Not getting any younger, lets finish this! (Non-traditional student).

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Southern California
1

<p>Hello. I was down at USC today. Officially, I went to the California Science Center/LA Museum of Natural History. Secretly, I also took a stroll around USC for the heck of it. You see, i've had a burning desire lately. I want in. I want to go to USC. (I know, I know. Who doesn't, get in line, how friendly are you with the university executives, etc).</p>

<p>I look back at my high school days and always wish I would have done more to go from high school to college and made it my #1 priority as most of you have. Perhaps I had a childhood rougher than most. I'll spare the sob story, but that is one of the great things about this country. Rarely is it too late to follow your dreams.</p>

<p>I didn't really make any mistakes in life and nothing I regret. Joined the Marines, was very active in volunteer work in high school, never committed ANY crimes.</p>

<p>These days, I work full time for a County right here in Southern California. Can't complain about a full time, excellent benefit job that is streamlining me into my dream career of law enforcement, but my days at Fullerton College really lite a spark and that fire never went out. I love education. Miss studying. Standing up as the only conservative in class to give another view, meeting new people and lifelong friends. I'm about 2 math classes away from an Associates in Administration of Justice with a whopping 79.5 credits under my belt in all kinds of courses</p>

<p>Wow. That was a much longer intro than I anticipated. I have a habit of doing that. So to the point.</p>

<p>Looking for advice on how I can get from point A to point B. From sitting here typing on this forum to sitting in a class at USC. It's highly likely by the time I am strolling the grounds with a red YEMX shirt on, i'll be in a full time career in law enforcement. So i'll have to be a part time, but 100% committed student. Perhaps that is also weird? USC grads go on to be great political leaders, fortune 500 CEO's, lawyers, doctors...I just want to help the everyday victim right on the street as a law enforcement officer. I need to improve my GPA. I've gotten D's in mathmatics, B's and C's in my electives and A+'s in my major coursework. Should I head back to college for a few more courses and continue to lift my GPA with A's? I did all kinds of extra-curricular activities in High School, but should I be looking to do more right now? Anything in particular I can do </p>

<p>These questions may be better suited for a school counselor, but some of you have already made it. A select few may have been in my position and have some sound advice. I'm all ears if your willing.</p>

<p>Thank you in advance!</p>

2

<p>I know I rambled on a bit there and that’s an intimidating block of text. Let me rephrase it into a very simple question.</p>

<p>Assuming every part of my application from extra-curriculars to essay were excellent, and assuming my community college GPA at 79.5 credits and an Associates was around 3.0, what would USC likely expect of me to do from now to acceptance letter? </p>

<p>Simply, with a less than perfect academic record behind me, how long would I need to take courses on the Community College Level with a 4.0 GPA to prove that I am USC material?</p>

<p>Surely it isn’t a matter of “it’s too late, once you’ve received a lower than average GPA, your done”, right?</p>

3

<p>You sound like an incredible human being with an interesting story, with a lot to give and dreams to live. I don’t know a thing about the way in as a transfer, but since you are there frequently, I would locate the admissions office and department that deals with transfers and stroll in to make an appointment. Maybe someone will spend some time with you on the spot, idk, but your story won’t be done justice in a phone call to some random person answering the call. Ask if you can make an appt to talk to an admissions counselor about coming in as a transfer student. These people are approachable and there to help, use them and take advantage of being in the area to do so. People on here may say our GPA is low, go back to school, do this do that. But ask the people that really know, someone at USC. If they hear any of your background as we have, they may look beyond certain grades, who knows, but until you ask, you won’t know either. At a minimum you would have a more defined path to follow after talking with them. Good luck, I sincerely hope it all works out for you.</p>

<p>And thank you for your service. :slight_smile: </p>

4

<p>Really appreciate the time you took to respond. I was starting to think everyone was a firm believer in the reality and science of Sociology and just too nice to say “your screwed, Tim”, lol.</p>

<p>I will do just that! I was planning on doing some volunteer work as a Scuba Diver at the California Science Center anyways. Will give me a great opportunity to stop by and say hi. Before that though, I plan on dropping by the local community college tomorrow and getting a plan of action started.</p>

5

<p>You don’t want to have too many units-- I don’t know the specifics, but you might want to look into what the optimal range is. Although, your situation is extraordinary.</p>

<p>Their published average GPA in recent years for transfer admits has been around 3.75, so although I’m a believer that everybody has an opportunity, it’ll be a steep climb to say the least. You’ll need to take full advantage of the essay portion, if anything.</p>

