Hi guys,
The transfer decisions for UCLA were released today, and I got rejected. I was thinking of writing an appeal letter, although I know the chances of getting in on appeals are extremely low.
For a little context, I was a CS major with a 3.75-3.77 GPA, barely any ECs, and I would say decent essays.
I had a few questions on what are actually grounds for appeal. I think I may have a few things that come to mind, but was wondering if you guys could possibly verify some.
- During my first semester at CCC, I got 3 B’s which is probably the part that impacted my GPA the most. During this time, I didn’t mention that I was going through some mental issues that may have affected my academics at this time.
- I mentioned I had barely any ECs, and was wondering if explaining what I was doing instead is good enough. For this part, it was mainly because I had no time to look for ECs because I was doing a lot of house chores since my family was always working, and I had to manage the house at the time. Also, was tutoring my younger cousin (although I don’t think this would count as an EC).
- I ended up doing a few honors classes and listed this in my additional comments for the TAU, but am unsure if they actually looked at it, and was wondering if I should mention it again just in case.
- If I think I may have said something unclear in my essays, should I try and remedy that here?
- Finally, is it possible to contact admissions and ask for reasons I wasn’t accepted, or at least how close I was to being accepted?
Sorry for the long post. UCLA has just been my dream school, and I knew it would be hard to transfer with my stats for a competitive major such as CS.
Thanks for taking the time to read this!
You should never have a dream school. Ever. And by the way there’s no such thing. Did you get in elsewhere?
What is your basis to appeal ?
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You got 3 Bs. Well you did right ? Many have mental health challenges. Do you have documentation from a medical professional who will say this is why you got 3 Bs but you are past this ?
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No ECs but you did other things. Why are you just wanting to tell us now ?
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Did they not see your transcript ?
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Essay. You write it, it’s baked. If it’s unclear that’s on you, not us - the admissions committee.
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You can ask. They won’t tell you.
So you can appeal. But you have no basis and it’s not going to happen.
There is no dream school. Every year zillions transfer out of what was their dream school. Bad roomie or prof or dorms or food. They wanted to go their whole lives and are miserable. At the same time there are many schools a student can love. Yes many do not just Ucla.
You’ve got a solid academic background it sounds like.
Are you in a two or four year school now ?
Lots of great schools out there. You gave it your shot but it’s time to move on.
Good luck.
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Hi,
Thank you for responding, and giving it to me harshly without sugarcoating anything. I kind of assumed that none of my stuff would be a basis, but I’m still going to try anyways because I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try.
As for if I got in anywhere else, and I did. I actually got into Calpoly SLO and will probably commit to that, unless somehow this appeal gets accepted. I know Calpoly SLO is a great school, and I’ll for sure enjoy my time there!
Again, thank you for responding.
UCLA had a 4% admit rate for 2022 CS Transfers with an UC GPA admit range of 3.94-4.00 (25-75 percentile). Your chances were very low to begin with and I agree with @tsbna44 that you really do not have a solid basis for an appeal. Mentioning mental health issues can be a red flag and B’s are still solid grades. Hopefully you have other options and your dream school(s) are those schools which accepted you.
Best of luck and I would move on.
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Wasn’t trying to be harsh. Was trying to come off like I was on the admissions committee.
You seem a fine student and I appreciate your passion - but I want you to know the whole dream school thing is just total malarkey - it just is.
You can try - but you should have zero expectations - and if you are going to use mental health as a defense, then you need documentation stating as such from a medical professional. And read @Gumbymom - she’s the expert. 4% - so I likely no why you didn’t get in - because you can walk on water and still be unlikely to get in - it might have zero to do with your profile and more to do with - at 4%, they have to pick and choose from amongst so many talented people.
Frankly, you shouldn’t appeal - you’d be wasting your time and theirs but if that what you choose to do…
OMG - CPSLO - what a FANTASTIC get. I mean, truly fantastic.
Congrats to you!!!
I will also use the pretense as an “admissions” member:
What is your basis for your appeal? You’ve submitted your grades and your information.
Were your grades on your transcript recorded accurately?
That’s about it.
Mentioning that you had some mental issues in an appeal can either help and hurt you. Help-by having your mental health professional support your care. Hurt, by having your mental health professional support your care.
Schools can NOW be very sensitive about people who are having mental health issues because they all want a safe and secure campus. A mental health issue can either be a red flag, or can be a good thing because you sought help.
FWIW: Because of Covid, thousands of students were adversely impacted by not being able to attend their colleges and being educated only in isolation. It affected students in a negative manner. The mental health community was inundated with requests for help since everyone was affected in one manner or another. The universities know this and are aware that a number of students have mentioned these factors affecting grades.
Love the school that loved you.
Appeals generally don’t work unless there was an error on reported grades or paperwork (transcript) from your CC. Saying that it’s your “dream” school and that you’ve always wanted to go to UCLA isn’t a good reason for an appeal.
Go to SLO and enjoy every minute of it! You are going to love it! So many, many students would love to be in your shoes.
This is my reaction also. You got a great acceptance and a great opportunity at Cal Poly.
I do not see anything in your original post that would change UCLA’s decision.
You can do very well with a degree in CS from Cal Poly.
When I was applying to graduate programs, I was turned down by my “dream school”, went to my second choice, and LOVED IT. I think that you are likely to have the exact same result here (except for your bachelor’s degree). Plan to work hard at Cal Poly, keep ahead in your class work, keep in mind that software can take longer to debug than you expect, and I think that you will most likely do great.
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