So… I’ve been lurking on College Confidential for a while recently, but also more than a decade ago when I was in high school!
I didn’t take college very seriously when I attended fresh out of high school. I dropped out and began working.
Recently, I had a sort of life revelation and decided to go back to school with the hopes of eventually entering graduate school.
I’ve been at an Illinois community college for a year (but four semesters including summer), and my first choice school to transfer to is the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
I’m an in-state resident, but I’m concerned about whether or not I’ll be admitted. When I first started the community college a year ago, I struggled a bit – not due to the academics, but because I suddenly had the intense responsibility of taking care of a sick relative.
I ended my first semester with three Cs and an F. My grades went up over the summer semester to three As and a D (I was still having issues balancing everything, but made it through in all but one class). I finished this past fall semester with five As, but two of them were grade replacements (replacing the previous F and D).
So, I am applying with 43 credits and a GPA of 3.44. I read, however, that U of I calculates both original and replaced grades, which my community college does not, so as far as I know my GPA according to U of I will be exactly 3.0. I anticipate my spring grades to all be As as well, but I’m applying now, so I suppose spring grades don’t really matter.
I also read that U of I is fairly numbers oriented, but I will have an essay that is good to great. I wish they’d accept other materials (recommendations, resumes) but they don’t. My academic performance when I attended college the first time (almost fifteen years ago) was very poor, with a first semester of all Fs and a B+ in an interim semester (overall GPA <1.0) at a decent liberal arts college.
Do I have a chance of admission? I’ve been reading about denials of applicants with GPAs of around 3.5, so I’m concerned. I am not applying to CS or engineering; my major is in liberal arts and is likely not a popular major. According to U of I’s website, the minimum GPA requirement is 2.7. Still, I read enough to be worried.
Thank you very much in advance for any thoughts anyone might have!