6

<p>I wouldn’t say you’re screwed, but you are certainly in a tough spot. Your AA degree will be in a professional field not offered as a major by USC, your GPA is low for a transfer applicant (latest transfer profile shows a 3.7 average), and while USC does allow part-time status your intention to attend part time may further diminish your chances compared to transfer applicants intending to attend full time. </p>

<p>Meanwhile, you want to avoid earning too many additional credits lest you find yourself in a situation where there is no more financial aid available and your degree is still unfinished.</p>

<p>I second the recommendation to talk to the CC officers and see what they advise. The counselors at Fullerton will hopefully be able to recommend some schools that are more of a match than a reach for your current stats, as well as how best to present yourself as a USC candidate. In addition, I recommend discussing whether you might be able to earn an AA that is more flexible for transfer than the one in CJ. If you can do an AA-T with the courses you have already taken (or just a couple more) then you can obtain priority admission status for the CSU of your choice.</p>

<p>Ultimately, your path to USC might best be paved through a local Cal State school, followed by a masters at USC, giving you time to grow and improve your profile. </p>

<p>I second the fact that you have an impressive story, and you sound like someone who has both the will and the ability to succeed. I encourage you to apply to USC but regard it as a reach, and keep your options open. </p>

<p>Finally, we have a non-trad students forum here, and I encourage you to drop in and contribute. <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/non-traditional-students/”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/non-traditional-students/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

7

<p>I’d be content with that as a backup plan. Head over to CSULA for a Bachelors, then surf over to USC for my Masters. I wonder how that would work though. I know CSULA has a Admin of Justice program. Then i’d need to move over to USC for a Masters. Now that I think of it, I don’t fully understand how a Masters works. Is it an additional layer on top of your already chosen degree (let’s say Sociology or Psychology) or is it something you roll into from a similar degree? (let’s say from U.S. Government to Political Science).</p>

<p>As far as costs, i’m counting on whatever financial aid I can get, but also more than willing to use a sizable portion of my salary of my chosen career to pay for this as well. Being single, luckily, will allow me to meet the tuition, fees and supplies cost I believe.</p>

<p>Maybe I should just join DPS. That will help. :)>- </p>

8

<p>

</p>

<p>Some of both. Providing your undergraduate studies included enough upper-division courses in whatever Masters you want to pursue (e.g. you took several 300-400 level Psych courses as part of your Bachelors of CJ) then you can often gain admissions to a Masters program in that field.</p>

<p>On the other hand, if you’re an English major wanting to get into a Psych masters and never got beyond Psych 101, you will likely have to take some post-bacc courses, or otherwise demonstrate that you have the prerequisite knowledge (e.g. via professional experience).</p>

<p>There are some fields, though, where you essentially have no academic prerequisites. MBA programs, for example, do look for relevant work experience in the business world but don’t care if you have never taken an undergraduate business course. Likewise for many other professional-oriented Masters degrees (NonProfit Management, Sustainability, Health Administration, etc.) - relevant work experience is the key.</p>

<p>Many Masters of Architecture programs accept students with unrelated degrees, and roll the prerequisites into the degree program, making a 2-year program a 3-year program instead. Many artistic MFA programs don’t care what your UG degree was - they just want to see a body of work that demonstrates your artistic talent is at a high level.</p>

<p>Do you have some idea of what you would like to study at USC (or wherever)?</p>

9

<p>Anything in the law related fields would be the goal of its available, specifically Criminal or Constitutional law as related to law enforcement. Don’t necessarily want to be a lawyer, but you can see how this could be helpful in my chosen field.</p>

<p>Otherwise, I’d settle for Sociology.</p>

<p>Went to my local CC today to inquire. I’m changing from Fullerton to Chaffey in Rancho Cucamonga because I work M-F 9-5 and Chaffey is on the drive home.</p>

<p>Will have to give them official transcripts and take an orientation before I’m allowed to meet with a counselor to set up a game plan. So we’ll see what the plan of attack ends up being in the coming weeks.</p>

10

<p>Law is another field where you don’t need undergraduate law studies at all to be admitted to law school. The main thing you will want to do is get your GPA as high as possible and score well on the LSAT.</p>

<p>There are many schools that even offer combined Masters CJ/JD Law degree programs, although USC is not among them. Good luck with the switch to the new school!</p>

11

<p>Thank you Dream School Dr-…what? Interesting name. Joking.</p>

<p>No, but seriously. Thank you very much for the tips and help. A lot of my professors at Fullerton College took many law courses at USC and I really did learn a lot about Criminal and Constitutional Law. Thanks to them, I have an above average understanding of the law in these areas. Now i’m hooked. I want to learn more, and I want to do it at USC></p>

