I don't know where else to turn

Transfer Students
1

<p>Basically, here is my story:</p>

<p>Made it to UCLA out of high school and went there my first year. **** hit the fan and basically some people in my family died. So mid semester I had to leave UCLA, without giving notice or anything, and go to Syria, thus making me fail one of my classes (the other one I had a good enough grade in which saved me from the final).</p>

<p>I was very active at UCLA, having two internships with the Ronald Reagan and Santa Monica UCLA Hospitals (ARC and CARE Extenders) as well as a full time job at Starbucks. My grades weren't amazing, but I had an above 3.0 GPA. I think it was around 3.3, don't really remember.</p>

<p>In Syria, the death in the family was caused by lack of doctors. So when I was there, I did some research and interned with a few doctors to see if I can try to diagnose the problem with our healthcare system, in a sense, and see what the conditions were like. This is basically what reaffirmed my love and passion for medicine--I wanted to help these people, I wanted to help my country (great personal statement sentence, no?)</p>

<p>Anyways, when I came back from Syria (I was basically at the lowest point of my life) my parents divorced, and my sister left her husband as well and came to live with me and my mom. At the same time, my grand parents and two aunts got evicted from their house, so they moved into our 2 bedroom condo. I also have a dog, whom one of my aunts is allergic to.</p>

<p>I couldn't go back to UCLA because I missed the registreation appointment for classes and I made nowhere near enough money. I didn't qualify for financial aid because it said my parents make too much, but we really don't because everything went down the ****ter, my mom got laid off, everyone and their mom moved in to our house, and my dad left us. So I went to a community college nearby my house and took a leave of absence from UCLA.</p>

<p>Thus, I am now here...I would really appreciate some advice as to what I should do. Should I go back to UCLA my last year, should I transfer to another school like Stanford or Harvard? (Would they even take a second look at me after seeing that failed math at UCLA due to an unbelievable circumstance)</p>

<p>Any advice would be greatly appreciated...thank you.</p>

<p>P.S: As far as extracurricular activities etc, I have superfluous amount of clinical work, and a good amount of research (none published) I also went and studied with doctors in Syria (a unique experience) and basically when I graduate with an M.D I want to go back to Syria and help out in hopes to prevent catastrophic deaths such as the one that has caused me to be in the very situation I am in right now.</p>

2

<p>I’d like to help but, I need a little more clarification. You’re at the community college now correct? What’s your GPA there? How many credits have you earned total?</p>

3

<p>Thank you for your response.</p>

<p>Yes, I go to a nearby community college and I have a 4.0 GPA so far. </p>

<p>My completed classes include:
Biology 101 - 5 units
Web Design - 3 units</p>

<p>Courses in progress:
Spanish 101 - 5 units
Psyc 100 - 3 units
Graphic design - 3 units
Biology 102 - 3 units</p>

<p>You might notice that I have a lot of art-related things, and it’s because I’m considering double-majoring in graphic arts (I got a 5 on the AP art exam, with ease) I LOVE LOVE graphic design. I also speak 3 languages Arabic English Spanish fluently. Right now I work as a tutor on top of Starbucks in hopes to get enough money to get me somewhere.</p>

4

<p>What is your cumulative GPA? You list about a 3.0 from UCLA and a 4.0 from CC. I will assume about a 3.5 for the moment. The colleges will look at your cumulative GPA, not just what you have from the CC.</p>

<p>Stanford has about a 1.5% transfer acceptance rate (20 students total per year on average). Considering you have some Fs (?) and a total GPA of about 3.5, it doesn’t look like you are competitive enough for Stanford. Granted, no one is competitive enough for a Stanford transfer… they take too few students!</p>

<p>I don’t know much about Harvard, but I think it is also unlikely.</p>

<p>If you can get back into UCLA, definitely explore that. It is probably still your best option.</p>

<p>If you absolutely want to transfer, I think you need to take a harder look at what are good “matches” for you… schools that readily accept students with a 3.5 and that you can also afford.</p>

<p>Also, I suggest you make sure that double-majoring is in your best interest. It sounds like you have 2 passions… but what is going to help you get into medschool is not going to help much with webdesign and vice versa. (Though, this isn’t to say that you couldn’t find a career that blends them both – but that may or may not be what you want to do.)</p>

<p>And of course, the money situation needs to be addressed. Many transfer schools are going to be MORE expensive than UCLA - so you need to explore what schools you can reasonably afford.</p>

5

<p>As far as financial aid, I’ll be eligible by next year because I will be able to show all the hardships etc.</p>

<p>What if I don’t reveal I went to UCLA? How likely are they to find out if I don’t mention it on my app?</p>

6

<p>Not a smart idea. There is some national data base that colleges share information (maybe someone else knows more about it), so it isn’t like it is impossible to find out. You have been applying and attending colleges with your social security number, so it isn’t like this information is highly secret. If you had financial aid before, the new college will notice that as well in a jiffy. Whether or not the new college <em>looks</em> or pays attention, I don’t know.</p>

<p>HOWEVER, it is a serious breach of personal ethics, and worse, if the new college finds you out, you risk being expelled. You even risk having an earned diploma being rescinded after-the-fact. </p>

<p>A 3.5 isn’t a bad GPA. It may or may not get you into a top school. But trying to apply to these places with just your CCC isn’t going to improve your odds much anyhow, so it isn’t worth the risk or the burden of looking over your shoulder for the next 60+ years. </p>

<p>Even just with your CCC grades, a 1.5% acceptance rate to Stanford means no one gets in but a random group of 20 students with amazing and quirky hooks. A 4.0 from a CCC is not a hook… finishing 4 years in the US Marines might be a hook. That kind of thing. I don’t know much about Harvard, but the are probably similarly annoying. :)</p>

7

<p>Haha, alright, thanks.</p>

<p>I’m probably gonna do some classes here at the community college, return to UCLA, then apply to med school at a top school and use my experience in Syria and whatnot as a ‘hook’.</p>

<p>My remaining question is will my F in math be the death of me, even if I explain everything in my personal statment when applying to med school?</p>

8

<p>I highly doubt an F is the end of things. I once dated a guy who got a D in Organic Chem and retook it and got an A or B later. He got into med school eventually. (He did not get into medschool his first application round! He took extra science courses over two years while working a day job to bolster his application and reapplied. He is a doctor today.)</p>

9

<p>Medical schools will not be moved by your story. It’s not as though you actually reformed the Syrian health care system. Be the best pre-med you can be from now on. Do a post-bacc, spend extra time in undergrad or apply to a special masters program if necessary. When applying to medical school, the most you’ll need to say about UCLA is that personal problems led to the abrupt end of your career there, and that these problems have long since been resolved.</p>

<p>Make sure they really have been resolved though.</p>