I am a Community College student in New Jersey, and I plan on studying Civil Engineering (this might change) at a 4 year school, and I am almost done with the course work for my associates degree. I currently have a 3.8 GPA, and it’s looking very likely that I will make all A’s this semester.
I recently met with a transfer advisor, and she was very enthusiastic about my chances at just about every school I mentioned as a potential transfer location. She started mentioning more competitive schools I could apply to (3.5+ or 3.7+ GPA needed), and told me to look into them. However, one thing she didn’t see is my previous academic record.
I previously attended Rutgers University during the 2012-2013 academic year, and I studied Engineering there as well. The grades I made were abysmal, D’s and F’s across the board. The GPA was 0.7. Further back in high school, I was not a stellar student as well, I had a 2.9 GPA. I probably got into Rutgers purely on my test scores, which were great. (1600 Math + Critical Reading). After leaving Rutgers, I was out of school for 2 years.
I realize that the highly selective schools my advisor mentioned will take into account my full previous record, and as such admission to such schools is unlikely. However, I also realize if I don’t bother applying my chance is 0, so I may as well give it a shot. As such, I would like to ask how I would I go about minimizing the negative impact of my previous record.
Wow this is deja vu. I can totally relate to you op. I myself did went to Rutgers for engineering in fall 2013 and flunked out with a 0.6 GPA. I got in due to more of my GPA from high school and you had better test scores than me. I went back to my community college in spring 2014 and I am about to transfer after this semester as well. I’m doing chemical engineering and I have 3.9 GPA (4.0 in the important subjects) and I probably make all A’s this semester as well. Unforunately, we both have to send in our transcripts from Rutgers. You have to tell colleges that you are applying to that you have attended Rutgers. Not doing so will get you kicked out and removal of your degree.
Yes to not applying will give you 0.00000% chance. I can give you some positives and negatives about you applying to the ivy schools. Ivy do require transfers to send in high school transcript so your 2.9 might hurt a little, but your SAT scores will help you as well. You might be in a little more trouble than I am because you was at Rutgers for a year while I was there for a semester. The only thing you can do now is to do well this semester, apply to schools, hope for the best, and don’t dwell about Rutgers because there’s nothing you can do to get rid of it. If you do get accepted to a very good school and get a bachelor degree. After obtaining the bachelor degree, Rutgers will become a distinct memory.
Since I am applying to competitive schools as well and I probably the closest person that can relate to your situation on this website, I encourage you to apply because you may not get these opportunities again. May I ask what schools you plan on applying?
Thanks for the comment, looks like we’re in pretty much the same boat.
I was wondering if sending any supplemental application material explaining the grades would help.
I’m not looking to apply to any Ivies myself, but some schools that I was directed to were Rowan, TCNJ, Stevens, and some even tougher ones like RPI. All of those are 3.5+, at least for engineering. I was looking at Drexel and NJIT on my own previously. NJIT takes you as long as you have at least a 2.0, 2.5 for some more competitive programs.
@lytcad, so what’s your 1st choice 4-year school? I am sure, you will be fine. Admissions generally like upward grades trend. Report everything you have. If there is a comment section on your application, explain the situation there.
Also, please note that your gpa is very likely to be averaged (after they take 0.7 in consideration), so if there are any specific gpa requirements for your major, make sure to review those. I am not sure how much your gpa will drop, but it will be less than 3.8.
@bvo112 That’s a pretty nice list of schools. Hopefully they’ll all take you!
@lenocturne It’s either Drexel or NJIT. They have more lax admissions requirements, and I should be able to get in rather easily.
All the courses I attempted at Rutgers have been successfully completed at my CC, so hopefully the schools will take that into account.