Engineering Transfer Student in Trouble

Transfer Students UC Transfers
1

<p>(sorry for the 2x post, not sure where this should belong) </p>

<p>I'm currently studying Mechanical/Aerospace engineering at a CCC, and will be applying this fall for all of the UC's. </p>

<p>I started out my CCC career as a business major. The lack of challenge and reward in the business classes (econ/accounting, etc) made me hate the idea of studying and applying this for the rest of my life. Although the classes were easy, I was uninterested. A semester later I decided to focus on Aerospace engineering.</p>

<p>To make a long story short, I'm not doing well. I'm currently enrolled in Calculus III and Physics 102 (electromagnetism). Differentials, Linear Algebra, and Quantam Physics (103) is all that's left for me to take as far as pre-req's are concerned. And a couple of computer programming classes as well.
Although I can say math is my best subject, my grades don't quite reflect that:
Calc 1 - C
Calc 2 - C
Calc 3 - just took a midterm, blew my chances at getting an A. Working hard to earn the B.</p>

<p>Physics, although incredibly interesting, is just so difficult for me to understand. I got a B on my physics 101 class, and won't be getting any thing higher this semester considering I failed the first 2 tests in the class. </p>

<p>I am not lazy and I am not unmotivated. I just have trouble understanding the concepts and applying them. However, engineering is what I want to do as a career so for anyone who will say to look into something else, your comment will be respectfully ignored. </p>

<p>As of now I'm at a mediocre 3.2 GPA. Which includes some of my earlier classes (accounting, econ, english, etc.) I am worried that this semester won't help me much in raising it. And considering the classes I will be taking next year, I doubt it'll go any higher. (Just being realistic)
I am just about finished with the Honors program in my school and will hopefully TAG when I apply in the fall- if they don't decide to raise the minimum all the sudden, again. </p>

<p>The point is I am frantically worrying now because after all of this work, I do not want to go to a CSU. I've given up my hopes to go to UCLA and Cal but my "dream" school is still UCSD. I would be very happy with UC Irvine since I have visited the campus many times and looked into its solid engineering and promising program. I am just worried that with my low GPA (3.2), combined with my impacted major, I won't be able to transfer anywhere when I apply. </p>

<p>Am I being paranoid or is my worrying fair? Is there anything I can do to help my "chances" with the application? Can someone with a less than average GPA be admitted to the schools I listed above? I've been trying to focus and study but every time I receive a low test grade it discourages and worries me even more, which disables me from doing better on the next exams.
Helpful comments are always appreciated. Thank you!
(sorry for the long post)</p>

2

<p>UCSD will be tough, UCSB & Co. are definitely in your range (if you use TAG).</p>

<p>UCLA is a long shot, so is Berkeley. Those C’s in calculus don’t really help much either, would have been better if you had gotten a C in calc 1, then a B in calc 2, etc… to show that you are understanding the concepts and working harder and harder as you move on to tougher classes.</p>

<p>Best of luck</p>

3

<p>Well, I am almost in the same boat as you and your worry is legit. I applied last fall and so far have been rejected by CSULB and UC Riverside. Given up on UCLA and UC Berkeley. I have started preparations for the next fall just in case I get rejected from all (Just being realistic). Honestly, I don’t know what to tell you, except to try harder to get at least B’s this semester and in any other classes you have left. My GPA is 3.1 but I am doing good this semester. Electrical Engineering major. Also, the fact that you have honor’s program does help your case but a good GPA is essential. I’d say if you could raise it to 3.3 -3.4 you should be safe for UCI and maybe UCSD.
Maybe forming a focused study group can help you with your exams. I know its hard with everyone’s crazy schedule, but I have found that even two meetings before the exam helps.
The last recourse would be to drop one of you math or physics class and receive a W but re-take it and try your best to get an A. Think about this very hard before you do it, classes are getting harder to get into. Also, some colleges (UCSB, i think UCSD) just look at your pre-major GPA, meaning only classes in maths and physics.
My case was most of my calc teachers (expect III and differential) were teaching the class for the first time, so they had no idea what to do. They’d teach something else and the test was completely different. My Electricity and Magnetism class is at another school cuz I couldn’t get in my class (it was so full, they closed it by my date to register) and the teacher is horrible. I have to teach myself through the book and MIT OpenCourseWare. Also I work 24-32hrs. I think my only option would be to change to Bioengineering and try again by taking relevant classes to raise my GPA :frowning:
If anyone has other ideas, please mention them, perhaps they could help us both.</p>

