<p>I'm now paying for my past mistakes, I hate this. </p>
<p>Shortly after high school I was convinced to go to a J.C. here in California, great idea in theory right? Well I still hadn't matured to a complete non idiot between the ages of 1 mo-19years of age, so I took a full schedule and bombed with D's and F's the first semester, and decided to quit in the middle of it all so I ended up with some incomplete F's, D's and C's. How could I have been so foolish, it kills me just remembering all of this.</p>
<p>Now the interesting part was that the more money I started making out in the real world the more I began to feel like something was missing, even though I essentially had everything I felt I needed, as far as material things are concerned anyway. </p>
<p>I decided to go back to school via attending a J.C. and have been attending for a couple of years on a part time basis. Well in talking with a counselor it turns out that there is almost no chance I can get into USC, or any other great school because of the those two very bad semesters. USC averages out retaken courses (which is what i've done) with my past F's and D's which get me a B average at best, also with all courses done, my counselor told me that I would be going over the 64 unit maximum that is a policy of the school (my blunder, as well as my counselors early on for telling me to take courses that are not in the articulation agreement for USC). </p>
<p>So what cards do I have left you might ask? A 2.7 at best if I continue to "Ace" the few courses I have left to finish. If a school doesn't average my old courses and just replaces them with my new retaken grades like some schools do, then my GPA sits at just around 3.5...depending how I finish this semester.</p>
<p>Any thoughts, advice, anything? The worst part is I do have two close relatives that will be very dissapointed in this news, both attended USC. Sorry for the long read.</p>
<p>Enroll in a new JC. You only need to spend one year there. Get all As. </p>
<p>When you apply, don’t bring up your previous stint at the other JC. Just submit your transcript from the current JC you are enrolled in. Sure, you will only transfer in as a Sophomore, but you will at least transfer.</p>
<p>Except that if you’re caught doing the above, you risk (in the worst case) having your acceptance rescinded and/or getting expelled. You’re required to send complete transcripts of every college course you’ve ever taken.</p>
<p>To the OP: I would not give up hope - talk to an admissions counselor at USC and some UC schools on what you can do from here on. It might be that they’ll look at your most recent stint in college and see improvement. And I’m sure there’s a great university out there for you, if it’s not USC.</p>
<p>as jbusc points out, mrgorilla is mistaken - you must submit all college transcripts when you apply to any college (even if you don’t like the gpa).</p>
<p>I second that you should not give up hope - if you have managed to bring your gpa up to a 2.7 after your tough start, it seems you are currently doing very well. If you are ineligible to take more classes at your current community college there is no reason you can’t take more at another. (As long as you submit ALL transcripts - to fail to do so could not only result in your admission being rescinded, but any degrees awarded could be revoked.) There are many that have articulation agreements with USC.</p>
<p>In your essay or extra information, be sure to address your new commitment to your education. Show how you have grown as a student and as a person. Your huge gpa improvement will prove your point.</p>
<p>As backups, be sure to apply to UCs and CSUs - they give transfer preference to community college transfers, even those who had a rough start.</p>
<p>Don’t give up - good luck and keep us posted!</p>
<p>If I had to do it all over again (I mean from my return to school) I would have gone to a J.C. in Los Angeles. The counselors down here don’t have sufficient knowledge about USC, and I don’t blame them, they have hundreds of students who are interested in hundreds of colleges, it’s impossible to know everything. At the same time, the fact that no counselor ever told me that USC doesn’t replace old F’s with new A’s and that USC won’t even look at me if I go over 64 units would have helped. </p>
<p>The thing about USC is that it’s my only love, I really don’t know if I have the energy to go anywhere else, I’m scared that i’ll always compare whatever school I might happen to enroll in to USC in a negative way. Since the age of 14 when my unlce would take me to hang out around campus and invite me the football games was how back my love for the school goes. How this never inspired me is easy, I simply didn’t believe I could get in, at my age SC seemed about as tough of joining as an IVY, so I never even bothered to simply ask the question, I was afraid of ridicule.</p>
<p>I envy all of you attending at this moment, I really do. </p>
<p>One question, is it possible to sit down with a USC counslor one on one? Not over the phone, but in person? It seems that the only appointments I can make are only in groups.</p>
<p>I’ll keep bumping this thread with any updates. Thanks a lot for everyone’s help, even you MrGorilla :)</p>
<p>It’s not clear to me if you actually applied to USC? </p>
<p>-If not, I suggest you focus on the absolute best, well-thought-out and written Spring Transfer application you can put together. There is a place on the application where you can explain “special circumstances”. Explain what about USC interests and motivates you. Do you have a career focus or anticipated major? Learn about the department you believe you want to major in.</p>
