I beg you please read and comment. Thanks for all the help and god bless us.

Transfer Students
1

<p>First of all, thank you for clicking in and reading my post. I'm in need of serious comments on whether I should stay at UCSC or transfer to elsewhere.</p>

<pre><code> I came to this country in 2006, finished my 4 years H.S. in Cali and was accepted to
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<p>2 UC's last fall. I can speak, write, and read like other college students, though
reading/writing isn't as good as many of you on this forum. (Usually I read 6pg/hr for
Chem, 10pg/hr for Econ and other subjects.) It's slow, but at least I'm capable of thinking in English and not in my primary language. I understand learning another language takes time, and so I'm doing everything I can to improve my English skills.</p>

<pre><code> That's my background. I wished someone would told me this earlier that UC is not for everyone. Back in H.S. everyone is so obsesses with BIG name colleges and even counselor recommends students go to UC when they would. But my experience there wasn't as close as I have expect. My first quarter there I took 3 classes, passed the Core and English. But I failed my Calculus. And this is my fault since I spend too much time on writing papers than practice Calculus problems. So then I were put on probation and signed a contract stating that if I don't pass all my classes in 2nd quarter I will be dismiss. 

   2nd quarter, I took Gen Chem, Writing, and Micro Econ. This time around I was more serious and balanced my time on each subjects. I studied between 30~40hrs per week, went to MSI/discussion sections, did every practice problems, and office hour. You all think I should out of probation without a problem. Yes, I earned a B average on every classes before final. However, after I took my Econ Final, I saw a D on my student portal. I have above average on every midterms I took for Econ, but I failed my final and so I DROPPED from a B before final to a D after final. I'm telling you, I have read my text AT LEAST 3 times, and did practice problems on my own. How am I still failed the final? I don't know. Perhaps my English just not on par or I'm too dumb to majoring in biochem. To me, I'm not regret being dismissed from the university because I did everything I would to raise my grades. I locked myself up, studied 30~40 per week, seek help through TA, MSI, and prof, no party nothing but only GYM-SWIMMING-STUDY-EAT-SLEEP. I even used my itouch as a timer everyday and log down the hours I spend on each subjects. (e.g. For 50minutes I would take 10min break.) I talked to my college provost before I signing off from school. And she gave me her words that I can get back to readmission after a year even I have few C's on the classes I take when I'm away from UC. She knew I did everything to STAY IN and I have proof that I did studied that much and I was on every tutor's list. I can show the work that I did every practice problems after each chapter and I did read the text 3 times.

  Here's my question, I'm turning 20 this year. I'm a bit late on this age as a freshmen but I'm a death serious student and I don't slack. I have my goal and ideal life I want to achieve. If I tried so hard but not getting the grades I wanted. Then either its the language or I'm just too dumb for science/engineering majors. Whichever is the case, I beg you tell me what to do next.

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<p>1) Is it worth to apply for readmission (I might still struggle there after a year)</p>

<p>2) Is it necessary that a smaller school might be easier on grading?</p>

<p>3) Do you think I'll be benefits the most from private colleges since the classes are tend to be small?</p>

<p>4) Will I get stuck at CC since the budget cuts and all that horrific stories?</p>

<p>5) Do you think I should have done better if I were in a smaller private school?</p>

<pre><code> My goal is to be able to do research on medicine/pharmaceutical/biotech companies. Which I need a Master degree at least. I do not want to get stuck at CC and will do everything I would to go to a school that fits me. 

Thanks for reading my post, and I'm willing to thank you in person if I would.

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<p>God bless.</p>

<p>Matt
7/12/2011</p>

2

<p>I don’t have all the answers, but I would like to say that I don’t think a smaller school will be easier on grading necessarily. The class sizes are smaller, and often you get a more personalized learning experience, which I think is invaluable. I would recommend looking into smaller schools (just make sure they have the resources you need to succeed, which may include additional help with English or other assistance).</p>

<p>Also, while CC is not the most glamorous of options, it isn’t horrific. CC really helped me get back on my feet after a tough first year, and there are a lot opportunities to shine.</p>

<p>Don’t worry about how you could/should/would have done if you had taken a different path; focus on the future and what you can do now to ensure that you will be successful. Good luck!</p>

3

<p>I really appreciate your reply brishe. You are right, I should focus on the future. Many people warned me not to stay at CC too long since students do get stuck and never come out again. One is my relative who also a Professor at a private university. He basically told me avoid CC at all cost because the culture and the environment just not good for learning. Idk if thats true, ■■■. I have to face it anyways!</p>

4

<p>Community College has helped me a lot too. I did horrible in highschool and wouldn’t have gotten accepted anywhere decent. Now that I’m at cc, I have a 3.8 GPA, and my future looks a lot brighter. The classes aren’t necessarily easy, but they’re smaller than what you get at a big university like UCSC.</p>

<p>I would recommend going to a cc, then attempting to transfer to a smaller school with a lower student-faculty ratio.</p>

