Transfer chances to UCLA

<p>after fall – a mere 3.30, but that’s just my x-fer GPA. i have pre-reqs and igetc completed as well.</p>

<p>You got in with a 3.3?</p>

<p>Oh no. I though this thread was just about GPAs after fall in general for some reason. Haha. I sorta wish I applie to ucla just for the hell of it</p>

<p>Sorry, I don’t see you getting in. I applied last year with these stats:</p>

<p>-3.35 GPA (3.95 for the most recent 61 units [at a CCC], dropped down by a bad first year at an unknown four-year)
-TAP Certified (A CCC honors program that gives further priority consideration above what CCC students already get)
-IGETC (the CCC’s standardized GE plan) and all PoliSci pre-reqs completed with a 4.0</p>

<p>-Killer personal statements where I discuss my experience working with a corrupt elected official and eventually testifying for the prosecution in his criminal trial.
-Strong major-related work experience (see above).</p>

<p>I was rejected from UCLA but accepted to Cal for Spring 2012. When I asked UCLA why I was rejected, the answer was GPA. The clear distinction between my performance at the unknown four-year and CCC, my fully-completed preparation, my TAP status, and my very unique major-related personal statement and work experience couldn’t overcome the bad grades from 2006.</p>

<p>So, yeah. If with all of that I was rejected, I don’t see how an OOS student is accepted with a 3.5. Sorry. You probably have a chance at Cal if you have some interesting soft factors.</p>

<p>It really doesn’t surprise me that you got rejected no offense, I mean you only had 3.35. You should try and get involved in some more EC’s too. I’m probably looking at like a 3.7 by the time I apply and probably even better major-related experience. So just cause you got rejected doesn’t mean I will, I personally think i’ll have a much stronger application than yours. Sorry to hear you got rejected though.</p>

<p>And i’m not sure what math you guys took but none of you seem to understand, if the average GPA of OOS students is a 3.7, that means they’re accepting some OOS with below a 3.7.</p>

<p>The main reasons people are saying that you don’t have a good chance is because:

  1. The UC’s prioritize CCC transfers over CSU/UC transfers, and prioritize CSU/UC transfers over OOS.
  2. Polisci is a very competitive and impacted major. It’s almost impossible to say that anyone is a lock at UCLA with polisci unless they’re above a 3.8 and are a CCC transfer with ok ECs.</p>

<p>That said, UCLA can be kind of a black box. I’d say that if you can get to a 3.7 and have some ECs and a great essay, then you’ll have a chance. It’s worth an app if you have a 3.7+, though I wouldn’t bet the farm on it.</p>

<p>Also, the people who bring the mean down to 3.7 tend to be people with interesting stories: such as the 3.5 who started their own business, sold it, and wants to go back to get their education, or the 3.4 who overcame ridiculous hardships (I know someone who fled their home-country to escape an arranged marriage and rampant sexism). Unless you’re that type of person, you can’t really count on being below the mean and getting in. If you went straight from HS → college, had your parents pay your way through, and don’t have any significant work experience, then you probably don’t fit into that category.</p>

<p>Don’t despair. No one on cc really knows how the adcomms think. They might see something in you that people here on cc don’t.</p>

<p>The average accepted GPA for UCLA Poli Sci is 3.79 for 2011. And that is for people who have nearly all of their prereqs done and who are predominately instate community college applicants.</p>

<p>I don’t really know the nice way to say “you don’t have a chance”, but yeah. You would be rejected if you were an instate CCC student, much less an out of state student where the acceptance rates are less than a third of CCC students.</p>

<p>I don’t really know a nice way to say your an idiot, but yeah. Just because there is a low acceptance rate doesn’t mean I have no chance. The average GPA of an OOS student applying was a 3.43. I already have a higher GPA than the average OOS student applying, and I expect to have around the average of an OOS student admitted. I don’t know how you idiots figure “ohhhhh ahhhh no chance unless you have a 3.9+”, the average GPA of OOS students admitted is 3.7 not 3.9+. I’m going to break it down nice and simple for you, if they admitted 150 OOS students and the average GPA was a 3.7, it was probably something like 50 students with a 3.7+, 50 with around 3.7, and 50 below 3.7. Yet some how you think I have no chance because i’m not way above the average, yet like a 1/3 of the transfers they admit are below the average.</p>

<p>So explain to me how I have no chance when at least 1/3 of the OOS students they admitted had a lower GPA than I expect to have.</p>

<p>@Sammy. Just give it a shot. Everyone here posting is just posting based on their opinions. You can’t really know unless you try.</p>

<p>I think this thread is awesome. Perfect example of someone who didn’t actually want to be chanced. You wanted to be told that you would get in. When reality didn’t match up with that expectation, reality had to be wrong.</p>

<p>Go ahead and apply, $70 really isn’t that much to loose. But next time you ask for advice, don’t be shocked when you get it.</p>

<p>I just asked how you came to the conclusion that I have no chance at getting in even though i’ve said that I expect to be right around the average GPA accepted. I’m not expecting to hear “oh yeah you’re a lock, you should definitely apply”. I know my GPA isn’t amazing and that there are going to be a bunch of people applying with a better GPA than mine. But at the same time, i’m not expecting to hear, “ohhhhh no chance at all, impossible”. Because I know, and this is what a lot of you have a hard time understanding, is that there are going to be students accepted with GPA’s lower than mine. So when I ask for some advice and what I can do to improve my chances and all I get are these negative nancy responses like yours, i’m going to ask you to explain your reasoning. I know that political science at UCLA is hard to get admitted to, but if i’m right around the average and I have good EC’s and all that jazz, how do you come to the conclusion that it is impossible for me to get in? And if you still really think that it’s impossible for someone at the average GPA to get in, then you should consider retaking math class lol. But seriously, if you think I have a low chance at getting accepted then explain why and tell me what I can do to improve my chances.</p>

