<p>So I'll keep it simple, I live in Illinois, went to a 4 year private university after HS. Completed 2 years there as a pre-med, and now have decided that I want to do my undergrad in business with the the intention of getting an MBA after 2-3 years of work experience. My problem is that I goofed off in college, didn't like my major, and figured out that I didn't want to be a doctor to late. My CGPA is a 2.267. What I really want to know is if there is a reputable university in Illinois for business that will accept me with my credits that apply towards my major and have my GPA start over. Obviously my GPA is really low so I was planning on doing CC for a semester taking core business classes. Anyone have any information on this, because I can't seem to anything on the web.</p>
<p>Oh and I have 53 credits from my school along with 9 credits from a CC</p>
<p>Usually, once you transfer, your gpa is no longer counted at the new university which you transfer into. However, since you said that you wanted to get an MBA, those graduate programs which you apply for will need to see your transcripts from ALL colleges which you have attended. So it won’t be hard to find a college to get a new gpa at, but your problem will be applying to grad school.</p>
<p>Thanks for the response, so then there are schools that will accept some of the credits for my major? I understand that some credits won’t be accepted because they don’t apply to my major, but I won’t have to completely start over at least? I know B schools want to see everything, but won’t having good grades in the major that I finished undergrad with kind of make up for the poor grades? Also I rationalized that good grades in my undergraduate major I finished school with would help me get a better job, am I right? And the better job would help when applying for B schools?</p>
<p>Sadly, B-Schools will look at everything. This means even if you transfer and switch out of your current major, you’re 2.2 will continue to haunt you. I hate to say this but it is almost impossible to salvage a that low of a GPA at this late in the game… You WILL be able to find some very local B-school that is willing to take you if you get a high enough GMAT but you will also need to land some stellar job for 2-3 years and write a phenomenal essay. I don’t want to disappoint you but adding more loans to your already accumulating debt load is not wise, especially in this economy. Going to a toilet B-school will not land you a respectable job nor will it ever give you good exit plans down the road.</p>
<p>Okay I definitely understand that B schools will look at all transcripts, my test scores, work and so forth. Though I don’t quite get this late in the game concept. I’m 20 I have 2 years of school to finish maybe now it will take 3, who knows? However, amazing grades in an undergrad business major will help me get a good job and will show that I had focus after I applied myself in the major I wanted to finish school with. Am I right about this? Or am I being too optimistic? Getting good grades isn’t really the problem, in HS I finished with a 4.1 and a 32 on my ACT, these past 2 years I’ve just had way too much fun. Won’t a life change in my major show B schools some sort of maturation? I know that I’m not going to be able to get into a top 10 B school without some luck, but won’t a top 20 be in my reach if I can pull off the good grades, good GMAT, and solid work experience?</p>
<p>I would say aim lower for graduate school. There are lots of grad schools that will take you, who cares if they are top 20. Just having an MBA from anywhere is better than not having one from anywhere.</p>
<p>If you’re aiming for a top grad school, then don’t be so concerned about whether your credits transfer. In fact, you might rather they didn’t. Retake classes as necessary and get A’s in them, establish a 4.0 GPA, or close to it, over three years or so, and you’ll be in a good position.</p>
<p>greennblue - So are you saying to completely start over? Would that make a difference because B schools would want to see all transcripts anyway, right?</p>
<p>So what if you went to a community college and got a lower GPA. then you decide you dont want to continue going into that field and switch majors. So lets say you apply to another CC and you do well. So when you transfer to a university would you have to include both of the CC transcripts?</p>
<p>Actually I have a new idea, though I don’t know if it is that great of one. What if I were to start at a CC take say 21 credits this Spring '10 semester as well as try to to take as many credits during the summer as I can, I would be fine with taking 21. So now I have 42 credits, plus this summer I took 9 credits, Soc, Psych, and Eng and got A’s in them all. Okay now I really have 51 credits and I have a 4.0 overall lol. The schools I apply to would they accept me based off of the CC credits? And if they did I would be starting in Fall '10, which technically would be my final year of school, but I am hoping to finish at the university in 4 semesters including summer classes. So I take 18 credits each semester for 4 semesters giving me 72 credits plus my 51 for a total of 123 credits. And then I can take some classes during the summer to make up the remaining credits, because generally isn’t about 130ish credits needed for graduation? I know it depends on major but just generally am I about right? And about the 21 credits for CC during the summer, I know I can handle it no problem I just hope I can take that many. This way I finish school a year later then I should, but no big deal. Now I am sure there are many flaws in this plan, can anybody give me some input or advice? And on another note, I understand that B schools are still going to want to see my transcripts from my other university, but now I have a degree with as close to as a 4.0 as possible hopefully, does this make up somewhat for the bad grades at my other university? I know this post has many grammatical errors and I have random questions all over the place but any input regardless of how long is greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>Basically I am going to forget about these past 4 semesters, I don’t want these credits, I don’t need them and I just want to finish my degree with the CC credits and the credits at the university</p>
