How can I boost my GPA if I'm already at 67 units?

Transfer Students UC Transfers
1

<p>Instead of going to a regular high school, I went to a middle college high school where I started taking courses at my local CC along with high school. I racked up quite a bit of units, however I realize now that taking high school and 8+ units of college together really messed up my GPA. I ended up having to take priority in high school, and I slid by in college with C's, B's, and even below.</p>

<p>Now I'm at 67 units and my GPA isn't quite what I want it to be. I'm at 2.8, which is pathetic to me. The grades that I got from high school really affected me, and even after getting some A's and B's my GPA doesn't even budge. It bothers me the most because now that I'm getting my UC results, I haven't gotten into some schools that I really wanted to go to. </p>

<p>I was told that I needed to boost up my academic performance, but I'm already teetering on the edge of junior/senior status. Are there any ways of going about that?</p>

2

<p>Look into academic renewal. And, you can’t reach senior standing with CCC units alone.</p>

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<p>As you know, the only possible way to increase your GPA is to take more classes. Don’t worry about the junior/senior transfer level. As long as all of your college credit comes from a community college, then you can take as many as you like and still be considered a junior transfer. Of course the school you transfer to will only count a specific amount of units toward your 4yr degree. Good luck</p>

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<p>Really? Because when I asked a counselor at a school I wanted to go to, they said that 67 units may already be an issue.</p>

<p>If I just take more classes, it won’t affect my standing? Id rather take classes and only get 60 units worth at a UC than not transfer and waste it all.</p>

5

<p>Your counselor is probably an idiot like the majority of CC counselors. They cap your transferable credits at 70. When you take more than 70, the credits count as subject credit (meaning they can be used as pre-reqs or to fulfill additional requirements but they will not be counted towards your total transferable credit max). But, keep in mind, you’re going to have to basically take an additional 2 years of community college (& only take UC transferable classes) and get straight As to offset a GPA like that :/</p>

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<p>That is, to get your GPA into a respectable range (3.XX). Because of the number of units you have, you will only increase your GPA by approximately .1 for the 1st A you receive in a 3 credit class. If you were to get 15 units worth of A’s in one semester, your GPA would be bumped up to a 3.0. If some of your 67 units are non-UC transferable, that would actually benefit you but I’m under the assumption that they’re all UC-transferable.</p>

<p>So overall, if you receive As in every single class (15 units per semester) for the next 2 years, you can bump up your GPA to a 3.37 MAX.</p>

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<p>You can’t really raise your GPA at that point but it is also not the end of the world. You will still get in at Riverside, Merced, or a local CSU, but it is simply not worth your time. I am assuming that the 67 units and 2.8 is your grades at the end of Spring, but you’d have to take 15 units with all A’s in order to get that above a 3.01 by the next application cycle but that’d be a whole year longer at CC. If you spend 2 years taking 15 units a semester, you can get it up to a 3.28. At 3.0, you expand your likely schools to Davis with a small chance at other places. With a 3.3, you’ve got a good chance everywhere but UCSD,UCLA,UCB, but you’ve also accumulated a ton of units that you never needed to. This is also assuming that you get a 4.0 every semester. More realistically, if you can maintain a 3.5 average, you will only get to 2.9 if you spend another year there, and a 3.0 if you spend 2 more years.</p>

<p>Something that might save you, how many of those units you accumulated during high school are actually transferable? If you didn’t take that into account, you might have had a much higher GPA and it could have been the 60 unit minimum that killed you.</p>

8

<p>I am going to be on a rant here, but I wish I had someone come back in time and tell me all that I am about to tell you.</p>

<p>First off, as long as you have CC units it doesn’t matter how many you have. 2nd, DO NOT listen or depend on CC counselors they are HORRIBLE. Research IGETC, assist.org, ratemyprofessors.com, TAG Agreement, and plan all your courses throughout your CC career. </p>

