Possibility of Transfer to UC

Transfer Students UC Transfers
1

<p>Major: COMPUTER SCIENCE</p>

<p>I had a rough time in high school and had gone the route of online independent studies. As such, I was terribly unprepared for the rigors of any halfway decent institution when I stumbled my way onto the campus of a local community college in the Los Angeles area.</p>

<p>When I first attended a CC, I was horribly naive (and probably only just starting to get better). I consulted with a counselor and told them my goal was to transfer to UCLA for computer science. They advised that I take general education as per the IGETC. As far as I know, the classes I took were irrelevant to any transfer requirements (Psych 1, Philosophy 1).</p>

<p>I have a total of 5 'W's spread over 4 semesters, though one 'W' was a non-credit course mathematics workshop that I didn't end up attending (essentially a 'come study in here' sort of place). I have 3 grades of F and 1 grade of D on my record, with all having been repeated. The grades I received to replace those grades of F and one D were C, A, B, A.</p>

<p>I have been attending college since Fall 2009, with Spring 2014 skipped due to some personal stuff. I recently moved colleges to Fullerton College. I have been attending a summer mathematics course at FC and will certainly receive an A in it based on my current score in the course. Including that A to come, my overall GPA from both colleges will be 3.15. I'll be entering my major-prep courses this fall and will do everything in my power to get an A in all classes from now on, however unrealistic that is. My transcripts do show somewhat of an upward trend currently and will, hopefully, show a very upward trend from now on.</p>

<ul>
<li>GPA is calculated including classes that are not transferable to UC. I haven't calculated transferable courses only yet.
[Edit] Transferable GPA has been calculated to be 3.0. If I obtain all grades of A in remaining courses before transfer, it will move up to approximately 3.53.</li>
</ul>

<p>The universities I would like to attend would be from among the following: UCLA, UCI, UCSD.</p>

<p>I'm wondering what my chances are, what can I do, how screwed am I, etc. Thanks for any help.</p>

2

<p>You have literally no chance at all for UCLA CS with a 3.15. They had a 1.20% admit rate (yes, 1.20%) in fall 2013, probably not much different for fall 2014 admissions. 2012 had only 6.14% get in.</p>

<p><a href=“https://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/adm_tr/Tr_Prof13_mjr.htm#SEAS”>https://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/adm_tr/Tr_Prof13_mjr.htm#SEAS&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“https://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/adm_tr/Tr_Prof12_mjr.htm#SEAS”>https://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/adm_tr/Tr_Prof12_mjr.htm#SEAS&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>UCSD and UCI are very highly unlikely with a GPA that low. You’ll need at least a 3.4 to be competitive. </p>

3

<p>I still have about two (2) years to go at CC as a result of my earlier mistakes. This will include courses like the three-course physics sequence, three courses for computer science, and four mathematics courses (calculus I/II, multivariable calculus, linear algebra/differential equations), and one chemistry course.* </p>

<p>So, I will not have a 3.15 if I do well in all those remaining courses. If I obtain all grades of A for the remaining courses, as listed above, I will have a ~3.53 transferable GPA.</p>

<ul>
<li>This sequence is based on UCLA. One or two other classes will be required for admission into UCI/UCSD.</li>
</ul>

4

<p>@linevty‌ To be really honest with you, you also have absolutely no chance at UCSD either. UCSD’s computer science is now impacted. So you’re are going to have to have a least 3.7+ GPA with all the prereqs completed to have a chance. Even with a 3.5 GPA, you have no chance at UCLA</p>

5

<p>You could try to get academic renewal for the D…That would give your GPA a little bump</p>

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<p>@music1990‌: As mentioned above, four non-passing grades were replaced with four passing grades.</p>

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<p>@CollegeDropout1‌: I see your post was edited. Before, you said I’d need at least a 3.5 for UCSD. Now, it appears you’re saying, after the edit, that a 3.53 will not work for neither UCLA nor UCSD. Am I correct in this interpretation?</p>

8

<p>Oh my bad, I read that wrong.</p>

<p>Well you don’t have to worry about the Ws, because the UCs really don’t care about them. I had 7, and I know others who have had over 10. I think if you continue to get As, you will have a real good shot at some of the top UCs. They will notice your grade trend.</p>

