get straight A's in those classes during Spring next year. </p>

<p>I cannot take any classes during Winter due to some circumstances going on in my school right now, so I'm planning to work during that time. </p>

<p>I'm looking deeply into extracurricular activities to pursue maybe during Winter, but most likely Spring along with my retake classes. This will be my key point in my hope, but I'm not sure what I'm exactly going to do yet that'll make such vital increase in my chances. </p>

<p>If my plans work out successfully by the end of Spring, then I will be continuing my classes normally and be sure to fill up my units with hopefully A's... Then by the time I apply next year with my plans working out, my GPA would be around the 3.60 area more or less, with work experience and hopefully a good extracurricular activity. </p>

<p>I'm also kind of considering in taking UCLA classes during SUMMER '11 to show I'm up for challenges, and there's nothing but hope and hard work that I do well. I live right next to UCLA, but this is all just a possibility. </p>

<p>In my essay, I'm basically going to tell it how it is; that I've had a rough time in the past but I have realized my mistakes and picked myself up again, as my grades will hopefully show. </p>

<p>That's basically my entire plan in a nutshell so I was wondering what you guys thought my chances of getting into either UCLA or UCI was. I'm really just aiming for just those two schools, as other UCs don't really catch my eyes (no offense!). I'm also not looking into any private schools either, except maybe Stanford just for the hell of it haha. Oh and also, Santa Monica College is APPARENTLY the #1 transfer rate to UCLA in California, ranking 2nd in Community Colleges in California (if I heard correctly!).</p>

<p>So please help, I'm really starting to pick things up slowly again and get back on my path. I've had a really hard time getting over and used to things I've come to face in the past, but it's all just the past now and I'm only looking at the present and the future starting from today. Any tips would be greatly appreciated as well, and I apologize once more for such long post and the 1000th of the posts relating to my situation. </p>

<p>Thank you so much in advance, wish you guys all blessings. =)</p>

2

<p>Best case scenario is a 3.60 which is still below the average for transfers to UCLA for Psychology.</p>

<p>I suggest you go to UCI and major in Psychology & Social Behavior… this major doesn’t require any additional math besides statistics and the C that you have is fine. Get your GPA above a 3.0 and then do TAG.</p>

3

<p>You can’t retake classes in which you received C’s; only for failing grades. Sorry if I’m repeating information you already knew, it seemed as if you were planning on retaking your potential C’s.</p>

<p>Still, you should totally retake that F, your GPA will bounce up slightly (if hopefully you pull through this semester).
As the previous poster said: raise your GPA to at least 3.0 and TAG to UCI. Also, do well in your prereq classes.</p>

<p>As for UCLA…it’s quite a reach at this point if you get C’s during this semester. Retake that F, finish all of your prereqs, and aim high. Look into TAP if you’re serious about UCLA: enquire about it with a counselor. But first you should raise your GPA to whatever Santa Monica’s TAP requirement is. Food for thought if you’re absolutely serious about UCLA.</p>

4

<p>Hey Danny,
I think it’s great that you want to go to UCLA, and aspire to get straight A’s from now on. With your GPA its going to be an uphill climb, but if you do academic renewal your gpa will raise drastically. I didn’t find your story long or boring, in fact, I found it quite interesting. I was probably worse off than yourself because it took a while for me to even find the motivation to attend school! Once I got the motivation, though, It was like a intense flame burning inside of me, and it has motivated me to do well ever since. Its been a great experience at my CCC.</p>

<p>Always put 110% into every class and don’t ever let anyone tell you what you can and cannot do; and that goes for the guys on this site as well.</p>

5

<p>Great motivation reply HeatherBecca! I’m sorry, my reply was a bit harsh. I agree, shoot for your goal with 100% hard work!!</p>

6

<p>I agree, check into TAP, with that a 3.60 to UCLA isn’t so bad for Psychology, it’s much harder without it.</p>

7

<p>Hi guys, thank you guys all SO much for the wonderful replies. And no I didn’t take any replies harsh at all, in fact I believe I deserve to hear them haha. </p>

<p>So, since C’s aren’t replaceable, do you guys think I should just fail my two classes on PURPOSE so I can retake them in Spring? I know that sounds really, REALLY stupid, but I’d really rather retake them than end up getting B’s, if not C’s or D’s. </p>

<p>I honestly don’t think the chances of me getting Bs in those two classes (phil, math) are likely at ALL either, so I’ll probably end up with C/D in them. It’s not that they are hard, but I think I’ve attended class less than 5-8 times…</p>

<p>And I will most definitely look into TAP, thanks again so much guys. You guys really are great!</p>

8

<p>Failing on purpose would bring your gpa really low and possibly put you on academic probation. I would not do it. On the other hand, it would give you leeway to do academic renewal but I’m not too fimilar with this type of scenario; so, I’ll let the other guys take this one. :slight_smile:
You are in a sticky situation; C’s are going to lower your gpa but F’s may indeed screw your chances at UCLA for good.
Sry! but I’ll bump this, so you can get help.</p>

9

<p>You won’t get into UCLA. You still have a chance for UCI though.</p>

10

<p>Don’t screw up your classes…try to get C’s…and then keep your GPA above a 3.0 and do TAG at UCI.</p>

11

<p>Can’t he do AR and wipe that term off this transcript?</p>

12

<p>If he does AR then the D’s/F’s won’t affect his GPA, but they won’t be wiped from his transcript. Everything you do -<em>ever</em>- will stay on your transcript. </p>

<p>Also, please don’t fail a class on purpose; that is not a smart thing to do at all. Speak with your professors and see if you can’t reach some agreement; most professors I’ve had will work with you to try and sort you out as best they can. Then again, you did mention not attending class…that’s not very good at all. From now on attend class religiously, both this semester and for future terms. Get to know the professor, go to his/her office hours, et cetera. </p>

<p>I’ve had at least two professors give me the A even though I had an 87 or an 88 in the class when they gave another student the B for the same grade. It’s not a coincidence that these students didn’t attend class nor did they go see the professor outside the classroom; it is imperative you attend class and get to know your professor. </p>

<p>For math: get a tutor; they help out…a lot.
For philosophy: Talk to your professor, find people who have taken the class before and get their help.</p>

<p>Ask your professors if there are any resources they can recommend for you.</p>

<p>I suppose you can always go to your professors and confess you haven’t been showing up to class due to having a really hard time outside the class and/or lack of inspiration/focus. Be sincere. </p>

<p>And having written a long-ass reply for you (sorry, I get carried away lol) I realized that you didn’t mention DROPPING these classes and receiving W’s. Has the drop date passed?
If not, and unless you have a reason for not dropping, I would rather have four W’s in an entire semester and explaining why on the UC app later on than poor grades. Especially if in the future you do well and are able to prove to the UC’s you have matured and progressed.</p>

13

<p>^Agreed, drop the classes if they’re so difficult, don’t fail on purpose. I did that with a few classes, some more accidental than others (<em>cough</em>History & Spanish 1A<em>cough</em>), partly due to being new to the whole experience and not understanding how the Withdraw system worked/thinking it had passed. The one that was deliberate was an online 4 unit Stats class and my computer broke 4-5 times in a row till one point I just said “fudge it, I’m taking the F, I just really don’t care anymore.” I’m now retaking the class at a 3 unit college for the 2nd time (3rd time overall) and acing the heck out of it… but I still have to do AR for those 3 classes I mentioned and have 2 18 unit semesters with a 4.0 just to bring my GPA back up to a 3.7, and it looks like I might get a B in Chem so that’s looking to be about a 3.6</p>

<p>But seriously… drop the classes, explain the Ws. W >>>>>> F</p>