Failed my first year of college due to work and depression, no hope for me to transfer to UCLA/Berkeley?

Transfer Students UC Transfers
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Hello Fellow Students,

I took the CHSPE when I was 17 due to severe bullying and subsequently failed my first year of college due to clinical depression and simultaneously working (went to therapist and everything). It’s not that I tried my best and failed regardless, I was just crying everyday with suicidal thoughts and didn’t show up to finals all 3 semesters, making me automatically fail.

I then took the following year off to work full time at a factory 45 hours a week and support my family. I live with my jobless grandparents and a single mother on welfare and before I started contributing the total annual household cash was under 15k a year, and still is today as I stopped working to return to college. I live in the SF Bay Area btw. We could only pay the bills because my aunts and uncles sent us money every month. I grew up very poor which kind of sucked when all your classmates were rich Bay Area kids.

I returned to a different college Winter 2021 and am ending with a 3.6-3.8 gpa in Spring 2022 with all my IGETC and Major Reqs done and am trying to transfer for Applied Math to UC Berkeley or UCLA as you can get the same jobs as a CS major without the brutal 4% transfer rate.

I am however supremely stressed because despite not finishing any courses/transferring credits, I have to reveal all of the colleges I attended or else face disqualification from academic dishonesty in my transfer request.

Will my previous year where I failed due to depression and work screw me? Can I explain this to my admissions advisor from Berkeley or UCLA and they’ll forgive it? Does anybody know if they’ll take my excuses as they’re legit and verifiable?

I am also pretty sure I am a perfect candidate for the Berkeley TAP program at my college. I am a minority (Pakistani), first generation, and extremely low income with a history of bad results due to financial/external factors. I am simultaneously doing the UCLA honors tap program because I don’t want to put all my eggs in one basket, and I have a passion for film which they might favor me for.

I self taught myself coding in Java and C++ to proficiency last year, have an avid interest in economics and plan to be an entrepreneur when I graduate after gaining as much financial, technological and worldly knowledge as possible, have joined a conservation club and have a passion for the environment and animals, love film and planned on being a filmmaker and making short films with my friends, and tutor people online and at my school for Calculus and Computer Science.

I feel as if my hooks are cookie cutter perfect. My background as a low income, first generational minority student, the struggles I had to overcome, the EC’s, my goal of entrepreneurship and how renowned Berkeley is for it, my love for film for UCLA, my low impact major (Applied Math), my hobbies and interests, etc.

I am also working my ass off and am finishing all my courses in 1.5 years (6 quarters) so I don’t have to wait an extra year and be older than all my peers.

Am I being overzealous of my chances and my failed year will destroy me? Is there anything else I need to know? Any and all help/advice will be greatly appreciated as I am stressing out hard. I am almost certain I qualify for TAP at both UC’s which is an 80%+ acceptance rate but I have no idea how UC’s view failures and whether or not my admissions advisor can explain my circumstances to the selection committee. Thanks in advance.

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Make an appointment with an advisor at your current college and ask these questions. Make sure you have all the necessary coursework. Call the admissions office at the colleges and ask to speak to an admissions officer in transfers. Or better, get the name and email one of them, explaining what you’ve said here. Ask them what they recommend. There will be a section on the app to explain extenuating circumstances and they will also notice your recent upward trend.

You need to add other colleges to your list. It is not a good idea to pin all your hopes on two colleges that are extremely selective. The goal is a degree and other UCs and CSUs offer degrees in applied mathematics. Don’t run the risk of sabotaging your goals by thinking only two colleges are worthy.

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I was a math major who took quite a bit of computer science courses in university. I do not think that you should be focusing on UCLA and UC Berkeley. Top schools do not have any mathematical secrets that they are going to teach undergraduate students. You can get a very good education at any one of a very long list of universities.

Also, you do not need to rush to graduate quickly. When I was in graduate school the other students there were of a rather wide range of ages – many and probably most of them had several years of work experience which of course meant they were a bit older. This is very common on university campuses.

Slow down. Take this calmly and understand that life is not a race.

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First, congrats for regrouping after such a difficult experience.

I agree - you really should broaden your list of target schools. As you can see here, there are just 142 applied math transfer admits at UCB, UCLA had even fewer.

I am not suggesting you not apply - go for it but, understand its a long shot. At the same time use TAG to guarantee a path somewhere like UCI, or even a CSU like LB or CPP. all of which are proximate enough to the film industry

I’d also echo that you don’t need to speed through school. You won’t be the only 22 year old on campus. For a host of reasons, many CC transfers spend 3-4 years or more before moving up to a CSU or UC. Smell the roses a bit, take unrelated/non-required classes - you might just spark a life long interest.

Good luck.

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