<p>I was in a very similar situation of yours, but it was even worse. My excuse was just bad, I didn’t really care about my academics and just slunk off with my other unmotivated friends at a CC. I had a 2.45 GPA with 40 units at the end of my 2nd year…I made up all my courses with D’s and below, retook all the courses I got a W in and got A’s/B’s. I took summer school and was getting mostly A’s and a few B’s in my science courses. I applied this term with a 2.94 at 65 units and got into UCR, UCSC, UCSB, CSUN, and CSULB. I will be finally be at 3.07 at 85 units after Spring. I will now be attending UCSC at Fall because I like the area and people there. Anyways…my opinion is to push yourself to the max…crank out good grades and have a few EC’s. It’s not worth going to a kickback or party and having fun for one night unless you have all your **** done, but if not it’s not worth it. Especially if your major is hard like mine (Biochemistry). Although it may be cool to pass away time with old friends, it is so much more fun and less boring to meet new people, live independently, and actually PARTY. Try to get out of a CC to a university as quick as you can, but try to go to a good one with a nice area and academics. Trust me!!!</p>

<p>Another recommendation I would give is to do your IGETC requirements first, than your major prereqs. Get all your math and english done ASAP (for TAG agreement) and then fulfill the rest of your requirements. I wish someone told me that because my gpa suffered from taking all my hard major prereq courses I took in the beginning that I most likely will have to take again at the school I am transferring to. So EASY classes first, then take your major prereqs, that way you will have a higher gpa once you apply. </p>

<p>One more last thing, research the professors before you take their courses. Makes it much easier to know how much workload you will have to do. Professors also are people and if you see your grade declining, always talk about how you can increase your grade with EC opportunities. If you are borderline at the end of the semester (88%-89.9%) always talk to a teacher, they sometimes might give you an extra assignment or will give you an A, especially if you are a good student (ALWAYS attend class, early, with work done on time = more leeway). Teachers do not usually like giving a student a B with a 88%, because CC’s mark it usually as a B, and a 88% is a B+, so they want you to be recognized for the effort you put through. Also research academic renewal if you had a pretty bad semester (like 2.5 term gpa and below) even if it had a lot of IGETC classes or w/e, do it because your grade will boost up like no other.</p>

<p>Anyways, this is coming to the end of my rant. I learned a lot from going to a CC for three years and although I didn’t get into the best schools, I did get into a few pretty good ones. I therefore am now helping a sibling of mine who is going through the same route as me and have motivated her enough to do much better in school and to get out in two years. She will most likely now be going to UCSD/UCLA/UCSB/UCB because of the layout I have given her and the guidance (and tutoring) that I have provided for her. Trust me, CC’s are a bore, but wait one more year and get into really good schools. If you need to take courses that aren’t available at a CC also, be sure to take it another CC nearby that may offer it. Also applying as a different major (one that is not impacted or has lower GPA requirements) works and I wish I have done that because I have done it for my friend who had a lower gpa as me and he gotten into a lot more UC’s than I and he will be switching majors once he gets there. Anyways, Good luck to you!</p>

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<p>@dashtiani,</p>

<p>I really love your advice right now. I had a similary problem as you are and same with OP’s situation. Currrently I had 2.8 GPA with 70 units. I only got into CSULB and I’m debating should I go there as a computer engineer major. I feel so disappointed when I get rejected by all the UC’s I want to intend. Even UCR rejects me which is so bad. Also, if you decided to stay another year, get involved with big clubs to meet new people and of course focus on your grade. Your GPA is the most important factor for the whole admission process. I still have a hard time to decide to stay at JC for my fourth year or move on to Cal State Long Beach. I really want to go to the likes of UCI and UCSB. I feel awful when every friend of mine got into a great school (CSULB is a good school) or their dream college. I feel like a failure but I got to move forward. Still not sure what’s should I do.</p>

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<p>@bjt223, don’t feel like a failure. I’ve felt like that for the past year, now it’s my motivation to take on more classes and strive for A’s.</p>

