I’m currently a first-year community college student who’s planning on applying to the UCs next fall. I started taking community college courses during high school, ended high school with good SAT scores, and a 4.2 GPA. I have many niche interests. Last fall, I applied to the UCs as a freshman applicant and, against the odds and to the dismay of everyone, was rejected from every school I applied to. So, I was forced to stay at my local community college.
I currently have a 3.8 at the school, which consists of some of the hardest classes available–many of which were taken during high school. However, this semester has been an utter disaster. I became severely sick (never skipped class or went to the doctor’s, but there’s no need to go into details) and it drastically affected my performance. I dropped one class with a W, and will be getting Cs for the remainder of my classes.
I’m utterly heartbroken. I hated making excuses so I ignored my problems during the semester and didn’t seek help. I plan on taking OChem this summer (will definitely get an A, at this point it’s do or die) but my GPA is going to grossly suffer and, I’ll be stuck applying next fall with a hideous GPA.
I know I can raise my GPA to an acceptable level by the time I transfer Spring 2020. Will the UCs take into account my Fall 2019/Winter 2020 grades when deciding to admit me or not?
Or will they only take into account my GPA after this summer because I’m applying this fall?
Will the fact that I worked hard and took initiative during high school either benefit me or be to my disadvantage? I’m still a diligent student but bad things happened. I don’t know if they’ll look at my track record and think my quality of a student is sliding down hill.
What else can I do to strengthen my transfer application? Being a community college student, I hardly have time for anything but studying
Thanks so much for reading, I really do need some outside advice and reasoning.
1.) all community college grades are considered in their decision. during the winter, you submit the TAU, which is the transfer academic update, in which you submit winter grades and the courses you will be taking for spring.
I know you said you’re having a tough semester right now, but shoot for an upward trend in your gpa after these classes. note that a W will not be looked down upon as long as you can make it up. focus on doing well in your major classes and complete your major pre reqs.
2.) high school grades are not given any consideration. only AP and IB scores are acknowledged. not SAT or any other standardized tests you may have taken. honestly, forget about high school. community college is a new chapter in your academic career, so don’t dwell on anything you did before that.
3.) besides focusing on grades you can try and find volunteer opportunities, clubs to join, or any other ECs.
also, if you really do feel like you only have time for studying, maybe reevaluate your course load. don’t be too hard on yourself and take some time for yourself every once in a while.
good luck!
Thanks for this, it eases my panic a little :") I’ll definitely be increasing my grades up, it’s nice to know they look at next year’s grades too. I just hate having to put such an ugly GPA on my application next fall lol. I’ll try to make time to be more active on campus, too. A few follow up questions:
My W comes from a class that I ended up not needing for my major/GE in anyway (I went from engineering to pure science). It will never be relevant. I wasn’t planning on retaking it. Do I have to? Should I? Course-wise, it’d be a waste of energy.
I have family who say that I should mention the reason why I failed so hard this semester on my transfer application. I am really against this since I want to be wanted for my merits, not a sob story (not to mention my understanding that admissions can recognize this). Besides, I have no formal medical records to back up my sickness coming back. And everyone has a sob story.
Should I just let it the grades exist without feeling the need to justify them? They think I’m crazy for thinking this.
1.) I don’t believe you have to make it up since it won’t impact you, but I would double check with your counselor or transfer advisor.
2.) these are the personal insight questions http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/how-to-apply/personal-questions/transfer/index.html
I think explaining your challenge may work for answering question 5. Merit is important, but everyone goes through challenges, and if written about correctly, sometimes it looks good because you overcame it somehow. It doesn’t have to be a sob story because you can turn it into something positive, yknow? I think definitely start looking at the questions you will answer and write some drafts over the summer when you have time.
Take my advice with a grain of salt. High school grades and SAT/ACT scores are irrelevant when applying from a community college, but I would not completely discredit or disregard the hard work you put in. I wrote one of my essays about volunteer work in high school and how that experience translated into my college journey. It’s really how well you write your essays and how well you craft your story.
Although the 1 W won’t raise any red flags, I would recommend explaining your situation anyways just so admission officers get a full overview about your circumstances. Othet than that, raise your gpa and best of luck.
Talk it over with a xfer counselor at your CC. Or a UC rep that comes by. That is what they are there for. But, yeah, things are more believable when they come from independent sources. UCs can’t know how sick you were, and like you say people have an advantage to gain by exaggerating.
Your HS gpa doesn’t matter, but the grades you earned in college classes taken while in HS do (to my understanding). Something else you can ask those counselors when you meet.
@mikemac I now know to forget high school lol. But, for curiosity’s, given that I don’t explain what happened this semester, will they look at the college classes I took in high school and be like, wow she aced calc III in hs! Or, ew, she did so well and what happened, this is not a good trend?
Thank you all for the advice, I’ll take all of it into account.
