<p>Hey so I've been going to cc for three years, all the time with the intention on transferring to UCLA. My major is computer science and the average GPA for admitted transfers is 3.6 something. I have completed ALL of my required pre reqs and I thought I was going to be accepted for sure. I was very happy with the way my essays turned out and that plus my GPA, I'm just surprised I wasn't accepted.</p>
<p>I was accepted to UCSD so life isn't so bad but I'm just wondering, does it make sense that I got rejected or should I call and figure out what happened? I didn't do TAP and I didn't have that much extracurricular activity (I do tutor math for my cc), so maybe that hurt my chances. So should I just accept their decision or should I try petitioning it?</p>
<p>Actually the avg. admitted last year for CS was 3.80 (the same as for EE, which is my major). So your gpa was approx. same as the avg. gpa. However, this year might have been more competitive and we do not know which majors got even more applicants.</p>
<p>My gpa was 3.85 and I got in as an EE. However at that point it depends on your situation. In my case I was an older student working full time while going to college as well as had a lot of other responsibilities while attending college. So that might have helped.</p>
<p>Another EXTREMELY important factor (actually the MOST important one) is completion of your pre-reqs. I had ALL my pre-reqs done.</p>
<p>In any case you should call UCLA and find out why they rejected you (for your own peace of mind).</p>
<p>^^Now, I’m even more convinced that the personal statements are very important! - after a certain point that is. </p>
<p>While they say that no one is going to be denied solely on the basis of a PS, I’m sure it plays an important role when they are evaluating many students with similar (high) stats.</p>
<p>sorry to hear that. I got in with a 3.89 for computer science major. I am missing one prerequisite which is the third semester of physics and not taking it this semester too.</p>
<p>What was your GPA counting the “major prep” courses only?
I plan to apply to UCLA this upcoming fall for the same major and I’ve been emailing Erkki Corpuz, who is basically the head honcho of the engineering school and the guy who decides who gets admitted and all.
He told me that the main courses they base admission on are:</p>
<p>Math
Physics
Programming
Chem</p>
<p>So what was your GPA considering those courses only?</p>
<p>UCLA denied me with a 3.8 also but it wasn’t a biggie for me since I don’t really like the school. UCLA and UCSD’s CS departments are similarly ranked so you’ll still get a great education regardless.</p>
<p>The admit rate was 18.88%, 202 applicants were denied and only 47 were admitted. I’m sure there were others who had a similar GPA and pre-reqs and were also denied. In cases like this, the personal statement becomes very important.</p>
<p>For future applicants, please remember that UCLA likes applicants that work, volunteer, plan on attending grad school, and care about helping others.</p>
<p>Ive heard from schools like CAL that if you are in your situation, its possible that they already admitted too many students by the time they crossed your application. so they didnt deny you because you arent good enough, but because they have already admitted the quota. try re-applying and submit it sooner</p>
<p>another thing ive heard is that if you take some bulls*** classes, such as easy teachers and easy classes, schools admissions will eventually catch on to the easy classes. why would you admit a student who is taking the easy way out compared to a student who is taking classes that interest them or ones that will actually help them in the long run?</p>
<p>My major prep courses GPA was 3.67, I got a B in Calc 1, Linear Algebra, and Physics 1. I got an 89.7% in Calc 1 also but still a B, that was my fault. That was 5 units though, it could have made the difference. All of this doesn’t matter to me anymore however, I was accepted to Berkeley for their EECS program so I couldn’t be happier.</p>
<p>Yeah, all of those classes are part of the major prep courses that they mainly consider so there is your answer.
But that’s great that you got into Berkeley man, congrats! :)</p>
<p>I’ve often wondered if or how they analyze your classes. I know several people who have a 3.9+ with honors courses simply because they pick their classes/professors really carefully. I suppose if anything, the transcript will look really random (ex. a bunch of intro courses used for IGETC) but I have no clue how they (admissions) would evaluate that.</p>
Many factors go into getting accepted at UCLA. First off, they are more likely to take “locals” (Los Angeles - CA natives) than out of state transfers. Secondly that was also mentioned is Prerequisites. Prereq’s are EXTREMELY important. I am 33 years old and went to a community college and got accepted into Business Econ with a 3.83 GPA
Granted, UCLA DOES LOOK AT YOUR AGE (don’t be fooled) and school history and many factors. If you are young or a freshmen right out of High School, the chances are they will likely deny you faster than someone older coming from a community college. The counselor at UCLA told me that younger students have “many years ahead of them” and can absorb the hit if getting denied, whereas older students have jobs, families, usually more income and obligations to attend and do not have the luxury of just moving somewhere else for school. YES, these are factors.
@Wokkawokka - the original post is from 2011; the OP probably made peace with whatever cards were dealt. Also, why are you copying and pasting the same post on old threads?
I know this is a VERY, VERY old thread but I just want to leave this here:
I serve as a student ambassador on UCLA’s campus and there is no “black and white” answer as to why someone gets rejected; same goes for people who get accepted. From my experiences, since working in the admissions office for almost two years now, I can definitely say that UCLA will deny some of the most stellar GPA students. That being said, this suggests that GPA is not the end-all-be-all factor that goes into an admissions decision here. I got in with a 3.0 transfer GPA, and it was BELOW the 3.2 GPA minimum requirement, so what does that tell you about the holistic review the admissions committee takes into account? (Fun fact: There is a “3.2 and under” club on campus, lol).
This isn’t about me, however, but I want to stress to anyone applying to UCLA or ANY UC for that matter, that the admissions committees are looking for people who are going to fit into their campus. An applicant can get denied because the admissions committee genuinely felt that applicant would not “excel” in their program because of the interest they talked about in their personal statements, the activities they listed and how they described them, and the work experience they had under their belt ALL trickle down to final admissions decisions.
No one is accepted or denied to the university based off one thing, so be careful when you say, “I got denied with a 3.8 GPA” because they is absolutely not why you were denied.