What are my options?

Transfer Students UC Transfers
1

<p>Hello everybody,</p>

<p>I am currently planning to apply for transfer next Fall, whenever admissions opens, and am unsure of what my chances are of getting into each college. I am aware that the " T.A.G" program allows for a nearly guarenteed admittance, but I have read in some of the other forums that people have indeed gotten denied before. Does the T.A.G program truly guarentee admittance? </p>

<p>Here is a brief overview of my background,</p>

<p>I would be very hesitant in showing any admissions committee my high school transcript, due to the fact that it is an utter disgrace. During high school, I took an Algebra 2 class at the community college I am currently enrolled in and failed to take it seriously, ultimately receiving a D as my final grade. My first year of community college began with a 1.0 starting GPA as a result of my prior apathetic mindset towards academia. I attempted to take a history class during the summer, before the start of my first Fall semester, and decided to drop it during the middle of the semester. Now I have a 1.0 and 1 W. </p>

<p>Summer 2009 - Intermediate Algebra, (D) (during high school)</p>

<p>Summer 2011 - Hist 7A, dropped (W)</p>

<p>Fall 2011 - My first official semester, which ended with (2 D's) and (2 W's) </p>

<p>Spring 2012 - Finished with (2 B's) and (1 C)</p>

<p>Fall 2012 - (W) Withdrew from ENGL 1A, and took a break from school</p>

<p>Spring 2013- Took 2 classes, received an (1 A) and (1 W)</p>

<p>Summer 2013 - Enrolled in HIST 7A and PHYS 10, receiving (2 A's)</p>

<p>Fall 2013 - Enrolled in 17 units, received a 3.529 & was subsequently awarded the title of Academic Honor Student
(4 A's, 1 C) ANTHR2, POSCI3, CIS1, PRECALC, BUS32</p>

<p>I now stand with a 2.913, nearly a 300% increase from my GPA a year ago. During the beginning of my academic career, in community college, I worked two jobs in order to sustain a habitable lifestyle. I will be sure to emphasize this in order to explain the reason for the gap in my education. I am hoping to land a spot at one of the UC's, majoring in either Political Science or Business (if I am eligible). I am open to state universities as well, but only as a safety.</p>

<p>I am currently finishing up my IGETC, taking 13 units & working part time. With newfound confidence and the drive to succeed, I am certain that I will be able to boost my GPA to a 3.5 - 3.7 by Fall 2016, which is the semester that I am projected to transfer. Will my dramatic improvement increase my chances of admittance, or will my previous setbacks prove to be detrimental towards my pursuit of higher education? What are my realistic chances of getting into a UC at the rate I am going? </p>

2

<p>Yes, TAG is guaranteed acceptance to the UCs that have this policy.</p>

<p>So wait, you want to transfer in 2016? You realize that means two more years of community college… (2014-2015, and 2015-2016). The GPA that matters is your GPA at the beginning of the fall the year before you transfer. So if you want to transfer for fall 2016, you will fill out applications and your TAG in fall 2015. At that point, you have to have the GPA needed for that TAG.</p>

<p>A 3.5 would make you eligible for all the TAGs I believe, plus give you a shot at UCLA or Cal, depending on what you decide for a major. If you are unable to raise your GPA to 3.5 by that point, there are still UCs that accept TAGs with GPAs well under that, so you will still be able to attend a UC. It really depends which one you have your eye on. You can definitely do it though.</p>

<p>For your Ds (and any Fs) look into Academic Renewal. It takes the poor grades out of your GPA calculations. This would raise your GPA significantly and make you much more competitive. Either search this “Academic Renewal” and the name of the college at which you earned the grades you would like to wipe clear, or speak with a counselor.</p>

<p>Good luck, and let me know if you have anymore questions. You should get some good advice on these boards.</p>

3

<p>Good chance for UCs if you keep it up.</p>

<p>1st point - Intermediate Algebra isn’t trasnferibile so it won’t be factored into your GPA.
2nd point - UCs dont punish for Ws
3rd point - UCs allow grade forgiveness for Ds and Fs. (besides intermediate alg) you can retake the classes you got Ds in and only the passing grade will be factored into your transferable GPA. Alternatively you could look into academic renewal to wipe those grades away. </p>

<p>With 2 Bs and 2 Cs You can hit a 3.7x GPA if you manage to pull off all As from now one. </p>

<p>As for TAG. it’s guaranteed for people who fulfil the tag requirements. </p>

4

<p>First of all, that’s an AWESOME turnaround! Congrats and great work!</p>

<p>I don’t think UCLA, UCB or UCSD participate in TAG but, with about 48 units at the end of this semester and the 2.9, I’d say you are closer than you think. The TAG GPA threshold varies by school and major but, as you can see from the links below, UCSC, UCM and UCR all take students in your range. Each has specific courses they want you to take so, I encourage you to contact their admissions office ASAP, review your transcript (in person if possible) and course plans and ask for their guidance. You may be able to transfer much sooner than you thought possible. </p>

<p><a href=“http://admissions.ucsc.edu/apply/transfer-students/tag.html”>http://admissions.ucsc.edu/apply/transfer-students/tag.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://transfers.ucmerced.edu/2.asp?uc=1&lvl2=59&contentid=29”>http://transfers.ucmerced.edu/2.asp?uc=1&lvl2=59&contentid=29&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“New Students | Apply | Undergraduate Admissions | UC Riverside”>New Students | Apply | Undergraduate Admissions | UC Riverside;

<p>I’d encourage </p>

5

<p>Thanks for the feedback guys, I genuinely appreciate it. I noticed that there was a typo within my post, it should have stated that my projected year of transfer is 2015 rather than 2016. Also, I have also been informed that ethnicity plays a large role in admittance. In addition, I also need to file for financial aid as well. Both of these factors, I know for sure, will make it more difficult for me to transfer into UC’s such as Cal and LA. I am not only from a poor demographic, but additionally I am also Asian. 8-X :-w </p>

6

<p>Actually, from what I’ve heard, the UC System banned the use of affirmative action back in the 90s. And instead, it’s more merit-base, which it should be for academic institutions in the first place anyways. Although, a CA senate bill has been proposed to unban it, and if that passes the lower chamber in the CA legislature and voted in by majority of Californians, then actually it would hurt your chances more since in most UCs the biggest ethnic group are Asian Americans. They would dramatically decrease admissions for Asian Americans to make room for other groups with significantly lower representation at the UCs. Sorry for going off topic, but the political scientist in me couldn’t help myself :P</p>

7

<p>^@Cheebii oh, affirmative action. It’s not banned per say, race or underrepresented minority groups is viewed as just a factor evaluated on a basis for each applicant. However, it just can’t be used as a quota system for admissions. </p>

8

<p>@ocnative Oh, interesting! If passed, I wonder how drastic, or maybe not, demographic changes would be at the UCs… But that’s going off topic :stuck_out_tongue: Just keep up the hard work everyone! Only those who are really dedicated will be rewarded in the end with that “Congratulations” heading when you open that admissions portal.</p>

9

<p>Retake all of your failed classes (D’s and F’s), find your college on ratemyprofessor, and take a ton of easy courses along with your major pre-reqs (2 easy classes, 2 major pre-reqs, 1 igetc requirement course) each semester</p>

<p>If you know you’re going to get a C, just withdraw. It is not worth getting anything less than a B. It will take a ton of A’s to make up for 1 C.</p>

<p>Also, if you’re worried about having bad starts, I, too, took classes during highschool and royally messed up (3 F’s and 1 D). </p>