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<p>I had those same concerns when it came time for me to transfer. So far, UC Davis’ engineering department still has a GPA requirement of 3.1 for a TAG. As long as they do not raise it, you’re good to go. As for UCSD, I think they raised their GPA requirement to a 3.5, but I do not know if that is campus-wide, or only for certain majors.</p>

<p>Have you talked to your professors about your struggles with math and physics? Regardless of where you end up transferring to (UC or CSU), you definitely need to know them if you are going to pursue a Bachelors in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Although I am just straight ME at UC Davis, I know more than a few MAE students who say that the combined program up here is HARD.</p>

<p>Even if you don’t get into a UC, you can still get a good education at a CSU, so don’t rule them out. Their lower admission standards only mean that there is more space, it doesn’t mean they are worse schools. Also, you might balk at this, but if you absolutely HAVE to get into a UC, have UC Merced as a backup – provided that it receives accreditation in June. If it doesn’t get accredited, avoid it.</p>

5

<p>my two cents:if CSU become a last resort,apply to Cal Poly Pomona.Their engineering program is great.However,if you still want to reach for those UC’s,I say take some easier courses,like an art class or something.My GPA has gotten a little low due to some rough chem courses but I say if you get an A,it should help some.two A’s in easier courses do bring a higher GPA.</p>

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<p>^ that would only work in some UCs. As I mentioned earlier, a few UCs will only look at your GPA from your physics and maths classes and maybe C++. They just check if you have passed english requirements but don’t count them in your GPA.</p>

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<p>If learning what you want to learn and doing what you want to do is really what is most important to you, then you shouldn’t care about where you go for undergrad. UCSB, for example, has an astounding Chemical Engineering program. And don’t think it’ll be “easy” just cause its a mid tier UC. Especially because you’re already have trouble at community college, wait till you get to upper division classes. If you have difficulty understanding the concepts when they are idealized, it’ll be even harder once you apply it to the real world.</p>

<p>Luckily though, even Engineers with barely passing GPAs end up with jobs. So if its really what you wanna do, keep studying, don’t worry so much about how academically prestigious a school is and actually LOOK what they have to offer. Choose where you’ll be happiest, trust me, that’s what’s important.</p>

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<p>I won’t recommend studio art classes unless you have a genuine interest. They’re harder than they seem and may be really intensive and demanding.</p>

<p>May I suggest art history instead?</p>

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<p>@Rotoscope, I agree that a studio art class could be real trouble for the OP if he does not already have some artistic talent. However, I do not think Art History would be any better. It will gobble up an enormous amount of time that he needs to spend on Math and Physics and tends to assume one is already fairly knowledgeable about Art and if he isn’t, getting a decent grade will be very difficult.</p>

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<p>@Lemaitre1 Hmm…maybe something in the social sciences or humanities then? There are some pretty easy subjects out there that require practically no memorization and very minimal effort.</p>

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<p>@3min3m, It is not so much your 3.2 GPA that is going to look bad to Admission Committees at the UCs, it is your performance in certain courses. You are getting Cs in Calculus and are currently failing your Physics course in Electromagnetism and since you find the material very difficult to understand, you will probably be fortunate if you can get a C in that class. Math and Physics are really the only courses the UCs you apply to are going to care about.</p>

<p>I know you do not want to hear this but you have to find a way to get an A in Calculus 3 and a minimum of a B in Electromagnetism to have even the slightest chance of acceptance as an Aeronautical Engineering major at a UC. If you get another C in Calculus and a D or F in Electromagnetism you will not have to worry about going to a CSU because there are none that would accept you as an Engineering major.</p>

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<p>Do igetc and apply to a nonimpacted engineering major (EE) at ucsd. I know several people that didn’t even take physics at community college and got in.</p>

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<p>i dont know how you gonna manage your upper division classes, assumming you do transfer to UC’s. my friend who got straight A’s in math and science classes in cc and transfered to UCLA as aerospace engineering says his engineering classes are heavily based on the lower division classes. i see him reviewing his notes and textbooks for calculus and general physics all the time whenever he studies.</p>

<p>i suggest you drop both classes unless you can get B’s, and take time to review calculus or even precalculus, if needed, and retake them. taking easy classes to boost your gpa might help you get into schools, but in a long run, you need a firm foundation in math and physics as an engineering student.</p>