<p>Hey all. I've wanted to transfer to UCD for philosophy for a long time now. Problem is, my grades aren't exactly competitive. When Fall 2014 is complete, I will have fulfilled the IGETC requirements for transfer. My GPA is 2.99 now, and will be ~3.11 at the end of Fall 2014 (As are practically guaranteed). I've got 26 units of Ws, and a 3.25 average for philosophy courses. </p>
<p>I've always been a good student; I got a 3.87 GPA in high school, 1395 on the old-form SAT (95th percentile) and was awarded two governor's scholarships (even if they were stupid easy to get). I did two years of volunteer work at an elementary school in my junior & senior year of high school, and I tutor at my CC. I'm not sure it helps the essay, but mental illness (which I have overcome) is largely to blame for the huge dip in grades and large number of Ws.</p>
<p>So, is there any possible world in which these facts add up to admission for fall 2015? Or, barring fall 2015, would it be worth it to pad my GPA with transferrable courses (chem, etc) in the spring & summer, then to try for fall 2016?</p>
<p>If there's any additional information that y'all might need, I'll be happy to provide it.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Two things I forgot to mention: 1.) philosophy isn’t an impacted major @ UCD 2.) would they consider GRE score for admittance? (yes, I know GRE is for graduate studies) It’s just that the GRE is such an easy test (if the practice tests in GRE prep books are any indication), so I wouldn’t mind shelling out for it if there was a chance it’d help.</p>
<p>Trending up is a bonus. Forget the GRE stuff and the High School stuff, none of it matters. All that matters right now is your GPA by the end of Spring, your EC’s, and your essays. In that order. With that said, I don’t know what the average acceptance for Philosophy is at UCD, but considering it’s around 3.6 at UCLA, you can guess it’s about 3.3+. So, that’s the average, which you will not be at, so you need to boost the EC’s and kick arse in your essays. </p>
<p>As for writing about overcoming your mental disorders, be careful with that. There’s whispers going around that colleges are looking for certain flags right now, one of which is any mental disorders. Keep in mind, it is illegal for them to disallow an applicant because of a disability, so you will never see anything official, and no one would ever admit to it. But it’s something to consider, your call.</p>
<p>GPA, EC’s, and essays. Go get em.</p>
<p>Forgot to mention the W’s. Don’t sweat it, they won’t hurt you. I would get the EC’s up, get all A’s in the Fall and hope for the best. If it does not work, kill it in the Winter and Spring for Fall '16. </p>
<p>His grades by the end of spring won’t matter for admission since they’d already made an application decision by then. </p>
<p>As for the OP, they’re not going to give a flying **** about your HS grades, your SAT score, or your GRE score. Don’t even bother adding that in your application, not that there’s anyplace that you could put them even if you wanted to. They won’t help your application in the slightest.</p>
<p>With your GPA, I’d say your chances are pretty iffy at getting in, and that’s if you actually raise it up to 3.11. UCD isn’t super difficult to get into as a transfer student but most applicants have at least a 3.2+. Considering how it gets more and more competitive every year, I would tell you to prepare for the worst and be open to the possibility of staying an extra year if you don’ get accepted in April. </p>
<p>I didn’t say his Spring grades would help for 15, I said they would help for 16 if he did not get accepted for 16. Unless you meant that first mention I made, which was meant for his contract really, you still need to satisfy your GPA requirement in your contract if accepted.</p>
<p>This is an interesting situation as your GPA was so high in high school. I actually think you should write about your mental setbacks (assuming it’s not sociopathic!). The key they will look for now and in the future, I believe, are the ECs - they want to see that people are not anti-social and are involved in community. The fact that you tutor and did other ECs in hs as well as your awards are all good. I disagree about your high school being irrelevant. In terms of UC scholarships, they want to see years of leadership and involvement. Leaving out your crucial hs years is counter-productive. Certainly put the scholarships, the awards, the school aide in. In your essay, I would discuss in detail whatever the circumstances were that made you falter. The whole subject of mental illness has a philosophical bent to it, so you could play it in your favor that way, as well.</p>
<p>Now, having said that, your GPA is just low. Personally, I might consider waiting another year and apply for fall 2016. Get back on your game. Then your essay noting the setbacks you overcame will really sing. Right now, you’re a bit behind the 8-ball and I’m not sure you could get in. </p>
<p>Of course, you could still apply - philosophy does have a lower GPA threshold - and continue with CCC classes for another year if you don’t get in. You don’t really lose, in theory, if you have a fallback - although rejection is always hard, if it happened. </p>
<p>It’s really your call.</p>
<p>fullload - rough news about the mental illness thing. I’ve got some absences from school explainable by mental illness, but that look pretty ugly on their own - year long gaps here and there. I guess I’ll have to come up with some alternative explanation. I was also planning on playing the “overcoming my limitations” card in response to the second question prompt. Oh well, I can still play the “father died when I was 4” card. I would be very much surprised if that had no traction anymore.</p>
<p>k4201505 - gotcha. I am ready to spend another year if need be, and I suppose the upward trend fullload mentions should be more impressive if continued. </p>
<p>So, what counts as ECs? I’ve attended several philosophy colloquiums at UCD - that count for anything? I also tutor other students in philosophy (and stats, calc, etc) - might that be considered EC or just employment?</p>