<p>Actually just tell me what advice you would give an OOS poli sci student applying to UCLA. Just forget I even mentioned GPA.</p>

<p>UCLA is very GPA oriented. When I visited I talked to a counselor, and she said that it’s honestly basically the only thing they really look at unless you have a seriously phenomenal essay or extra curricular (impressive award, research printed in a scientific journal, impressive internship, etc). The next biggest thing is finishing your GE pattern and major requirements. In the CC system, we can follow a GE pattern and major req pattern that we KNOW will transfer over. It’s unlikely an out of state school will have all the classes you need and that all of them will be deemed transferable by UCLA. Without a stellar GPA, and knowing your major reqs and GE may not be complete even if they are by your school’s standards, it puts you at a major disadvantage.</p>

<p>Then another factor–The UC takes transfers from CC first, then other UCs and the CSUs. You have all these Californian university/college students that take priority. If you had the same stats as you do coming from a CC, it would be highly unlikely. From out of state, they really put you as the very last pool of applicants they look at. When they only have so little spots, they’ll take the best out of state students they have, so the average incoming GPA for transfers is not the one you should look at.</p>

<p>Also, you cannot judge yourself based on the applicant pool for out of state students. Many people send an application simply for the sake of trying.</p>

<p>I’d would try if you can afford it, since you never know, but I’d suggest a few back up schools or simply sticking it out. If you raise your GPA, maybe you can apply again for grad school.</p>

<p>Best of luck.</p>

<p>Ok that was a better response than what i’ve been getting. </p>

<p>Just to clarify a little bit though, when you said, “When they only have so little spots, they’ll take the best out of state students they have, so the average incoming GPA for transfers is not the one you should look at.” I’m assuming you mean I should look at the average GPA for admitted OOS transfer students. I already looked at it it’s a 3.73, which I expect to have around when I apply.</p>

<p>“Also, you cannot judge yourself based on the applicant pool for out of state students. Many people send an application simply for the sake of trying.” Same thing I said above, the average GPA of admitted OOS transfers is 3.73, which I expect to have.</p>

<p>I would say the main thing i’m concerned about is not knowing if my major req and GE are complete and if they’ll transfer, i’ll have to call and get more info about it from them.</p>

<p>One reason that you need a GPA that is higher than the average accepted student is because UCLA recruits a large number of athletes for its football, basketball and other teams that often have extremely low GPAs which pulls the overall average down. You are not competing against them unless you can throw a perfect 50 yard spiral with pinpoint accuracy to a wide receiver heading for the endzone. </p>

<p>Being OOS is not really that much of a disadvantage in recent years. With the severe cuts in state support for higher education in California that we are experiencing, many public universities in California are actually eager to admit non-residents of California who will have to pay over $25,000 in tuition and the cost of attendance will be about $40,000 per year. Furthermore, OOS students can not expect any financial aid from the universities or the state. If you can get your GPA up to 3.7 and show you can afford to pay your OOS tuition out of your own resources you have a decent chance.</p>

<p>Yes, 3.73–but that includes those with phenomenal stories/e.c.'s, or, as Lemaitre1 said, those who are athletes. For oos with normal e.c.'s and essays, the average GPA is likely to be much higher.</p>

<p>I’m sure athletes might bring the average GPA down a little bit, but I would guess it’s pretty insignificant, I mean how many students that go to UCLA are athletes? I just went to their sports pages and counted the total number of athletes that go to UCLA, I got around 725. Collegeboard says UCLA has about 26,000 students, so athletes aren’t even 3% of the student population. And only 150 of the athletes are out of state. If theres 26000 students and 9% are out of state, that means theres about 2,340 out of state students. So if 150 of them are athletes, then about 6.4% of out of state students are athletes. I’d assume most of them have been there since high school too. And even if all the athletes were complete idiots and all had a 2.0, I think the number of out of state athletes is so small that it still wouldn’t really bring the average GPA that much. They probably at most bring the average GPA down like .1 but I doubt it’s even that much. Like I said before I’m not too concerned about my GPA being high enough, I’m more worried about finishing their required courses before I apply. But just out of curiosity, does anyone know how much they consider what school your applying from? Like if I decided to go to a community college for a couple semesters to bump my GPA a little more, would they value my GPA any less than if I stayed and applied from a 4-year university?</p>

<p>I do not think it matters whether you are applying from LSU or Harvard, the main obstacle is you are applying from a four year university. The California Master Plan for Higher Education compels UCs and CSUs to give priority in transfer admissions to applicants from California Community Colleges (CCC) and give lowest priority to transfer applicants from four colleges and universities. The rationale is that CCC students can only earn a bachelors degree if they transfer to a four year school so they should be favored over applicants who are not required to transfer to earn a BA or BS. While you may want to transfer out of LSU you do not have to; you can stay there and still earn a bachelors degree.</p>

<p>Your chances of acceptance at a California public university as a transfer student would definitely be higher if you were applying from a CCC and it is not unusual for students at four year universities who want to transfer to a UC to drop out of their four school and enroll in a CCC for at least a year and then apply for admission to a UC such as UCLA.</p>