I have a total of three D’s on my transcript: a semester of Adv. English I, English II, and Modern World History (I failed the first semester of World History but am retaking the class online and have an A). If you haven’t noticed, I did terribly my freshman & sophomore years. There was a lot of stuff going on in my personal life that really impacted my school work, but I’ve turned it around.
I’m a senior now and I’ve completed only one AP class (AP Physics I; I got a B, which is an A weighted, but a 2 on the exam) but am currently enrolled in five others (AP Bio, Calculus AB, Psychology, U.S. Government/Politics, and Literature & Composition) and I have straight A’s in those five. I’m not taking any other classes because seniors at my school have the option to take only five courses rather than the usual seven. I also got a 1950 on the old SAT and a 30 on the ACT, which I’m going to retake in hopes of at least getting a 34 this fall. If I keep my grades up, I’ll graduate with a weighted 4.0 and unweighted 3.5 or so.
My first choice school is UC Riverside; it’s only thirty minutes from home, has a great program for my intended major (Biochemistry) and is very affordable, which is extremely important because I’m paying for college on my own. I plan on retaking all of the other semesters I got D’s in, but I won’t be able to take them until the second semester of my senior year & the UC application is due November 30. Will the D’s on my transcript kill my chances of getting into UCR? Also, without my first semester senior year grades on my transcript, my GPA will only be a 3.0, so how much will that hurt me?
- If you do not have the grades for the 2 repeat courses, the D's will be included in your UC GPA.
- Also since you have not passed 2 English classes, your application will probably not be reviewed since the UC requirement is 4 years of English and you need to have 3 of the 4 years completed prior to application for the a-g course requirements.
- Senior grades are not included in the UC GPA or considered for admission purposes.
- If you UC GPA with the D's is 3.0, your chances are low at getting an acceptance (25%) at UCR.
I think you need to consider other schools besides UCR or consider going to your local CCC, transferring in 2 years using TAG for UCR. Have you discussed your situation with your HS counselor?
http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/transfer/guarantee/
http://admissions.ucr.edu/WhyUCR/ourGuarantee#transferStudents
Thank you @Gumbymom, and it’t not two years of English I’m missing, just two semesters, so one year total. But your information is very helpful.
California community colleges are fantastic, something I didn’t know until I started looking into them a lot more. I’d never even considered them because I go to a very competitive high school & have been hearing from my friends that going to community college is the option for the “stupid” kids who couldn’t do well enough to go straight to a four year, so I always avoided the option like the plague.
But since first reading your post a couple days ago I found a great CCC and went in and talked to my counselor. They have a TAG for UCR but also for UCLA, so I might end up going that route since UCLA is a much better school for my major & it’s where I want to go for med school eventually. The CC I found is also only about a 45 minute drive from my house and is in San Diego. Thanks again for your help (:
Good luck to you and California CCC’s are a great option. Do not let any of your friends tell you otherwise.
Many CCCs are very good, others less so. I am glad you’ve found a good one. Advisors can be hit and miss as well. I’d encourage you to go contact your target UC from time to time to ensure you are on track with your schedule and GPA.
You should also know, UCLA, UCSD and UCB don’t participate in TAG. Transferring to those schools is every bit as competitive as it is for Freshman admission.
Since you are a Sr now, I’d encourage you to apply to UCR, explain your situation in your essays - and note you are retaking the courses dragging your GPA down. With your test scores, they may ask for you December grades or, just let you in as is… it is worth a shot.
Since you seem to be focused on SoCal, I’d suggest you also apply to Cal Poly Pomona listing BioChem as your primary major but one of their less competitive majors as a back-up. (changing once you are there is very doable). San Marcos, Fullerton and Northridge are also worth an ap. Merced is worth a look too.
Good luck.
UCLA has TAP which is not guaranteed like TAG but gives you priority.