Is the current TAG system undermining the integrity of the UC transfer process?

<p>Just felt like I should pose this question for dicussion because I'm interested in other's thoughts and opinions on TAG after finding out some pretty surprising information. Now, I'm probably biased because I didn't TAG to any of the UCs as an applicant and after calling UCSD (my first choice) after being rejected I realized just how critical of a mistake it was, specifically for this year. </p>

<p>Basically I called the UCSD admissions office to figure out why I was rejected, aware of the record number of applicants this year and how competitive this made the admissions process. However, after waiting on hold for nearly half an hour to talk to an admissions officer, I was still surprised to hear that I was rejected from both my first choice (impacted) and second choice (not-impacted) majors because I didn't meet the cutoff GPA for non-TAG applicants this year --a staggering 3.80-- a product of the unexpected overabundance of TAG applicants this year. Basically she admitted that while under normal circumstances I'd be fairly competitive to at least get into my second choice major because of my GPA (3.44), completing IGETC, and completing my major pre-reqs, I was essentially "pushed out" by TAG applicants because of the unexpected number of people that took advantage (I should have been one of them) of TAG since it moved online this year. </p>

<p>I found this to be pretty startling considering the GPA cutoff for TAG was only a 3.0 and the average GPA of those transfers admitted last year at UCSD was around a 3.5, compare that with the GPA cutoff of 3.80 this year for non-TAG applicants to even be considered. And having been rejected and seeing other classmates that were admitted to the university and to the same non-impacted major with 3.0, 3.1, 3.2 GPAs because of TAG, it poses the question: is TAG significantly degrading the quality of the average admitted transfer student in the UC system? Thoughts anyone?</p>

<p>Yeah it definitely is.</p>

<p>I got accepted to UCLA, UCB, and UCD. But I got waitlisted at UCSD because it was too overflowed with TAG members. Although it is technically my fault for not TAGging.</p>

<p>Anyways this is why UCSD is raising their min TAG to 3.5, so it should definitely shave off a lot of people.</p>

<p>The tag doesnt even exist. I got accepted to LA and Berkeley and some how UCSTD rejected me with a tag. Who cares though cause I am going UCLA!!</p>

<p>Why would you not TAG? I mean if you had your hopes set on UCSD, why not apply for the supposed admissions <em>guarantee</em>? </p>

<p>Anyhow, since UCSD participates in the TAG program, I would assume they would have to allot a certain amount of expected slots for TAG students, and I would also assume these would have priority since they are <em>guaranteeing</em> admission.</p>

<p>However, I believe what jg2290 is true: TAG doesn’t even really guarantee admission. If it did, admission would be offered once you submit you Fall Semester Update. This is not the case. Transfer decisions are reviewed and can be, in fact, denied. </p>

<p>So, if a TAG student that meets the TAG requirements is denied admission, how is that an admission guarantee? It’s not!</p>

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<p>Source? I’ve never once heard of this happening–it’s always involved a mistake at some level, resulting in the student not meeting the TAG requirements.</p>

<p>That said, the current TAG system is flawed. IMHO the GPA requirement should be 3.5 at SD and SB, 3.2 at Davis and Irvine, and 3.0 at Riverside, SC and Merced. In addition, students should only be allowed to TAG to one UC.</p>

<p>^^^^^^^ well then i am the first case ever because i signed the tag, met the reqs, got a confirmation email saying my tag met the standards, had a 3.74 and was STILL rejected from SD</p>

<p>@QVOPINCHEPUTO
I didn’t TAG because I chose to take on most of my major pre-reqs and some of the upper division courses in my major (general bio, general chem, ochem, calculus, etc) earlier on in my CC career. And left subjects that I was less interested in and less relevant to me to complete later, particularly English. Because I was finishing my English sequence this spring semester, I didn’t qualify for TAG in the Fall for most of the UCs. </p>

<p>@jg2290
Did you apply to an impacted major? It seems like some of the UCs were rejecting what I’d call “overqualified” applicants. Probably to prevent offering admissions to someone that’s likely to get in and enroll at a more prestigious UC like UCB, UCLA. I think it goes without question though that having a TAG, in particular for this year, definitely was a major advantage for those that met the requirements over similar non TAG applicants.</p>

<p>@nick_scheu
I definitely think essentially being able to TAG to as many UCs as you wanted was a major flaw in the TAG system. If everyone TAGed to all of the UCs or half of the UCs, in theory if they met the requirements would be offered admission to all of them. Thus displacing up to as many as a potential 8 other non TAG applicants (assuming their TAG was approved to all of the UCs) , when they select the one UC they choose to enroll at. More stringent requirements definitely would’ve helped to keep the integrity of the admissions agreement. It seems reasonable that the TAG cutoff GPA should at least be close to the average transfer GPA of the admitted students from the previous year. In the case of UCSD this year, the TAG GPA requirement was a full .5 lower than the average admitted GPA last year and consequently those that didn’t TAG had to have at least an average of .3 higher than that average admitted GPA.</p>