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<p>@Linety Yes, I got mixed up, to get into UCI as a CS major, you are probably going to need a 3.5 GPA. To get into UCSD as ac CS major,this year, you needed to get at least a 3.5. However, UCSD has now classified CS as an impacted major. For this upcoming application cycle, you are going to need at least a 3.7. Keep in mind that by the time you are ready to apply, the competition will have gotten have tougher and you may need a higher GPA to get in. This is exactly what happen to SD this year. </p>

10

<p>I don’t know how your transcript look like overall definitively, but if what you say about having still 2 years left led me to believe that you haven’t finished majority of your required classes. With that in mind you still have a chance.</p>

<p>Firstly, it’s true what k4201505 has mention. Computer science is a difficult major to get into, however, 2013 was an outlier to an overall trend. Someone on College Confidential mentioned previously it has to do something about how UCLA admitted its freshman class of 2011 which led to big influx of people going to UCLA that year, thus the lower admit rate of transfers in 2013. So based on this by the time you transfer admit rate shouldn’t be as difficult as 2013, but slightly more difficult than this year (which my guess is that UCLA has admitted 4~7% cs majors this year).</p>

<p>I just checked assist for fullerton college, and you’re in good position. Fullerton offers nearly all the required (and recommended) courses for cs major.</p>

<p>So right now your plan is to retake equivalent classes for grades under a C and take all required and recommended courses. You must get nearly all As for required/recommended courses. This means that if you think you could only manage a B in certain class it might be worthwhile to drop it and go for the A later.</p>

<p>Keep in mind that UCLA admission will progressively get more difficult, but starting this year I believe UCLA will take the holistic approach for admissions. So by showing an upward trend, legitimate explanation for past mishaps, and a strong gpa for required classes will put you good position.</p>

<p>I was also in similar situation as you. Though I was lucky, I was able to get into UCLA with an overall gpa of 3.5. You have a shot if you stay on point so don’t give up.</p>

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<p>Thank you, @music1990‌, @CollegeDropout1‌, @jonjon03, @k4201505‌ for your helpful responses. I will take all things into consideration, keep my options open, and work hard.</p>

<p>I do have one further question. Is foreign language still a requirement for transfer to a UC for computer science? I know UC has this as a general requirement, but everywhere I seem to look regarding computer science shows a very specific outline of classes in mathematics and science, but never any foreign language requirement. As such, I’m confused as to whether it applies.</p>

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<p>@linevty The foreign language requirement is only for IGETC.</p>

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<p>@CollegeDropout1‌: Thank you for clearing up that confusion.</p>

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<p>@collegedropout1 just for my clarification do you know what the specific rule is re language? My daughter’s IGETC form very clearly stated that the year of language needed to be taken for a letter grade to qualify, but UC Davis, who for some reason we were talking to at the time, kept asking who was telling us this because it could be taken P/NP. It confused us, but she took it for a grade to be on the safe side. </p>

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<p>@Lindyk8 Who ever told you that had no idea what they were talking about! Yeah, it can be taken pass/no pass. If the foreign language requirement had to be met with a letter grade, then that would automatically disqualify anyone that used AP, SAT, IB or high school credit.( The foreign language requirement can be met in many ways). I am sure there are a lot of people who fulfill the requirement with alternative methods. I did! You can take as many course P/NP, even if they are part of IGETC, as long as you don’t exceed 14 semester units. The only way that I would imagine it had to be taken for a letter grade would be if the class was a part of the major requisites.</p>

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<p>@CollegeDropout1‌: I gotta say, I’m rather confused regarding what is the G.E. requirement for admission to schools such as UCLA, UCI, UCSD for computer science. When I look, it seems that it’s mostly major prep courses that are required with your two (2) English courses and a couple courses from arts/humanities, social sciences, life science.</p>

<p>Is what is on ASSIST simply what is required or is there more that is also required?</p>

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<p>@linevty IGETC, is not required for all majors. However, sometimes major requirements and general education requirement overlap. Your general education requirements really depend on what college you are applying for. Assist.org will tell you what to do. </p>