UW-Madison chances?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Wisconsin
1

I am a prospective transfer student currently attending a well-known Illinois community college. We had a rep come in from UW-Madison and so I did my research. So let me put it into the simplest way possible, bear with me here. I did not do so well in high school, or well at all actually. Mostly Bs and Cs, and part of this is due to the fact that me and my family moved around a lot. I also scored an 18 on my ACT! I went to three different high schools in two different states. This was very burdensome. Once I got to college, my academic results improved drastically. I went from having a 2.7 weighted GPA (out of 4), to a 4.0 GPA (out of 4) at my community college. I guess the realization and importance of reality kicked in much later for me unfortunately. So most of my community college classes transfer to UW, which is great. But I want to know how I can enhance my application.

History (Western Civilization) = A
History (US) = A
English Composition I = A
English Composition II = A
English Poetry = A
Psychology = A
PreCalculus = A

Non-Credit Courses:
College Algebra: A

I am also currently taking two humanities courses, anthropology, religion, and I am going to pick up either another math course, or a computer science course this semester, and hopefully score another 5 As. The other schools I am applying for have humanities, social sciences, etc. as their GEN requirements, so I am trying to take those classes FIRST and get them out of the way!!! I am also going to be taking Biological Sciences I in the summer and trying to pick up another class.

My Current Extracurriculars/Organizations:
Phi Theta Kappa
American Red Cross
American Cancer Society
Anthropology Club
Astronomy Club
Model United Nations
Alter Ego Productions/Event Planning club

I am also planning to join the student newspaper, and American Meteorological society, etc. Now let me say this, I am a little worried about taking more math courses at my college because we have HORRIBLE math teachers, and by horrible I don’t mean academically challenging and strict, I mean they are just rough, and just not good teachers! I do not want to risk my GPA. I don’t know how these teachers were hired honestly.

So how can I add more rigor to my academic schedule?
What other classes can I take?
How can I increase my chances of being accepted into this school?
And most of all, WHAT are MY CHANCES of being ACCEPTED to UW-Madison?

***According to UW, they don’t require your ACT/SAT if you have at least 24 transferrable credits, but they do require your high school transcript to confirm graduation. They said they will place less emphasis on your high school academics, the more credits you have, but I am worried this will be a disadvantage for me for obvious reasons.

2

Even though UW’s requirement is at least 24 transferable credits, admissions will look at your high school transcript. Based on what you have conveyed, it doesn’t appear you will exceed the 24 transferable credit requirement by that much. Therefore, in my opinion, this doesn’t give admissions enough of your academic history without looking at your high school transcript. In your essays you could explain the hardship placed on your academic success due to attending different high schools ect. Below I copied information from the transfer admissions web site.

HIGH SCHOOL RECORD

Your academic performance in high school will be more or less important to us depending on how many college credits you have earned. Generally speaking, students who are in their first two years of college-level course work will have their high school records more carefully analyzed. The more college-level work you have completed, the less we will rely on high school performance criteria such as rigor of course work, academic GPA, grade trends, and class rank.

Regardless of the number of college credits earned, your high school transcript (supplemented in some cases by your college transcript) must show that you completed the following required course work:

Algebra: One year in high school
Plane Geometry: One year in high school (cannot be modified, basic, or informal)
College-Preparatory Math: One year in high school, or 1 college course at the level of Algebra 2 or beyond
Single Foreign Language: Two years of the same language in high school or two semesters of the same language in college*

  • Students who have studied a foreign language using only Rosetta Stone have not fulfilled the foreign language requirement.

EXTRACURRICULAR COMMITMENTS

Numbers alone do not determine admissibility. Nonacademic factors may also be considered. We look for students with special or unique talents, who bring significant extracurricular or employment experiences, and those who give of themselves and who will enrich our campus community. While nonacademic factors will make a good applicant strong, they will never make an academically weak applicant admissible.

3

Yeah I have seen that. You are right. But I am planning to stay longer at my CC, and earn at least 40-45 credits before i transfer if that will help my chances. I am not sure what to do ): Maybe I should look into Ohio State or something. My hopes and dreams just flushed down the toilet.

4

Your vast improvement means a lot. However, your course list does not seem rigorous compared to the types of courses I expect those at 4 year colleges are taking. EC’s will not replace strong academics- as stated in post # 1. I see courses many HS students will have taken. Any “well known” CC is still just that- it is not a four year college.

You need to discuss future college plans with your CC advisor. It may be better for you to aim for nonflagship U’s when you transfer.

5

I wouldn’t worry about what they think of your high school records. You already have a solid college track record, which is the idea behind transfer admissions. I would just go and send the application. You should get in.