<p>Hi everyone,
This is my first post here in CC and hope it will help me figure out my academic future. My dream is to become a biological engineer, and more specifically, to attend University of California Berkeley. The problem? What are my chances of getting into UCB (let alone any other BioE uni) with my academic past? </p>
<p>I don't want to write a huge history but I will share some important details. I didn't do well in high school, not because I wasn't intelligent but because I had no direction. My teachers were always pushing me to try in my classes and when I did I got As (especially in science classes), but without a set end goal I just couldn't see the purpose in working my butt off. Ultimately, I dropped out and got my GED with all top percentiles (if that counts for anything). After that I just wanted to learn a trade so I could work a decent job until I figure out "my calling" and decided to enroll in a Cosmetology program at my local community college. Well, faster than I could say, "Please, NO!" I was a couple thousand dollars in and realized it was not for me. Sure, learning how to beautify people was interesting, but the lack of mental stimulation or challenging curriculum left me feeling disinterested and frustrated. I completed the program with a 2.3 GPA (yikes) but never went on to take my California State licensing test because I knew it was not something I would want to do.</p>
<pre><code> After this point my academic life becomes even worse. In the summer of 2009 I developed a heart problem that made it hard for me to do everyday things. I took the summer off to try to cope with the disorder, and in the fall when I tried to take classes I did horribly. Mostly because A.) I couldn't drive myself to the classes B.) I wasn't in a healthy enough state to attend classes, and C.) the emotional impact of developing the heart problem made focusing on my courses nearly impossible. So after many painful attempts to get back into school I realized I was doing nothing but hurting my school record and my health and ultimately dropped out of college and was unemployed because of my bad health.
Though my poor health had many negative effects on me, it had a couple positive ones as well. Without being able to do so much as leave my bed I was finally given undivided time to think about my priorities, hopes, dreams, and goals for the future. This is when I realized I wanted to be a Biological Engineer. I have always had my strong suits in math and science, and also always had a massive desire to help people and discover new medical innovations. Around the same time I got married to my Air Force husband and was flown off to Germany where I live now.
Here, finally with some personal direction and I was excited to attend
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<p>school. But, being overseas my options were limited to online distance learning. I chose a college that was regionally accredited and which all courses were equivalents to my California community college back home so I could transfer them and continue working on my pre-E requirements to transfer to a UC. I now have a 3.9 GPA and have completed about 33 units and am excited for the future.</p>
<p>Finally going back to the point of this post, will I be able to get into UCB or any other BioE university? I am afraid that my bad HS record along with a long line of failed attempts in college will make me a last priority for admissions despite my academic turn-around. Not to mention the lack of opportunities to do anything engineering related here overseas will not give me the edge I need to stay competitive. Any advice, insight, or dialogue about this situation will be greatly appreciated. I look forward to hearing from you guys!</p>
<p>-Z. Kovac</p>