Putting the feelers out there... any takers?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hi - </p>

<p>I'm just now getting everything together and thought I would do a preliminary sort of post to see what you think. So - here is a breakdown of who I am and what I have to offer the academic world. </p>

<p>I'm female, just turned 24, Hispanic but I don't speak Spanish. I'm a Sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserves and I graduated from the Military Defense Language Institute (DLI), located in Monterey, CA. The language I learned is Pashtu, spoken primarily in Afghanistan and parts of Pakistan. It is a very difficult language to master and rather obscure. </p>

<p>After DLI I volunteered for an eight month tour in Afghanistan where I did loads of "community service." I worked in a medical clinic and was responsible for translation between doctor and patient, as well as minor first aid. I had a great time and took a variety of pictures, mostly of women and children. I'm in the process of publishing a book comprised of the best of my Afghan photographs. I really think this project will help define who I am and what I believe in. </p>

<p>As far as academics go I'm fairly strong with verbal skills but weak on the math side. My sciences are only okay. For the college application I'm confident that I will do a good job on the essay portion. I'm working on getting recommendations from three of my best teachers over the past two years, as well as from officers and non-commissioned officers I worked with while in Afghanistan. </p>

<p>Due to military and personal obligations I've moved around a lot and as a result have attended two different community colleges in the past two years. </p>

<p>Attended Burbank High School in Burbank, CA. I wasn't the best of students. Here are the stats:
Total GPA (Weighted): 2.56 (Non-Wgtd) 2.52
Class size: 437
Class Rank: 292</p>

<p>Freshmen year at Oakton Comm. College in Skokie, IL:
GPA: 3.56
All A's (25 credits) except for the following weak points:
General College Biology - C
Social Problems - B </p>

<p>Sophomore year at Hopkinsville Comm. College in Hopkinsville, KY:
GPA: 3.25
Weak Points:
Intro to Computers - D (Teacher was awful. I re-took this class over the summer with a different teacher and received an A.)
Basic Public Speaking - B
Frontiers of Astronomy - D (First distance course, got lost and got behind.)
Microbes and Society (BIO) - C (attendance)</p>

<p>I plan on re-taking Microbes and Society for an A this fall semester and, if it is being offered, Frontiers of Astronomy in the spring. The mediocre grades will still be factored into my GPA but at least the better grades will raise it. </p>

<p>I have not taken either the SAT or the ACT. </p>

<p>Now that you've seen a little of who I am will you please tell me what my chances are for getting into a few schools? </p>

<p>I'm looking at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of California at Los Angeles, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. My "Counselor-o-Matic" suggested my reach schools should be Harvard, Stanford and Yale but I don't think I've got a shot. While my unique language, experience in Afghanistan, and possible publication do set me apart I think my lack of strength in math and science are deal-breakers, not to mention my less than 4.0 GPA. I would also have to take the SAT or ACT and once again, math is a killer. </p>

<p>Now - the real reason I'm here - what do YOU think? </p>

<p>Thanks ahead of time, </p>

<p>Victoria</p>

2

<p>First of all, let me congratulate you. Not only have you turned around your grades as you moved from high school to college, but I also thank you for your service overseas on behalf of us Americans here at home.</p>

<p>Presuming you are still a California resident (I believe when you move around for military service, this does not change your status as a resident), you have an excellent shot at UCLA. The training at the Monterey DLI, and the scores at the two community colleges should help. However, there are some things you need to know:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Since you did not qualify for admittance to the UC system as a freshman (your GPA had to be 3.0), you have to take at least 60 units of community college courses before you can apply to UCLA.</p></li>
<li><p>You need at least a 2.4 GPA in your college courses to apply, but in reality you will need about a 3.0 to 3.2 average to get into UCLA, depending on the major you choose. </p></li>
<li><p>The credits you took in college have to be in transferable courses--and you'll need to get ahold of UCLA and your community colleges to determine this before applying. If you need to take additional courses at a community college in California before applying, do so. They have a very simple system for determining what transfers (at most California CCs, all courses numbered 1 to 99 transfer, all numbered 100 and above don't).</p></li>
<li><p>You need to emphasize your California status in your application (if it still applies), even though you attended out-of-state schools. The reason is because it is much tougher to get in as an out-of-state resident (you'd need about a 3.4 GPA average). Also, as an in-state student, you would qualify for a much lower tuition/fee rate. (actually tuition is zero for in-state, but you still have to pay what UCLA calls fees, which is the equivalent of tuition).</p></li>
<li><p>As a transfer applicant with 60 units of college credit, I don't think you should have to take any SAT tests or ACT tests. But I'm not sure about this completely, so check with the college admissions office at UCLA.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Here's the link you need to review:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/paths_to_adm/transfer.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/paths_to_adm/transfer.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>It also links to other information you'll need to know--including the good news is that UCLA admits more transfer students than any other UC campus.</p>

<p>As far as the other two campuses you mention, I believe Illinois is not too tough to get into as a transfer, but as an out-of-state student, I believe North Carolina is. Be aware that you will have to pay out-of-state tuition rates at both schools, however.</p>

<p>Good luck. </p>

<p>P.S. I live near Monterey (Santa Cruz), and I went to UCLA--so your post struck close to home for me.</p>

3

<p>You are the type of applicant that may do better at private schools since public schools more heavily use quantative data for admissions and their applications don't generally give you the opportunity to tell your whole story. </p>

<p>With your unique accomplishments I would apply to some top colleges. I knew a guy at Harvard with a similar background. Go for it.</p>