UIUC transfer denied due to low high school GPA despite having high college GPA. How do I appeal?

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>I am a mechanical engineering student at University of Iowa. Today I was informed that my engineering transfer application was denied, and I gave the admissions office a call.</p>

<p>The reasons for denial:</p>

<ol>
<li>Low high school GPA (3.39)</li>
<li>Not enough technical courses during first semester.</li>
</ol>

<p>For their first reason, I had a 3.73 college GPA. So I'm wondering why they ignored the jump from high school 3.39 to college 3.73.</p>

<p>For their second reason, I took Principle of Chem I, Engineering Math I (Calc 1 and parts of Calc 2), Rhetoric, and Engineering Problem Solving I (transfers as General Engineering 101).</p>

<p>This semester I'm taking Engineering Math II (second half of calc 2 and most of calc 3), Engineering Math III (Matrix Algebra), Physics I, Statics, and Engineering Problem Solving II (intro to programming).</p>

<p>I'm not sure how to write an appeal essay that addresses those two complaints.</p>

<p>On a side note, UIUC admissions stated that they care mostly about GPA, and seemed to give the impression that they don't really care about engineering extracurricular activities (such as SAE Baja or Engineering Without Borders), or research/internship.</p>

<p>But I also want a research position or internship at my current university. Many of the HR recruiters stated they don't really care about GPA and prefer strong demonstration of project/teamwork skills in engineering extracurricular activities.</p>

<p>Given my heavy coursework, I can either get high GPA for a future transfer to UIUC, or continue being heavily involved with various engineering organizations which I enjoy doing and would help me get an internship.</p>

2

<p>You are currently a freshman, correct? I am not sure you can appeal an admissions decision, but you can look at transferring next year. I would contact the admissions office and see if they have recommendations - specifically, what they would want to see in the next year that would offset your high school performance.</p>

<p>And if you don’t get in, don’t sweat it! You can have an excellent education at Iowa, and a great career. And if it is important that you go to a given school, you can always apply there for a grad degree!</p>

3

<p>It looks like you are applying as a sophomore level transfer (i.e. during your frosh year at your current school), in which case your high school record still tends to matter, due to a relatively limited college record (only a semester so far).</p>

<p><a href=“Page Not Found, Illinois Undergraduate Admissions”>http://admissions.illinois.edu/faq/transfer.html&lt;/a&gt; indicates that your “High school performance will only be reviewed if you have not completed 30 graded transferable semester hours at the time of review.” So this means that your high school GPA will drop out of consideration at UIUC if you apply as a junior level transfer (i.e. during your sophomore year at your current school).</p>

<p>Is there anything wrong with staying at your current school until graduation?</p>

4

<p>Just gave a second call to the UIUC admissions office, and now I’m stuck with two incompatible goals.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>UIUC transfer demands high GPA and doesn’t really care about engineering extracurricular activities.</p></li>
<li><p>HR recruiters for internships and co-ops don’t care about GPA (as long as its above 3.00), but strongly value heavy engineering extracurricular involvement.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>I asked the UIUC admissions counselor this question:</p>

<p>“Which kind of transfer applicant would have a better chance, one with a 3.5 GPA and heavily involved with engineering organizations, or one with a 3.9 or 4.0 GPA and not really involved with non-academic activities?”</p>

<p>Her answer: “Probably the 4.0 applicant”</p>

<p>One of the reasons I want to transfer to UIUC is because my dad is an employee there, and I’m an Illinois resident. Therefore, my UIUC tuition would probably be around $25K vs. Uni of Iowa’s $40K annual tuition.</p>

<p>Another reason is UIUC has a much greater involvement with businesses. I’ve seen both UIUC’s and Uni of Iowa’s career fairs. Huge difference in the amount of employers that show up for the fairs.</p>

<p>But I also want an internship or co-op for my sophomore year.</p>

5

<p>Just do well in your classes and do the relevant engineering ECs.</p>

6

<p>One goal at a time. Once you get in, then focus on the other stuff… you have a while.</p>

7

<p>But what if I don’t get in? Then I’m stuck with a high GPA that employers won’t care about.</p>

<p>Normally I set back-up goals that can sorta fit in with my main goals… But this time I’m not so sure.</p>

8

<p>Then you don’t get in and start the EC’s…Same story with different school. </p>

9

<p>

</p>

<p>A higher GPA is better than a lower GPA. While 3.0 may be the most common GPA threshold, there may be some employers using higher thresholds. Having a higher GPA means that fewer employers will screen you out before interviewing due to “GPA too low”.</p>

<p>Also, a higher GPA will give you more “buffer” against one bad course or semester.</p>

10

<p>But I would have to spend more time studying. And those same time could also be used for engineering extracurricular activities. </p>

<p>Next week, there is a large ASME conference that I might be attending, and two weeks from now, the professional Engineers Without Borders chapter will be spending a weekend to help repair a park.</p>

<p>That, and I was recently notified about a part-time research opportunity (separate thread): <a href=“If I am hired for a part time research job, what do I need to cut out of my schedule? - Engineering Majors - College Confidential Forums”>If I am hired for a part time research job, what do I need to cut out of my schedule? - Engineering Majors - College Confidential Forums;

11

<p>Most employers aren’t going to care that you had your nose dipped into every little club. This isn’t the stereotypical admissions process for private liberal arts colleges, this is the real world. Employers want to see that you are technically competent. If Boeing is looking to hire a structural engineer, they are going to care that he or she did well in their classes, can work with other people and communicate clearly, if they happened to be part of something like Baja where they designed and built the frame that took a punishing, that is bonus, and they literally will not care one bit whether you spent a couple hours cleaning up a park one Saturday afternoon.</p>

12

<p>^That is absolutely correct. No need for all that. Take the lead in your school projects, develop your leadership and teaming skills where it matters (to employers), on actual engineering projects. </p>

13

<p>I apologize for the grave-dig, but I realized that I’m likely going to get Bs or B+s in four of my engineering courses (12 semester credit hours total) and an A in a 3 credit hour intro programming course. </p>

<p>Using UIUC’s GPA calculator, I am likely to get around a 3.4 to 3.5 GPA for this semester, and around 3.6 cumulative GPA.</p>

<p>I’m fairly sure the admissions would be concerned about my GPA dropping from 3.73 down to 3.6. But would they understand that I’m taking five engineering courses worth 15 semester credit hours in total?</p>

<p>My parents advised me to drop one of my engineering courses citing that it would free up more studying time since UIUC admissions want to see As… Though I find that advice a bit drastic.</p>