<p>I applied for UC Davis with a 3.17 :(
Have lots of ECs and other crap that looks nice.
I was unable to apply with a tag because of it.</p>
<p>I'm a poli sci major .. Am I doomed?</p>
<p>@Kickac0w</p>
<p>Positives: Right off the bat, I would definitely not say you are “doomed”. Not at all. Based on the admissions info and statistics I’ve gathered, UC Davis seems to be the most lenient of the three mid-tiers (Irvine/SB/Davis) in terms of admissions. I’ve seen a handful of low 3.xx get accepted without TAG, and a positive aspect of your 3.17 is that it’s very close to the TAG requirement. Also, your major plays a role and while poli sci may be popular, you would stand a better chance than let’s say an engineering major.</p>
<p>Negatives: Now, the forces working against you are your GPA and the rising competition in UC transfers. Once again, your GPA is very close to the TAG, which can be viewed as a positive (you’re basically there). However, since you are not TAG, my logic is that a non-TAG applicant should be a tenth or two higher in GPA (Ex: 3.3/3.4) to be competitive. Statistically, acceptance rates to all UCs has gradually declined year after year, and this is due to simply competition (steady increase in applicants/static # of seats available). Unfortunately, since Davis doesn’t read the personal statements, admissions is largely based on numbers, but a few intangibles wouldn’t hurt.</p>
<p>One thing I would like to ask: Have you finished all your major pre-reqs? Davis is pretty forgiving in this respect, but it could be the boost you need!</p>
<p>I believe Davis has one of the highest acceptance rates of the UC’s as a transfer. It shouldnt be too much of a trouble. As the above said, since your GPA is close to TAG, they should be a lot more lenient on your application.</p>
<p>At this point, Id not worry about it. You already sent your application. With a pinch of luck, I’m sure youll get in.</p>
<p>I would say that you’re in for Political Science. I applied with the same exact GPA (3.17) and I’m a UC-UC transfer who’s trying to get into Physics. 2011 was the most competitive year in terms of transfer admissions and even then, people got waitlisted with 2.8s to Political Science/Physics and accepted with 3.0+ GPAs. Last year, quite a few people got in with GPAs in the 2.8 to 3.2 range. Heck, someone got accepted with a 2.65 (I’d post the link, but I forget which thread it was on… search around and you’ll prolly find it).</p>
<p>The comforting fact is that 2011 had the most number of CA applicants (we can ignore OOS/Intl applicants because they don’t get priority). Even with the ~12,800 CA applicants, people got in with 2.8s and 3.0+. Last year, there were ~12,100 applicants (a significant drop) and the 2.8-3.2 trend continued. This year, there are ~12,500 CA applicants, which is higher than last year, but still lower than 2011’s numbers. If my assumptions of OOS/Intl students not getting priority are correct, then we should both be accepted this year.</p>
<p>Of course, if the UCs decide to goof up and accept OOS/Intl people over us, then yes, we’re doomed. However, I don’t think that’s gonna happen (even though there’s been a significant rise in the number OOS/Intl applicants to Davis this year), so we should be fine. Hang in there! We’re less than a month away from finding out! :)</p>
<p>Omg. Thanks for the information. D: I applied for Communication Major at Davis with an even lower GPA than yours, 2.9. And according to assist.org, it says that “Transfer students must earn an overall transfer GPA of 2.80 or higher to be competitive candidates for admission to this major.” I have tons of EXs too. But wait really? They don’t read personal statement???.. well I worked on my statement for 2 weeks… I was confident before I sent them in. I’m having my finger crossed and praying every night that I will get in…!!</p>
<p>I think they do read your personal statements (unless you have a TAG contact with them). </p>
<p>As the above said, it all depends on your personal statement, and your major GPA. </p>
<p>I also believe Comm isnt as impacted for Davis (although it is listed as one). I know of friends and classmates who entered Davis with a 3.0 and a really bad essay (at least to me it was ha). Im sure youll do fine. Good luck!</p>
<p>UC Davis doesn’t read personal statements</p>
<p>Hard to say but you def have a chance. As you mention, you have good ECs, so probably UCD will notice that. However, when I looked at the numbers of application for UCD, I felt very depressed because it’s even more competitive than 2011. For instance, it might not be a good sign since there would be a lot of applicants who have similar stats just like you. Anyways, you will never know until they release the decisions, so don’t be too stressed out, best of luck to you!</p>
<p>By the way, anyone knows if it’s hard to get into UCD’s regular econ without TAG? I know econ is the NO.1 popular major for UCD transfer. But it seems that it’s not impacted. Always hard to find stats about this.</p>
<p>One thing to keep in mind is the fact that the rise in applications is from Intl students. Everywhere I go, I keep hearing that the priority for admission goes like this: CCC and UC-UC → CSUs → other 4 year privates in CA → OOS → Intl. Since the number of CA applications is still lower than the 2011 number, competition really should be that much fiercer than what it was last year. Also Prop 30 passed in November which gives us a higher budget so we should theoretically have more spots available to transfers. All in all, I would say that everyone with a 3.0+ (and all other requirements fulfilled in a NON-impacted major) should be able to get in. Just my 2 cents.</p>