<p>-I would try calling the admissions office and trying to schedule a meeting, perhaps over summer, when they are not so swamped with all the Fall admit activity. Ask them when this would be feasible</p>
<p>-If you stay focused on accomplishing your Bachelor’s Degree, (which will make you so proud and be of great value in your life) … and not overly obsessing on USC, the “worst case” scenario I can picture is you earn the Bachelor’s at a different, back-up university and focus on USC for a Masters Wouldn’t that be cool. </p>
<p>Believe me, the pride and sense of accomplishment you’ll feel when you graduate is not diminished because the degree isn’t from a dream college. Trust me, I know it’s a wonderful school, and I understand your feelings, but don’t let potential disappointment stop you from finishing college somewhere! (Keep in mind, USC is a very EXPENSIVE university to attend. I hope you have a plan on tuition would be paid should you get in.)</p>
<p>It is time to stop thinking about what you would have done… what you should have done… and get going on what you are GOING to do!</p>
<p>
I think you may be misunderstanding this. The 64 units is the maximum transfer credit you can receive toward a bachelor’s degree for work at another accredited institution. That means if you complete 94 units, you will receive credit for only 64 (and USC will use the ones most beneficial for your degree progress). Completing more than 64 units will NOT make you ineligible for transfer consideration. Carefully read the Transfer Brochure: <a href=“http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/private/0910/USC_TransferBk09.pdf[/url]”>http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/private/0910/USC_TransferBk09.pdf</a> so that future courses are useful to your transfer plans.</p>
<p>The limit is similar to the limit on AP credit for freshman applicants. If you take and pass 15 AP tests, you can only receive USC credit for 8 of them, but completing 15 would in no way make you ineligible to apply. (Bear in mind that any course that you received lower than a C- will not count for credit in any case.)</p>
<p>USC will definitely consider your improvement since your rough start. From their transfer page:
<p>Maybe I am overly optimistic or eager because I am attending USC, but I actually think that they have a very good customer satisfaction policy, and I’m gonna go on a limb and say that their counselors are also probably quite flexible. I keep hearing on the forum that if you really express your desire to attend USC, then you definitely get noticed, so it doesn’t hurt to try to set up a one on one meeting. Good luck on the transfer.</p>
<p>Though I don’t know for sure, I think alamemom is correct. Having over 64 units means only that once you are accepted, only 64 of those units will transfer. It does not mean that they throw away your application if you go over the limit.</p>
<p>Ok, that’s definitely not what my counselor told me, in reference to the 64 unit cap that is implented by SC. She explained that once I hit 64 completed units, i’m done and it’s time to apply to USC. </p>
<p>To answer anothers question, no I have not applied to USC yet.</p>
<p>You need to talk so someone at USC about this. Either email them or pick up the phone and dial admissions. They can give you a solid answer right away.</p>
<p>This doesn’t sound right. Do you know how easy it is to go over 64 units? If this were the case you would here a lot more about it and you would see a lot more “disqualified” applicants.</p>
<p>Hey, dont worry about it, just work your ass off like no other. I was in a far worse situation, and I am now going into my senior year at USC as a business major.
I got all F’s freshman year, and some bad grades afterward as well. I did not do good until my second semester of my 4th year in college. After that I decided to return to a CCC, and work hard. My counselor told me that of the 3 schools I wanted to go to, 2 were IMPOSSIBLE (usc was one of the impossible ones), and the other was a reach. Well, after a year with a 4.0 and large course loads, plus lots of volunteer/community service and amazing recommendation letters, I got into all 3 schools. Im not sure about my gpa with replaced courses, but I know that when I look up my transfer report here that averages all of my grades, I got in with a sub 3.0 gpa and over 100 units. I just finished my first year here and will always LOVE USC because not only is this the greatest school ever, but they look deep into their applicants, far past the numbers. This is probably why I have met the most amazing people here. Nothing compares. If you want it bad enough, you can pull it off. FIGHT ON!
And dont omit past transcripts, its not worth having your degree pulled or getting kicked out.</p>
<p>And as far as units, USC will only take 64 units to transfer and count toward your degree. You can have more though. Disregard the 64 unit thing and just focus on finishing GE’s that will transfer and boosting your gpa.</p>
<p>Awesome story Evo9. I talked to admissions and they told me what you guys have been telling me, that USC will still look at my application regardless of how many units I have, but will only transfer 64. Nothing but hard work follows now as I continue to work towards a transfer. Thank you all for you input and i’ll keep you guys posted.</p>
Wouldn’t that be cool. </p>