Well qualified for transfer, only thing holding me back is I'm a 1-year transfer?

Transfer Students
1

<p>I really, really need some advice on this. I know it's kinda long but please read through it.</p>

<p>So my dream transfer school is Cal Poly SLO. I'm in my first year of CC, and in high school, I completed 30 units of AP credit so these next two semesters I'll be taking 18 units each to finish my IGETC and all of the pre-reqs for transfer into Sociology at Cal Poly. Of the courses I'm taking this semester, I have a 3.83 with little to no effort, so I'll probably finish my first CC term with this GPA. I'm holding down a job, and I volunteer: both are related to my Cal Poly major (one more so than the other, but still).</p>

<p>This would be pretty good for UCs. But an admissions officer at Cal Poly said that since I wouldn't have a GPA at the time of my application, I wouldn't be competitive at all! Even though my statistics would be good enough to get me in if I were a second year transfer.</p>

<p>So here are my options:
1) I can put down my anticipated fall grades at the end of November, since by then I'll be almost sure of what I'm going to end up with. That way I'd have a GPA for the computer to look at, since no human actually looks at the Cal Poly applications and a computer just gives you a score.</p>

<p>2) I can submit my application, then in January request "changes" and request them to change my "in progress" courses to the grades I got. This is the route taken when someone makes a mistake on an application; could I use it this way?</p>

<p>3) I can submit my application, get denied, and appeal in March with my fall grades. This one is obviously a bit of a stretch since it's a last ditch effort. I can also use it in combination with #2.</p>

<p>If you were in my spot, what would you do? I'm not trying to be presumptuous, but my stats should be good enough to get me in, it's just that I don't have an earlier GPA to put down. That's literally the only thing, and, in my opinion, seems kind of unfair.</p>

2

<p>I looked at SLO as well. But the last time I checked, the transfer rate is abysmally small.</p>

3

<p>1) That will backfire. The adcom humans who do see your application will notice something is wrong because a first-time freshman can’t have a college GPA. The problem is that you electronically “sign” a statement that everything you put in your online app is truthful. Clearly you would be lying in order to game the system to get noticed. </p>

<p>2) Trying this method is still trying to go around the system. The problem is that you electronically “sign” a statement that everything you put in your online app is truthful. Clearly you would be lying in order to game the system to get noticed. </p>

<p>3) You can try this, but I am guessing that SLO is hugely impacted and there would be zero spots open anyhow.</p>

<p>If I were in your spot, I would have applied to SLO straight out of HS. Short of that, I might have to just wait that second year. Go get an internship or a job in the meantime. Or finish a sophomore year anyhow at the CC. It sounds like you are out of luck at SLO… there are tons of budget cuts and you are NOT the first California student who got squeezed by the restrictions and cut backs. SLO is more competitive than ever.</p>

<p>Lying on your app (even if you “fix” it later) is a good recipe to get a permanent black mark against your ever being let into SLO. It falls under the concept of “academic honesty”. If you fudge in an app, why should the college trust you to not use this “fudge now and fix later” mentality in classes, etc?</p>