<p>It was Poly Sci so i guess that would be impacted, but they couldnt know i was going to get accepted to the other 2 without being notified by LA and Cal</p>

<p>^
There’s no communication between the admissions offices so they couldn’t know with certainty. But just based on your stats and the standard of each one’s individual admissions, they can kind of gauge where you’d likely be admitted to among the other UCs. There were a few people on this forum that got rejected to many of the low tier UCs with extremely competitive (3.7+ GPAs), but then got into some of the more prestigious UCs like UCB or UCLA.</p>

<p>I think all the schools should make it so that you need above the average GPA to TAG, it makes no sense that signing a piece of paper should be equal to .4 ( or more) in GPA…</p>

<p>What sort of a confirmation email did you get? SD didn’t release any TAG decisions early, unlike some other campuses.</p>

<p>If you really did meet all of the requirements (you may have missed something and not know it), the admissions office simply made a mistake. You would be admitted on appeal. TAG is a contract and a guarantee, period.</p>

<p>Do you think that in a couple of years ucsd will elimate the tag program in their campus and switch into a holistic type of admission system that they have at UCLA and berkeley? I feel that ucsd admissions are becoming more competitive now.</p>

<p>^ Wouldnt be surprised if so…</p>

<p>TAG is what it is… a guarantee… and dont get mad at people with a 3.0 getting accepted just because you have a 3.8 or whatever and you get rejected… its not like you didnt have the opportunity to sign the TAG paper… </p>

<p>To be honest, you have to be a cocky individual to not sign the TAG and just apply to the school if the school offers TAG, The chance is there… why not take it? Dont get mad when you get rejected just because you’re too lazy to spend 15 minutes on a TAG app. </p>

<p>TAG is a great thing. A chance for those who screwed up HS or didnt have the money to get into a UC and have that guarantee feeling.</p>

<p>Maybe his college is really lax about it? I didn’t even know what a TAG was until a friend of mine told me about it - I immediately ran down to the counseling office mid-lecture and found that no, there was no way I could get a counselor to approve me on the spot -_-.</p>

<p>Some colleges are VERY lax in getting the word out. >></p>

<p>It is only UCSD that is flawed. All you need is a 3.0 and IGETC to TAG. It should be regulated like other UC’s where you have to complete a certain set of pre-reqs with in order to qualify for TAG.</p>

<p>At least they are upping their standards up to 3.5 GPA. Still I think it is flawed. What if the person only finished one pre-req and took at all easy classes?</p>

<p>Agreed. 3.2 + all prereqs is totally reasonable. </p>

<p>This 3.5, 3.8 nonsense is bullocks and they should hire more teachers and expand their learning facilities instead of launching nonsense majors and building bigger stadiums and crap.</p>

<p>Yes, the current TAG system is flawed. It is absurd that the non-TAG GPA cutoff is 3.80, but people with TAGs got in with 3.0s. It is bad for the schools as well: they were “forced” to accept students who will probably have a hard time succeeding at the school, especially UCSD. </p>

<p>Anyway, obviously we are not the only ones who believe the current TAG system is flawed since the UCs are raising their minimum requirements to TAG and only letting a student TAG into one school. </p>

<p>Also, there were people who were rejected or waitlisted with a TAG to UCSD. Check out the thread called “Waitlisted to UCSD?”. It does seem like UCSD waitlisted some students with extremely high GPAs and TAGs because they had a good shot at being accepted into UC Berkeley or UCLA. I believe this practice is called “yield protection”. However, this doesn’t mean that TAG did not mess up the admission process this year at UCSD (in particular).</p>

<p>I wanted to add that it wasn’t just the TAG that messed up admissions this year, it was the budget crisis. UCs admitted more international and out of state students this year because of the budget crisis. I have a friend who is an international student and he was admitted to UCSD with a 3.3 in electrical engineering.</p>

<p>I believe it just seems like poor planning on your part. Sorry to say it but 3.4 doesn’t seem like a competitive gpa when the average gpa is 3.5. Next time use ALL the resources available, and if you’re not, then make your self a truly desirable applicant. I wasn’t in TAG, but I wouldn’t trash it. I think its a good opportunity for students to follow certain plans. I got in to UCB, UCLA, UCSD, and UCSB all without TAG.</p>

<p>Anything above a 3.0 is a perfectly respectable GPA. It says at the least, you have all Bs, or some mix of various grades.</p>