<p>On the topic of the personal statement, is it a good idea to emphasize the philosophy I’ve already studied? I obviously won’t (or I think shouldn’t) make a bullet list of who I’ve read, but I thought there might be some utility in pointing out the works I’ve taken on just to show that I’m serious about my major (major classical/modern philosophers, their projects, etc), and discuss how those works impacted my view of philosophy in general. (I’m going off of what I’ve read on <a href=“http://■■■■■■■■■■■■/home/uc-transfer-application-timeline/#prompt1”>http://■■■■■■■■■■■■/home/uc-transfer-application-timeline/#prompt1</a> )</p>
<p>lindyk8 - no sociopathy here, just garden variety bipolar disorder (they’re out to get me, can’t sleep for days, unusual mood surges & the rest). It sucked without medication, but I’m completely fine now. And I never had a strong interest in philosophy of mind (my main area) until the first time I felt like one person then another person with no gap or transition (surge of anger with no provocation). It was a really earth-shaking experience, and it made me wonder just what personhood is, and how it is we feel any sense of continuity of identity at all if it can be so completely disrupted.</p>
<p>Does it water down the “overcoming adversity” story if I tried to sell it two years in a row, e.g. apply in 2015, turned down, then apply again in 2016? Does admissions keep track of the content of previous transfer applications, or just that the student applied? I can afford to stay at CCC for another year, so as you say, that’s no problem by me.</p>
<p>Won’t matter if you applied again the next cycle. I’m sure they’ll know that you applied previously but it shouldn’t and won’t affect your admission decision for fall 2016 if you get rejected for fall 2015. </p>
<p>They’re going to want you to explain your gaps regarding your academics. Putting your bipolar disorder is fine, you don’t need to be super-detailed, they just want a reason. I think fullload was talking about you writing about it for your personal statements. </p>
<p>Bi-polar is very doable in an essay. Just tone it down if it’s slightly weird in places. You have a point about recycling the essay. If you don’t mind another year at CCC that sounds like the best plan. It gives you a chance to improve your GPA and stabilize. If you recently went through an emotional upheaval, transitioning to a UC could add more stress. It adds stress initially to anyone. So I see waiting as your best option. </p>
<p>There are a lot of creatives with bi-polar. And what you said could be part of the essay- the positives of the ailment, if that is the right word. How it opened your eyes to identity and empathy, etc. Of course, this is best if you show a year-long improvement.
:D</p>
<p>I’m kinda with fullload on the topic of mental illness. With all of the school shootings and campus violence nationwide, I think schools are trying to cover their azzes. I’m not in any way suggesting that the OP has violent tendencies or anything of that nature. I’m just saying that if you feel compelled you can mention it where needed, but they don’t need details. I honestly don’t think it will do you favors. </p>
<p>At the moment the suicide of Robin Williams is hot news. It may be totally irrelevant to your particular situation, but you never know how people perceive things. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry about the mental issues, as long as you don’t sound like there’s any chance of relapse or violent tendencies, I’d go for it to explain some gaps and show your increased health and ability to overcome the odds. But then again, sob stories can really get old (all due respect). So you don’t want to your entire app to be about your past mental issues.</p>
<p>What I have learned is, there’s nothing more instructional than just diving in and filling out the entire application, a dry run if you will. I finished the entire application over the last week. It taught me A LOT, and you quickly learn what’s important, and not so important. You see exactly how many EC’s they want, and you can really begin to tinker with the entire application to see how it feels as a whole. You get to see how they limit word counts in certain sections too. Print it all out, edit, and revise. Rinse, wash repeat. I’m going to be tinkering with it for the next couple months until it’s balanced, smart, and reflects who I am.</p>
<p>Yes those EC’s you listed should do the trick and when you enter them all in, you’ll start to see if you need to add more, or adjust the one’s entered. You’ll get the hang of it when you open it and begin entering stuff. Also, you might want to wait for someone to chime in about applying now, seeing what happens, then applying again for 16. It’s my understanding you have nothing to lose by applying for Fall 15. If you don’t get in, just knock out Winter and Spring, pick up your GPA and go for it again in 16. I see no reason not to apply for Fall 15 if you have the 60 units completed by Spring, IGETC and most of your major prereqs. Your GPA is low, but if you really massage that application over the next couple months, well, stranger things have happened around here.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Agree with fulload. Regarding issues, it seems like a big part of what set up your lowered grade standards and I think it is relevant. Hopefully in the next year you’ve shown great progress and can frame your setback as a moment in time and how you grew stronger from it. It brings a life experience that can make you empathetic to others’ problems.</p>
<p>It’s all in the wording and if course, the improvement shown in the next year. You have a whole year to think about it. By then, you may be on to something else.</p>
<p>But if you do write about it, just focus on that moment in time. Your father dying when you were four is not relevant and cones across as milking it. I’m sorry for your loss, but that’s how they’ll interpret that.</p>
<p>Well thanks for the great suggestions and cautions. I guess now it’s on me to work through the application and write what sounds like a delicate balance of (not too much) sob and success. Certainly wouldn’t be the end of the world if 2015 didn’t pan out, since waiting till 2016 will just give me that much longer to prepare. I appreciate the responses!</p>
<p>Good attitude, and good plan. </p>
<p>Good luck and be sure to come back in the Sping to let us know if you were successful or not. It helps others who might be in your situation next year.</p>