It has been awhile since I’ve posted here but it is finally time for me to start thinking about applications for transfer. My intended school at the moment is UC Davis and I believe I have the GPA (~3.6) for a transfer admission guarantee. My school has advised me to do this through the transfer admission planner (TAP) website which I started filling out earlier this month.
This is where my issue begins and I am hoping it does not become a serious problem. I went to Cal Poly SLO right out of high school 9 years ago. However due to family and life complications I left after only a couple months. In fact I believe I left a week or two before finals (I did not take a single final). I think I un-enrolled myself as I received partial refunds for meal credits, parking, dorm fees, etc. but am not really sure what my “standing” was at Cal Poly after leaving. I know at the very least any grades I may have received would not be transferable or worthwhile since not taking the finals usually guarantees a D or F.
My counselor at the community college says I need to square that all away before applying for TAG (deadline in two weeks) and that I should contact Cal Poly and request an “Academic Renewal.” I guess I need to list the classes I took there and the grades I received despite them not being relevant to my current school efforts. So I called their registrar office and the lady seemed a little confused about what I was asking for and directed me to a website to request a transcript. I feel I don’t really need a transcript because I do not particularily care what is on it. Is there something I can do that would clear this up? I would hate for my application to be be denied because of 9 years ago. I can also point out that I did not get in trouble at Cal Poly or anything like that. I literally just un-enrolled myself and left a couple weeks before finals. The worst that should be on there are failing grades. My main concern at the moment is getting lost in a bureaucratic nightmare that prevents me from being able to transfer. Any advice?
Yes, you need to contact Cal Poly and find out what your current standing is before you can TAG. You also need to list ALL grades on your TAG application, regardless of the letter or how long ago they were taken.
Re: who to call, I’d get back on the phone and say “I’m a former student from 9 years ago in the process of transferring, I need to know if I’m in good standing and what (if any) my grades were, can you help me?”
I basically did this same thing (at a different school). The lady on the phone at the school I was inquiring about was super rude and I had to end up going down there and asking for an unofficial transcript and filling out the AR form right there. Just call and ask them if they can look you up and tell you which classes you took, and what grade you got in it. They might ask you to log into whatever web portal they have and look at your unofficial transcript yourself. If you can at least get your old student ID number, you can probably log in. Or call their IT and ask them to give you a new password.
If they can tell you if you got a D or an F or a W, ask them what exactly the class is, and fill out an academic renewal form yourself and mail it in. The bad grade will be taken off in a week or so. You don’t need an official transcript. An unofficial one is just fine, it’s only really to see what the class is called and what exact grade you got in that class. If it’s a W, then you don’t really need to do an academic renewal.
So if I did get grades in the classes all I need to do is find out what they were and what the class names were for the application? Then mail in the Academic Renewal form, list the bad grades on my TAG application indicating that they were Academic Renewal’d? I’ll try this on Monday. Still a little concerned about a potential nightmare. I now live over 5 hours from SLO so I’d hate to have to drive down there for something simple.
@gmacd1177 I am not sure your academic standing from nine years ago will have a negative effect on your TAG. In fact, I think it will not. Email UC Davis TAG and ask.
Now, re: the grades, find out how AR works at Cal Poly. If it’s doable, note the bad grades on the TAG but put in comments that AR is forthcoming by approximately [insert date]. Then when Nov app rolls around add in the AR instead of the grade, assuming it has been cleared.
It depends on what your GPA currently is. It has a negative effect on your TAG because if you calculate F’s into your GPA and it brings it down below the GPA requirements for the TAG, then you will disqualify so making the effort for AR would be very beneficial. When I entered in the classes I received F’s in, it plummeted my GPA. I talked to multiple counselors about it, and they said while bad grades from over 10 years ago are not usually taken into consideration, especially when giving a brief description explaining why you got the bad grades and that they were from so long ago, etc., TAG is only based on what courses you completed and GPA, so AR would be recommended if bad past grades really lowers your GPA, and lowers it to the point where you no longer have the minimum GPA you’re required to have (I’m Letters and Sciences, so the minimum GPA requirement is 3.2 - my F’s brought mine down to a 3.08. I would not get a TAG if I submitted with that GPA) come time to submit your TAG app.
Also, why would you want possible F’s on your report anyway? The AR is not that hard to get, it’s essentially a form and you list why you got the F’s or D’s and turn it in. I don’t think you need to go down there, it can be done over the phone or through the schools webportal in order to get the unofficial transcript. If for some reason you can’t, get an official transcript. The first 2 are free. It’s also good to have so you can make sure there aren’t any errors on your transcripts. It kind of comes down to how much effort you want to put into this.
When you get your AR after sending in the forms (make sure you call the school after a week to verify that you received the AR), you enter in the class into your TAP and when you do the drop down menu to enter in the grade you received for the class, choose “AR” for academic renewal.
However, TAG application ends in about a week, so it is unlikely AR would have cleared by then. But that isn’t important because TAG calculates minimum GPA as it pertains to the end of the fall term. I would suggest not putting AR in if it hasn’t cleared. They know AR means F or D, so while it looks bad to you, it’s neutral to them if they see an F but know AR is coming. They sometimes ask for transcripts to verify and the transcripts often note date AR awarded. So don’t put AR in until it gets awarded so you aren’t seen as misrepresenting. Obviously, if it comes through by sept 29 that’s good. But don’t sweat it if it’s coming in Oct or so.
So luckily getting my student ID and transcript from Cal Poly was relatively quick and painless. However I added all my bad grades to my TAG and it took me down to a 3.19 GPA which is below the 3.30 cut off for engineering TAG. I spoke with some counselors today and they are saying that even for my regular admission (if I do not get TAG) that they still might factor the bad grades in. I feel like this means I might not even be able to attend any UC unless I get straight A’s this year to bring me back above 3.30 with the F’s factored in.
The other odd thing I found out is I actually got a C- in Calculus I. Despite not finishing the class and not being present for the final, I only dropped down to the C- and this possibly means my B+ that I received last year in the same class might not count since I managed to pass 9 years ago. Even though I was required to retake due to placement results which made we retake trigonometry just to place into Calculus I.
As for academic renewal, the person I spoke with at Cal Poly said I can only receive grade forgiveness if I retake the courses at Cal Poly. This obviously did not happen so I feel like these grades are here to stay.
Overall a little disappointed in this since multiple sources told me my past grades should not impact me due to the length of time and my current good grades (3.6GPA). So far the picture that is being painted for me is that they won’t affect me AFTER I transfer, but for applications I am going to be weighed down.
My Dad always tells me that getting a C- is a professor’s way of saying “Your not memorable enough to fail, but I can’t pass you either.” It’s funny that some CCC catalogs actually omit it from their grading scales. :))
It’s really unfortunate that your Cal Poly grades hinder your ability to TAG, but at the same time TAG probably wasn’t meant to include cases including long term gaps. Regardless though, I doubt you past will “weigh” you down much when the admissions committee actually goes to review your application.
They will probably treat your case like that of a “re-entry from the field” grad student applicant where they only review your last 60 semester units while emphasizing the most recent ~45 units. If you think about it, it’s just not logical for the adcom to factor your Cal Poly courses as “indicators” of your “current educational merit.”