Hi everyone! I am a student at Santa Monica College and my overall gpa is a 3.0 and I failed anthropology in the fall (I will be retaking this class over summer this year). This is my second year at SMC and I am planning on transferring Fall 2020 and I am scared I won’t get accepted to any UC because of my gpa. I did all my calculations and if I get all A’s from now to Winter 2019 I can achieve a 3.4-3.48 GPA and I know I can do it. I started off shaky fresh out of high school. I am scared that the 3.0 or 3.4 still will not be enough to get me into a UC. I am TAGGING UC Santa Cruz, and applying to UCLA, UC Davis, UC Merced, and UC Irvine. I will also apply to a lot of the CSUS. Is this GPA good enough and will I get accepted to a UC? If not is it enough for a CSU? I am a psychology major. Also, I will be at 84 units if I take classes til winter end of this year. I don’t care if anything over 70 doesn’t count because I am only taking extra classes to increase my GPA and to increase the amount of major prep I’ve done for each UC. What is the maximum # of credits I can take? If I take 84 total will I be disqualified from applying? Will I be rejected because of it? Is taking excessive credits bad/dangerous/risky? If it is okay, can I go up to 90 credits by taking classes Spring 2020 before the Fall semester? Thank you so much!!
Ok take a breather and calm down. I think you’re overthinking a lot and I was in your position a few months ago. Don’t over do it or else you will burn out. I have a total of 91 units, 82 that are considered UC transferable. From what I was told, it does not disqualify me from the 90 unit credit maximum. The UC you attend will give credit to 75 of those units. Anyway, I’m assuming you’ve only take community college courses, non from a CSU or a UC. That credit limit applies to those who are coming from a UC or CSU. If it makes you feel any better, I applied for UCSB TAG, since their GPA requirement is a 3.2. At the time when I applied I barely made it as I had a 3.1 GPA and the requirement was to maintain a 3.2 GPA after Fall 2018. Just retake your Anthro class as it will replace the failing grade once you retake it. Keep an upward bound with your grades and GPA. As long as you meet the requirements for TAG, specifically for UC Santa Cruz, you’re guaranteed admission. If UCSC is your first choice, don’t worry about it!
If you are applying via TAG and meet the requirements then you are guaranteed admission.
If all your units are from community colleges then you can never have too many units for UC/CSU. They cap the number of units they give you credit for towards graduation, but the rest count towards subject credit.
Given your questions and worries, why haven’t you been talking to a xfer counselor at SMCC? They are one of the top sources of xfer students to UC/CSU and have very experienced counselors.
https://admissions.ucsc.edu/apply/transfer-students/tag.html#psych
Although it helps to have a higher GPA, it looks like you meet the GPA requirements for UCSC’s TAG.