<p>Keeping options open, I did take a look at the UCLA website. Blasphemy I know guys, USC will always be my first choice. But to be fair, it looks like they focus a bit more on GPA, it’s “easier” to transfer from CC to UCLA and they even give you the chance to explain yourself in an essay (why grades weren’t as good as they could have been, sob story, etc). I suppose it would be wise to keep my options fully open. Commuting all the way to UCLA from the Inland Empire wouldn’t be ideal either, especially since I can even take public trans to USC very quickly. </p>

<p>Lastly, off subject, I considered doing security work at USC awhile back. But I won’t do the work unless i’m fully armed, which your gate guards aren’t (correct me if i’m wrong). Still, the chance to work at USC… … …</p>

12

<p>I’m a older, non-traditional student that pretty much bombed-out when I first went to community college in my early twenties (I’m 30-years-old). I went back to community college, kicked-butt at a bunch of transferrable units, worked into honors, earned PTK honors and then transferred to USC (I also earned my Associate’s Degree). </p>

<p>I’m a big believer in the fact the university looks at upward trends in grades, maturity, etc. Go get it.</p>

13

<p>That’s absolutely amazing Random New Guy. I knew there was folks out there that had similar circumstances. I’ll be looking to see if Chaffey does have any honors classes. What does PTK stand for ?</p>

<p>After I obtain my associates, think I’ll take courses that either still need to be taken to transfer and work into my major. Obviously I’ll have to pick a new major since USC doesn’t have Admin of Justice, but I’m good with that.</p>

<p>Any other tips on how you got in with USC? Did you have any opportunity to explain? This gives me a lot of hope.</p>

14

<p>Phi Theta Kappa. It’s a national honors society, and the Common App asks if you are a member when you fill out any college application (it’s the only society it specifically asks about on the form). It also gives you access to some scholarships and what have you.</p>

<p>USC is pretty good about seeing what might transfer in from your community college and mapping out a game plan. They gave me all existing articulation agreements with my school (which was out-of-state no less), so I had a whole year to build my course load around that.</p>

<p>I don’t have much in the way of tips, just focus on improving your current GPA and building up a strong case for admission. The plus side of being an older student is that your essay won’t be the typical garbage that most admissions folks are forced to read (“How I overcame this obstacle in my high school”… “My two hours of mandatory community service changed my outlook on life”… “I read some world literature for the first time and now I think I know everything”). I find that people are genuinely interested in that kind of stuff.</p>

15

<p>You’ve definitely given me some inspiration Random New Guy. I was already confident I could achieve this goal through hard work and maybe a little explaining, but it always is great to hear of others who have come before you and achieved your goals.</p>

<p>Time for you to become a public speaker and motivate the High School kids.</p>

16

<p>Unfortunately, I never graduated high school (and I do not have a GED), so I’m not sure if I would be the best motivational speaker for a bunch of apathetic teenagers. I do, however, kill at trivia parties.</p>

17

<p>Wanted to add, I was thinking about finishing the sole math class I need to an associates, then looking closer at Sociology at USC. I have taken Sociology and Social Problems on the CC level and they were both one of my favorite subjects, but there are obviously more to be taken.</p>

<p>If anybody thinks it would be wise, I can start on my basics needed to transfer as well as a whole new AA if needed.</p>

<p>Or perhaps I would just need to do 2-3 semesters of the classes I still needed to transfer to meet that goal. </p>

<p>I went to Chaffey CC, but couldn’t meet with the rep same day. I have to attend their orientation first, then I can meet a rep and get a game plan set. Then, once I have that in mind, I’ll set up a meeting with USC admissions and see their take. Finally, i’m monitoring the College Confidential USC forums pretty close lately. Consider me a full time member around here. I’ll chime in only when I feel compelled or there is a subject i’m confident I know I can assist (such as crime and safety around USC) etc.</p>

<p>In the end, I will probably only be able to do part time at CC because I work full time and I don’t want to overload and risk any negative grades which is basically why I was receiving the 3.0 average at Fullerton.</p>

<p>Once I get called in for “The Academy” (police), that will take 120% of my time and attention. But it’s only about 5 1/2 months, so I can get right back on track once I’m done.</p>

<p>So, if I grab my AA, then start, essentially, on a new AA like Sociology (also another excellent law enforcement related degree, in it’s own way), I can use that prove myself worthy of USC.</p>

<p>If anyone was curious further about my profile or how it could help, I’d be happy to share my online resume, probably via PM.</p>

<p>Continued thanks for all the tips, well wishes and support. </p>