I began attending a local community college in Fall 2013 after finding out how unremarkable my high school GPA was. My first two semesters there were… rough. My parents weren’t keen on maying for more than one semester of CC, so I found a job. When I wasn’t at work, I was indulging in my youth and my grades plummeted as a result. I finished those two semesters with a 1.5 and 2.0 GPA respectively. It wasn’t until my third semester that I got my act together. I finished with a 3.4 and have shown a similar trend since then. Now, I’m in my fifth semester with a cumulative 2.1 after retaking some courses and completing my Gen Eds.
I’m in a rough spot, however. I worked all throughout CC, so I never took part in any ECs. On top of that, my top choice, Truman State, considers ALL grades in the applications process (including those from the courses I’ve retaken). Without even doing to calculations, I know that this will drop my GPA down to a 2.8 at the least. With that in mind, how are my chances.
My top choice is Truman State University, but I’m also applying to Missouri State University, Southeast Missouri State, and University of Missouri.
Academic GPA: 3.1
Additional:
• African American
• Resident of Missouri
• Interested in majoring in Computer Science
I have some experience with my major, too.
• Web Developer of an active forum with over 20000 members since 2013.
• Developed an Iphone app using the public API provided my a prominent game development team (343 Industries).
I have a letter of recommendation from a professor in the Math department at my CC, too.
I scored a 26 on my ACT the last time I took it. However, that was in my senior year of high school. Would it be worth taking it again even with ~two years of community college under my belt?
I haven’t heard about the automatic admission. I’ll look into it.
I’m not sure if you even need an ACT score for transfer from a cc into a four-year university. Hopefully, someone who knows more about that will weigh in here.
Good luck, but I think you will very likely be able to transfer to MSU, Mizzou, and SEMO -
Truman State, try to bring your grades up this year.
I spoke with a transfer adviser recently and was told an ACT score was not necessary. I plan to apply for Fall 2016, so this semester is my last chance to boost my GPA. I’m doing well at the moment, but my grades won’t raise my GPA much at this point.
Truman is completely out of the question then? When I spoke with the TA the other day, I was told that they consider an applicant’s trends across each semester. I wonder if a strong upward trend in GPA, essay, and letter of recommendation can pull me over.
If I recall, isn’t it free to apply to Truman? I would say go for it and if there is anything you want to note, in terms of your situation, you can put in in the additional info section of the Common App. I am not trying to give you false hope, but I think it’s good for you to be in touch with them and show your interest. Good luck. It is a good school and a great value.
Absolutely, go for it, but make sure you apply to several other schools, both Missouri publics and possible OOS universities that’d offer comparable rates (use the NPCs).
@CAMidwestMom It’s free to apply, yes. I spoke with the TA again this week and was told that I “could fall on either side of the fence”. That may have been their way of sugarcoating it, but I feel a little more confident after speaking with them and learning what they value in the judgement process.
@MYOS1634 I most definitely plan to apply to a good portion of universities within the state. I’m confident that I can get accepted into my second choices at the very least.
Speaking as a Missouri HS senior, I know many of my mediocre classmates (around 3.0 GPA average) who have applied to Truman State and have gotten accepted. Honestly, Truman State is not incredibly selective so I would say you have a chance, but like you said it could go either way. And at the same time I’m not familiar with transfer requirements, but you also have some experience which I’m sure could only improve your chances. As stated, the application is free and If you explain your situation and also show your interest by communicating with them and asking questions, I’m sure you’ll have a decent chance!
But again I’m only a senior who is speaking purely from what I have observed throughout my years in high school in Missouri, so take my advice with a grain of salt haha.
@evenstevens That’s interesting. I spoke with a student that transferred there from CC recently. He told me he was accepted with just above a 3.0 and hardly any ECs. He did, however, participate in a study abroad program and used that as a large selling point in his application.
Truman has a relatively high acceptance rate at 75%, so you would think that they wouldn’t be selective.
Ah that’s awesome. I honestly wouldn’t really worry then if I were you. The only iffy thing is your GPA but you managed to get it up to a 3.4 which is really good and show an upward trend.
I just realized I made some typos in my original post. My overall GPA is a 3.1 mind you. What I meant is that I’ve been getting above a 3.4 each semester since the first two.