<p>And dash, congrats! But if you don’t mind me asking, do you think you wrote a really strong personal statement? Or do you think it was just your grades and GPA? Because stories like that at least give me a little more confidence.</p>

<p>EDIT: I’m so upset with the counselors right now. Thanks all though for enlightening me. :(</p>

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<p>@bjt223 I didn’t get in the schools I really wanted to get into either, but I felt like I had to move on. I wanted to attend UCLA/UCSD/UCB, but obviously that was a far reach. 4 years at a CC was not worth it for me because I plan to go to medical/graduate school. Where you get your undergrad degree doesn’t really matter that much at all. I would recommend going to cal state long beach though! It’s one of the top rated CSU’s (I believe like 2nd or 3rd best) and it’s half the tuition. If it makes you feel better bjt, you can definitely turn around once you transfer. Moving out and having fun and being independent right now is what you should be doing, who knows…this might motivate you more to do even better once you transfer. But overall, I wouldn’t be so down! You still at least got into a pretty impressive school! But if you want to stick for one more year because you think you can do well and stay motivated to increase your GPA, DO SO!!! If you really, really want to go to your dream school, then try your best! Try getting straight A’s every semester, exceed the maximum amount of units, do academic renewal, do EC’s, if you do this, you could very well get into any UC (because by then you will have a high enough GPA for TAG) even UCB/UCLA!! If schools see a positive GPA upward trend they believe you are academically maturing and that you are willing to work hard to improve yourself as a individual. Good luck to you bjt, let me know what you do!</p>

<p>@nayhru</p>

<p>Ty man! I did indeed write a very good personal statement, but… the only UC’s that read personal statements or look at EC’s are…</p>

<p>UCI
UCLA
UCB</p>

<p>but this might change for next year, who knows</p>

<p>if you have any questions at all, let me know and I would be more than happy to answer them for you! Really look into TAG though, you just have to get a minimum GPA and do a few major prereqs and you’re pretty much guaranteed admission to a majority of the UC campuses!!!</p>

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<p>@dashtiani,</p>

<p>I wouldn’t mind going to Long Beach, it’s just that I want to go to medical school in the end as well. However, in my back of my mind, medical school adcoms would look down on Cal State Long Beach and if I didn’t get into UC’s, i’m in a huge disadvantage than I’m already am. However, I still don’t want to stay at CCC for another year. tough choice. At least you got into UCSC, at least its something.</p>

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<p>I was just reading this and just wanted to say: </p>

<p>I don’t think ad coms look THAT closely at what school you went to - the prestige isn’t a huge factor. I know someone that went to SJSU for undergrad and went onto Harvard Law. I also know someone else who went to CSU Fresno and got accepted into UCLA’s really competitive Periodontal program as well. I think so long as you have the grades and the scores the school isn’t going to be such a large factor.</p>

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<p>GPA and limitations</p>

<p>You must earn a cumulative 3.5 minimum UC GPA earned by the end of Fall term 2011 and maintained through the end of Spring term 2012.
Both of the UC English courses and the UC math course must be completed by the end of Fall 2011, prior to Fall 2012 admission.
TAG is for students who transfer with junior standing. If you will have senior standing, TAG does not apply.
Senior standing means you would have 90 or more UC-transferable semester units (or 135+ quarter units) from accredited four-year universities and community colleges, combined.
You cannot reach senior standing with only community college units; in other words, if you have **attended only community college<a href=“one%20or%20more”>/b</a>, then no matter how many units you have completed, you are eligible for the TAG program. Please note that a maximum of 70 UC transferable community college semester (or 105 quarter units) will be accepted toward graduation; any units beyond those limits may result in subject credit being awarded.
All UC-transferable units completed at a four-year university apply toward the limit of 90 semester units (or 135 quarter units).</p>

<p>this is why your counselor is an idiot
Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate units earned prior to graduating from high school do not apply to the limit of 90 semester units (or 135 quarter units).</p>