<p>Okay so I read the sticky thread about transfer guidelines and stuff so I have more information now but still can someone give some info on taking those 42 credits in such a short time is it worth it? I can’t choose which credits transfer from my old school either right? Any advice info, and if you don’t understand my post please ask me a question about it because I really need some advice. Thank You</p>
<p>You don’t want to take 21 credits summer semester. That would be insane, even at a CC. That’s more than 2X normal summer school load. Not to mention most Summer semesters make all classes give finals the same day so you’d have like 6 finals on the same day.</p>
<p>Anyways I did the math for you and, if you want a 3.2 cumulative GPA, you will need to average a 3.9 over 57 more semester credits (assuming you got 4.0s in CC thus far). A 3.0 cumulative is possible after just 31 more credits @ a 3.9 average.</p>
<p>A problem you have to worry about though is that most undergrad business schools won’t accept you when you have too many credits so you need to strike a decent balance there. For example, I got 60 quarter credits in a CC while I was in high school and, if I want to major in Accounting, I have to apply at the end of my first year because I’ll have too many credits at the end of my second year.</p>
<p>Thanks Will for the reply. At my local CC for summer school they go by weeks for their sessions. So for the first 4 weeks I would take 2 classes. For the 6 weeks after that I would take 2 more. Then the 8 week session starts at the last 2 weeks of the 6 week session. I would take 3 classes in the 8 weeks. So I would have an overlap of 5 classes at once for 2 weeks. The last 2 weeks of 2 classes overlapping with the first 2 weeks of 3 classes. After you look at it like that it doesn’t seem impossible, it doesn’t sound fun but I feel it’s doable. Now regarding the GPA calculations you did, are they going by increasing the 2.267 through CC classes? If you could clarify on that it would be great. Now on another point what do you think of the 42 credit plan? I know the universities I apply to would want to see my transcripts from my previous university, but would they even except a student that did that many credits in such a short period of time? Thanks again!</p>
<p>Business school admissions does take into account your undergraduate GPA, but your WORK experience is also critical. The better your work experience, the better the place that you can be admitted by. You should plan to spend at least two years in the full-time workforce to make admission at a better quality MBA program possible.</p>
<p>You need to do excellent work for the rest of your undergraduate program - basically as near a 4.0 as possible in order to pull up your GPA and get that good job when you graduate. That will not be possible if you overload on the credits in any given term. Talk to the counselors at your CC to find out how many credits equal how many class hours and/or lab hours. Remember that for each our of class/lab you should expect to spent about 2 hours studying and doing assigned homework. The schedule that you are proposing for yourself is nearly impossible to carry, and unlikely to achieve your goal of raising your GPA by as much as you’d like. You need to spread your coursework out over more semesters.</p>
<p>Thank you happymomof1 i definitely wont overload at university however, I have seen how classes are structured at my CC and feel they are very easy. Plus the classes I will be taking most likely would be general intro courses. I still want to go for 21 credits in the spring semester but if I realize that it was difficult during a regular semester I will definitely tone it down for the summer. Also, do you have any information regarding transferring with the accumulation of so many credits in a short period of time?</p>
<p>Check the policy for each school you are interested in to see how they handle transfer credits. Some schools will not admit any transfers who have over a certain number of credits period. Also, note that different colleges may transfer your credits differently. (For example one school may say that one course at your old school equals one course at your new school, but another school may say that one course at your old school equals a fraction of one course at your new school). </p>
<p>Colleges may not see your spring semester grades if their deadlines are before the end of your spring semester. </p>
<p>The college board, among other places, have a college search function where you can search for colleges in IL that offer your major.</p>
<p>Thanks college ruled you definitely made an important point. So now I just need some advice on how to approach the schools I possibly want to go to. Should I call each of them and ask them straight up what the best way to get into their school is? Like should I ask them if it is better to transfer in with just CC credits or transfer with my university credits I have now and take additional courses at CC to supplement? Just basically how I should go about getting information? Should I tell them just enough info to get in or should I tell them everything?</p>
<p>You need to make an appointment with the transfer counselors at the community college that you are currently attending. They are expert at helping students like you make good transfer decisions. </p>
<p>You also should make appointments with the transfer admissions advisors at your target colleges/universities. Take all of your transcripts from every place that you have studied to date and discuss your options with them. See what they have to say. When you do apply you will have to provide all of your transcripts. They are going to see your old bad grades then, so it really doesn’t matter if you show them those grades now. What you do need to do is make it very clear that you have changed your ways and you are now doing much better in school. They want to know that you can be a success at their college/university.</p>
<p>Thanks happymomof1, now should I wait to talk to the schools I want to apply to after I am enrolled in the CC or should I tell all schools that I want to go to my intentions as soon as I start CC?</p>