<p>Hi again...I want to transfer to Madison in fall 2009 as a sophomore (I'm going to UW-Eau Claire as a freshman). However, my high school record is absolutely horrible, and not just by CC standards. I have about a 2.9 (3.2 academic) with multiple D's and F's from freshman and sophomore years. (Because of my unusual circumstances, I don't have a class rank). My only positive attributes are my 34 ACT score and my 2110 SAT score. (IMO, these scores are the only reason UWEC accepted me.)</p>
<p>Now to the point!: I'm worried that, even with a 4.0 from UWEC (in challenging courses), involvement in several organizations, community service, and faculty-student research, I might have my admission decision deferred until after second-semester grades come in because my high school record is so bad. If so, I couldn't register for SOAR until like the end of May. Most transfers register during March. If this happened, I might get stuck with a late SOAR session and most of the classes I want would already be full. Since I want a very specific major (Medical Microbiology and Immunology), which isn't offered at UWEC, it's important that I get all my classes. Am I right in thinking to myself "Well, [my name], that's the price you pay for screwing up high school"? In other words, do transfer SOAR sessions fill up really fast, or might I still be able to get all my classes?</p>
<p>BTW, is Madison known to defer a lot of transfer applicants with bad HS records? I mean like, if I do as well at UWEC as I mentioned above, is it possible I might get in right away (contingent on second-semester grades) and not even get deferred?</p>
<p>What were your grades like junior and senior years? Grades in the more distant past will lose importance.</p>
<p>I think you will get in, no problem.</p>
<p>greennblue, my junior year grades were mostly A's with a couple B's and one C in an elective class. It averaged out to like a 3.82 because I had a lot of tansfer credit from another high school (this is why I don't have a class rank).Senior year was horrible; first quarter, I got 2 A's (one of which in AP English), a B+ (AP Calc 2), and a C- in AP Physics. Physics was harder than I ever thought it would be, mostly because I was working 23-25 hours a week (I had to; my family didn't have much money then). We still don't have a lot now, btw. Anyway, I was constantly tired and couldn't concentrate on homework, so I made a lot of careless mistakes and also BOMBED the final. (My job is also the reason I only got a 2110 on my SAT, IMO; I had been averaging about 2280 on the practice tests, but I had been at work until 11:30 the night before the actual test. I was also dreading the 5-hour shift immediately AFTER the test lol.)</p>
<p>I got really sick second quarter and missed nearly all of the rest of the year. It still amazes me how I managed to graduate on time (last month).</p>
<p>btw, my mom nearly died 8 times while I was in high school, mostly during freshman and sophomore years (this is a major cause for my bad grades then). However, much of my bad performance those years was simply immaturity/laziness.</p>
<p>Considering what I just told you, how are my chances affected?</p>
<p>Your chances will be dependent on how well you do at Eau Claire- prove you can handle college work this fall and don't obsess about transferring; concentrate on school, learn the material taught and things should work out. After a while your HS work becomes ancient history and your college record is all that counts. A second reason to do well this fall is to prepare yourself for the courses to follow, whether they are in Madison or Eau Claire.</p>