<p>I got rejected from UMass Amherst for spring semester a few weeks ago, and this really surprised me. I had expected to get in, partly because I was already in the UMass system (currently Boston, was in Dartmouth.) I'll admit my college GPA in the beginning wasn't good, but I had a serious mental health situation that required me to pull out of school (and I'm not sure if UMass got the note about it from my therapist, that may have done it...) and with my most recent semester, I was able to raise my cumulative GPA up to a 2.65. It's even higher now because they put a W where I'd gotten a D-, so like a 2.8. And even more with the two classes I'm taking right now as a part-time student, though they don't know I'm getting A's in them.</p>
<p>Anyway, my question is: Would UMass normally reject a student who had earned 51 credits that were fully transferrable with a 2.65 GPA? Or do you think it had to do with the fact that I applied on the last day possible? Yeah MINOR detail there... heh, but I was doing this all on my own since I have no advisor or anyone to help me and it was an extremely difficult process. It's really been upsetting me lately and I've been talking about it non-stop with my parents to the point where they are just getting annoyed, so I'm wondering - was it the timing?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I don’t think anyone here can answer your questions, other than to speculate that your low GPA is what killed your app.</p>
<p>I’d suggest calling the Admissions Dept and see if they will give you some insight on what needs to change for them to admit you, and maybe plead your case for reconsideration or ask for an appeal.</p>
<p>Yeah you can call and talk to someone, but I would be extremely surprised if someone with a 2.6 received admission</p>
<p>Well the good news is one of my grades was changed. That brings my cumulative GPA up to almost a 2.8, so that should help me at the other places I applied to (I hope!) But they say they guarantee acceptance to community college students who have above a 2.5 GPA and have completed their gen eds. I’ve <em>almost</em> finished my gen eds, and was at a college in the same system that I didn’t think was a whole lot lower. And I know some people that successfully transferred from UMD to UMass Amherst after two years whose GPA wasn’t a whole lot better than mine (at least I don’t think so).</p>
<p>Is a 2.65 GPA really that low for a transfer after two years at UMass Dartmouth? Especially since my most recent semester was a 3.6, AND I had a medical reason for my grades the semester I did badly (thankfully they are W’s now, UMass Amherst didn’t see that, nor do I think they even saw the note from my therapist.)</p>
<p>*Edit: Chickey, I think you got confused - my GPA was a 2.65, not a 2.6… it was a 3.6 this past semester which is what I thought would save me. I know that’s not a huge difference, but even if a 2.65 is low, I would think if you were able to turn it around like that then it would be different. And since my GPA is now a 2.8, I hope that is considered acceptable by the schools I’m applying to.</p>
<p>A 2.65 isn’t really much different from a 2.6. I don’t want to be harsh but I really don’t think there’s anyway someone could get in with a 2.65, the average gpa of accepted students is now nearly a 3.6, after this year I am sure it will be even higher. The whole community college thing I believe is to encourage people who may not have gone to college before go to community college and give them a very very large incentive (umass amherst acceptance which they wouldn’t have gotten before)
I just don’t think transferring without significantly raising your gpa to at least a 3.3 is realistic, and even that is not a guarantee</p>
<p>I’m well aware that a 2.65 isn’t much different than a 2.6 (though it says the 2.8 that it is supposed to now, UMass didn’t see that.) I feel like there is a difference in the UMass system, though. Most of the people I know definitely did not have even a 3.3 cumulative GPA. But I did have a 3.6 GPA LAST semester, which people told me would make a big difference. I don’t know, really.</p>
<p>And about the community college thing, my parents wouldn’t allow me to do that because I am “better” than that (very shallow, I know, but that’s them, not me). So yeah, I don’t understand the whole being penalized for going to a selective school.</p>
<p>Oops sorry, posted twice. And sorry if I come off as irritated, it’s just that I know several people who weren’t as qualified as I was and got in.</p>
<p>Did you call the admissions office and talk to anyone? What did they say?</p>
<p>Notrichenough: I haven’t called the admissions office yet, but I will once I hear from my top school. Until then I’m just hoping until then that my credentials were good enough. I know that’s not the best way, but it works for me.</p>
<p>Plus my other schools received some info that UMass Amherst didn’t, so that should help. I’m just holding onto hope…</p>