<p>1.4 high school gpa
3.28 gpa in college(steady but improving trends)
Got a 3.5 last semester
Excelled in English, language, and Econ
32 college credits completed(12 more this semester)
Letter of rec from second top real estate agent in Wisconsin(my field of study & attended Madison)
Involved in five clubs and organizations
Wisconsin resident
Was declined admission at Madison last semester</p>
<p>*only one C on college transcripts, passed next semester with A</p>
<p>ACT?</p>
<p>Didn’t take it…</p>
<p>I did not submit my ACT score either. I hear that is does not matter once you are far enough out of high school. </p>
<p>@Badger7 do you attend now or are you applying?</p>
<p>I am applying now, but I have heard that from people who have successfully transferred. </p>
<p>What claases have you taken, and what classes are you taking this semester? I called UW and they told me the classes that an applicant should take to get admitted. They are very specific. </p>
<p>Your reference’s credentials do not mean anything. Tons of people went to UW and real estate means nothing in academia. Perhaps you should continue at your present college and get your degree there.</p>
<p>@Badger7 I have taken lots of electives, and this semester I have Physics, Pre-Calc, Macro, and Lit…and post the list of specific classes</p>
<p>@wis75 well on a college reference you always want to submit someone with credentials. If I submitted a perfectly nice bum off the street, I do not think it would have much value. Academia does not mean everything, Madison is a holistic school. Even people with 4.0 gpa’s do not get in. Its not about the credentials, but the experience my reference has in the field and life. My reference in the Real Estate world is someone I apsire to be like and serves as great inspiration in my life. Whether I attend Madison or not that will always stay the same. And I work hard at my craft(SmartyPants)</p>
<p>@BrewBoy you should be good in terms of classes. The rep. I talked to highlighted the importance of taking math and science classes. You seems to have met course breadth. What college are you currently attending? </p>
<p>Your real estate reference is more like a person you would write about than a true reference. That person’s stature has nothing to do with you. You are overestimating the cachet of being a top seller of real estate. It’s just doing a business. It could matter if that person knows you personally and can vouch for your character and other things. btw- academics always trumps EC’s. Are you spending too much time doing fun things instead of studying for classes you presumably chose to take???</p>
<p>My bad she wrote a letter of rec…academics do not always trump ec’s. What about the second, third,fourth generation Madison students who get that extra look, but is not deserving as a first generation college student. Madison would not ask such a question if it did not hold value. Or what about the stupid student athletes, who get into such a prestigious university with 2.5 gpa’s. These things have nothing to do with that persons stature. The only thing generation students or student athletes offer is being able to pay for their education up front and make the university lots of money. Besides, I know someone who was admitted to Madison, and when he asked the counselor why he was admitted she said " because he was so involved in ec’s."</p>
<p>@Badger7 Rochester community college in Minnesota…what about you?</p>
<p>As a current UW Student, I’d caution you on being so eager to jump into Madison. The academic rigor is unlike anything you probably will have experienced at a community college. I’ve talked to numerous other students who’ve transferred from other 4 year UW schools that have told me their GPA has dropped sometimes as much as a full point attending Madison. I just don’t know that you’d be ripe for success (in the School of Business especially) with such an average GPA at a community college. If you haven’t already, you’d have to take our intro economics courses (which are notoriously difficult) as well as college Calculus. It’s really tough here. The transition from high school to UW Madison is rough enough… but after you’ve already got an idea of what you think college is and how to do well in it, I just don’t foresee that being any easier. </p>
<p>That is just my word of advice. It isn’t easy here. </p>
<p>@wis75 </p>
<p>@adam41 well I guess you can say I have a average gpa, but the whole point of college is to challenge yourself. If we look at the numbers on fifty-percent of students are ripe for success looking at graduation rates. The work will probably be more rigorous your right, but as for life outside of school Madison is a walk in the park. At community colleges students have to WORK, and by that I mean just to have a chance to attend school. At Madison students have student housing, meal plans, and 24 HOURS library for convenience( things that would make college easier for me). If I had my basic needs, I could increase that average gpa. A lot of student I have met who flunked out of Madison say the freedom was too much. Their mom’s and dad’s have made them do things for so long, that they can’t handle he freedom of college. My good friend goes to Madison, he attests the work is difficult, but he also attests that he studies hard. He ended up with a 3.9 gpa. So I know the work is not easy, but I know he works extremely hard. Bigger scales call for bigger measures, and I got no problem stepping it up. After all, a vast majority of Madison students enter with ABOVE AVERAGE gpa’s so coursework should not be a problem. Most Madison students who do poor can’t handle the college lifestyle and lose focus which causes them to do bad. All I’m saying is being successful at colleges requires participants to be successful at life. I may not have the best gpa, but I do know structure priorities in importance an get what needs to be done to the best with he hand I was dealt.</p>
<p>@BrewBoy I go to the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee. I transferred here after my first year at Knox College. </p>
<p>Having a so-so gpa at a so-so college does not mean you are a very successful college student by UW-Madison standards. You would come in with credits for some classes but not a solid knowledge base. UW courses will assume a much larger knowledge and skills base than you likely have. Taking precalc now??? Knowing what you need to do and actually doing it are two different things. It seems you spent too much time doing EC’s instead of learning the material presented. Complaining about the lack of library time- you don’t need a library to study in. Perhaps you have intrinsic ability but you need to show you have good study habits and can handle a lot of material in the time frame allotted, can write well and think critically.</p>
<p>Bottom line. Apply and see what happens.</p>