Hey everyone. On thursday, I received the extremely surprising and heartbreaking news of being denied by UCI. I TAG’d to this school with a 3.8 gpa, but somehow got rejected (comp sci+eng major, comp sci alt major). I also applied to UCSD and UCLA for which I was accepted to both, but as an undeclared. I’m very confused as to what the next move in my education career should be, as I do not know how undeclared majors work, and UCI was supposed to be my guaranteed college of transfer to go to next fall. I would appreciate some tips, and of course I am still going to try to call the UCI admissions office to figure out my situation and also appeal.
I didn’t think you could be accepted to UCLA as an undeclared. Do you mean pre- your major (meaning you have a required class to complete)? Re SD, not sure how undeclared works, so someone might have a lot more to add on the subject. However, I think it is good news. UCLA and UCSD!
At UCSD, being undeclared means you can immediately declare a major, as long as it is not an impacted major (i.e. in the Jacobs School of Engineering). Other options for potential CS grads include the Math:CS major.
Thanks @groverrohan. I’ll keep that in mind
Did you call UCI and ask why you were rejected?
How did you get admitted to UCLA as undeclared??? Are you sure about that?
@luckie1367 I haven’t called UCI yet. I plan on sending a message through the myadmission message center and also calling them tomorrow.
Since my only good option at the moment is to choose a math related CS non-impacted major (which I don’t really want), what do you guys think of me continuing for a third year at my CCC? I’m not sure if that’s a viable option as I already have around 70 semester units. Would this be a plausible option for me to do for me to re-apply for next fall?
Are they all CC units?
@luckie1367 What do you mean by CC units? Alot of them are UC transferable GE classes, and I have not taken quite a few of the CS classes.
Are they all community college (CC) units, or do you have units from a four year university?
You can take 143897583 CC units, the UCs don’t care.
I’m trying to figure out why you said “I’m not sure if that’s a viable option as I already have around 70 semester units”
I’m not sure going back to the community college is your best option. Normally when people do that, it’s because their GPA is low, but your GPA of 3.8 is pretty solid. Assuming you’ve already taken all the pre-reqs for your major, there’s really no guarantee that next year would yield different results. Unless you can find out why Irvine did not honor your tag agreement, and it’s something that you could change, you really have no way of ensuring that next year would be more favorable.
I would just hate to see you go back to community college, and end up in this exact same situation a year from now. You have two great options with San Diego and UCLA, so if I were in your shoes, I would choose between those two schools and start this fall.
@luckie1367 I read somewhere and I saw that while the UCs are reviewing your application they prefer if you do not have higher than 70 UC transferable units.
@2016Candles I see what you mean. I actually only have basically the minimum prerequisites for the major I applied for, so I could stay at my CC another year to make myself more than qualified by taking a lot more CS related classes (java, python, data structures, higher math). UCI has been my plan from the moment I entered CC to save money (I got into UCi during high school but decided on CC to save on finances).
Also, how would it be to take up a non impacted major at UCSD/UCLA for a year and to attempt to transfer to UCI?
From my understanding, you get 70 units of credit toward your graduation, but they don’t care how many units you have (if they are all CC units).
If you attend another UC&start taking upper division classes, it will disqualify you from transferring again.
If you have ONLY gone to community colleges, then you don’t need to worry about a unit cap or excess units. The UCs don’t care, as long as they are all CC units.
Once you transfer to a UC, you’re pretty much ineligible to transfer to another one because now you will start taking upper division units. With upper division units there is a unit cap which you will surely exceed after a year at a UC. So if you transfer now, this needs to be the school you want to graduate from.
I think you need to find out why Irvine did not honor your TAG - that may shed some light on your situation. I mean if it is something that you can change, and Irvine is really where you feel you need to be, then maybe another year at CC is right for you. BUT you really need to find out more about your options at SD and LA - you may be overlooking a better opportunity because you didn’t do enough research. Pick up the phone and call all 3 schools and start gathering all the information you need to make an educated decision.
^Seconded
Thanks to the both of you. Helped clear a lot of confusion. Last question: If I submit my SIR to UCLA/UCSD and I get into UCI (through mistake with my application or appeal), can I still cancel my admission to the other school and go to UCI?
Yes you can cancel your SIR, but you will not get a refund on your deposit.
Yes, but you lose your $100 deposit
Edit: Oops, Candles got there before me
Ok. Thanks so much again. Hopefully I make the right decision.
Good luck @Klasik ! Please let us know what they say!