5

<p>First of all, I would just like to say that even if you had to leave, your efforts at UCSC sound commendable. I think that working as hard as you did demonstrates a great strength of character, and that is something a lot of people don’t have. However, I do think that the best option for you would be to go to a community college and turn yourself around. There are lots of people who did poorly in high school, or had a lot of initial difficulty at a four year university, who were then able to turn themselves around at a community college. Rather than viewing it as an ending, I would therefore say that you should look at community college as a new beginning. If you take that work ethic of yours and apply it to succeeding at community college, I’m sure you’ll be able to turn your life around. Community college would also let you evaluate whether or not you really can hack the coursework needed for bio-chemistry in a less stressful environment than UCSC. If you can then great; if not though, then at least you found out before it was too late to find something else to do. </p>

<pre><code>The one thing you do have to do besides working hard in general though, is work hard on improving your English language skills. I understand how hard this can be; I went to an international high school overseas, and saw a number of very smart people struggle with mastering English. Nonetheless, it seems from your post that you do have some very serious problems with the English language, and those need to be resolved before you can succeed at an American university. I suggest that you consider hiring a tutor who is a native speaker, and working intensively with them to improve your English language skills. If that’s not possible, your community college might have some remedial English or ESL courses that could really help you improve your grasp of the language. Finally, I think you sound like a fundamentally decent person. As long as you improve your English and work hard at community college, you’ll turn out well. Best of luck to you.
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6

<p>Your relative gave you lousy advice, IMO. Yes, there are people who go to CC because it’s something to do after high school and they have no intention of leaving. They may even be the majority of people. But for people who DO know what they want, it’s not even close to tempting to follow in their footsteps. Additionally, the benefits of CC (cheaper, easier access to professors and leadership positions) outweigh the negatives (being associated with a group of lazy students for a couple years). The learning environment is actually better IMO, since you aren’t competing entirely with cutthroat overachievers like you would be in a top-ranked university.</p>

<p>Just trying to defend CC :slight_smile: Like PPs said, it sounds like you know what you want and you’re willing to work for it, so you’ll be fine.</p>

7

<p>Don’t rush back to the UC. You probably need MORE than a year to really get your English skills up to where they need to be to succeed at such an intense major.</p>

<p>There is a snob-factor against CCs by some people. It is a silly thing to say people get “stuck” at a CC. These stuck students just don’t want to move on. You do. You won’t get stuck. I suggest at least 2 years, maybe 3 at a CC. Take all your IGETC courses PLUS some extra English boosting classes as well. Like other people suggested, get an English tutor or find ways to boost your English language skills. </p>

<p>1) Is it worth to apply for readmission (I might still struggle there after a year)
Wait 2 years, or even 3 – and boost your skills at a CCC in the meantime. Don’t make it a race to go back… prepare well so that when you go back it is NOT a struggle.</p>

<p>2) Is it necessary that a smaller school might be easier on grading?
No, the grading is not easier. But depending on the school, the smaller classes might fit your learning style better. A lot more interaction with the professor, etc.</p>

<p>3) Do you think I’ll be benefits the most from private colleges since the classes are tend to be small?
Maybe. But finish the 2 - 3 years at a CCC. If you do well at a CCC there are many colleges that will take you. However, the ONLY fix here is to boost your English skills first.</p>

<p>4) Will I get stuck at CC since the budget cuts and all that horrific stories?
There is no “stuck”. You are taking the warnings too literally. Some kids just stay at CCC for many years and fade out of the school system. Yes, there are budget cuts, and admissions/transfers are more competitive, but a good student can ALWAYS transfer out to another school from a CCC.</p>

<p>5) Do you think I should have done better if I were in a smaller private school?
Not necessarily. The core problem remains… your English skills and perhaps your overall generic study skills are not good enough to handle 3 intense classes at once. I think the English barrier is your main problem… but I suspect that you may have poor study skills on top of it. </p>

<p>A few red flags in terms of study skill problems – it is the wrong metric to measure the amount of TIME you spend studying… mastering something has no magic number of hours attached to it.</p>

<p>You also said that you read the econ book 3 times through – a better study technique would be aimed at not a generic reading 3 times, but on focused chapters or concepts. After one time reading through, subsequent times should be spent on reenforcing main concepts and tackling specific trouble areas.</p>

<p>Much of studying has NOTHING to do with the book and often more to do with the professor’s lectures… or sometimes very little to do with either! A big component of studying well for tests is to learn how to ANTICIPATE what materials will be asked for on a test and study with that in mind. Simply reading a book 3 times and studying a certain # of hours is not strategic enough.</p>

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<p>You need to do what needs to be done TODAY and not worry about the future. Stop saying “stuck at CC” because it is meaningless and superstitious. If the best way for you to learn better English and better study skills is to spend 2, 3 or more years at a CCC, then GO TO A CCC. Ignore your friends, professors, relatives who say sweeping platitudes about CCC… <em>you</em> need the practice at a CCC.</p>

<p>Also consider going parttime to a CCC… and find a job where you must use a lot of English skills.</p>

8

<p>^That advice on studying is really good. You may also want to check out Cal Newport’s blog “Stuck Hacks” online, or one of his books on college success. It has some great techniques for studying different subjects and time management (I believe he mentions taking ten minutes off for every fifty minutes of studying too).</p>

9

<p>Thanks annikasorrensen, tsakashvili and PRiNCESSMAHiNA. Yeah, as long as I keep a positive attitude I should be fine. Thanks for coming in and comment. I’ll check out that New port’s blog :)</p>