29 Year Old CC Transfer Wants Cal with 3.55 GPA

Transfer Students UC Transfers
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<p>This thread is a chances thread for my friend who wants to go to UC Berkeley. He is applying this coming November. He has been working full time and doing school part time for many years. Now that he’s approaching his application date, he quit his job to focus on school full time.</p>

<p>Current School: City College of San Francisco
Age: 29 years old
Major: poli-sci
GPA: 3.57 (Shooting for 3.6 by end of Spring)
IGETC: will be complete
Associates Degree: will be complete
Pre-Reqs: will be complete
Extra-currics: Judo club, poli-sci tutor, and volunteer for SF Democratic party
TAP: Probably
Honors: Probably </p>

<p>What are his chances? Do you have any advice for him?</p>

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<p>There’s a chance, but I’m leaning more towards rejected because his GPA is on the low end. He should consider UC Davis.</p>

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<p>A pretty good maybe. The average GPA for UCB is around a 3.7 for traditional students, and I doubt more than 5% of them have a good exception (age, work, kids, homeschooling, etc) that would be able to swing the average lower (even though they do get in). </p>

<p>So long as he has the money to do it, he should apply to every single school he wants to go to.</p>

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<p>Does being non traditional help or hurt him?</p>

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<p>^ help him
I personally think he has a good chance. Very few persist at cc when they start working so that is a BIG plus in his favor. His age makes him a nontraditional so it looks good that he has all those ECs with a decent GPA.</p>

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<p>As a polisci cal & ucla admit, i would have to say not so great of a chance. 3.5 is too low for the number 1 public university polisci department in the nation. i was admitted with a 3.9, and even then was told that my chances weren’t close to guaranteed. one would need to have a good story and many ECs to make up for the gpa (which is not bad at all-- but for berk polisci, it isn’t good enough for them)</p>

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<p>*in the world</p>

<p>.</p>

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<p>I’m a non-traditional student with tons of amazing EC’s and I was rejected from UCLA and UCB Poli Sci with a 3.41</p>

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<p>Having a good story in the essays can make up for a lower end GPA? What kinda story are we talking here?</p>

<p>He hasn’t had the easiest path in life and maybe he could use the essays to accentuate some of the more notable points in his struggle.</p>

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<p>i think working full time would also count as an EC, no? and deff use the essays to point out any hardships, etc.</p>

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<p>I’m 23 with a 3.6 GPA, work experience was my only notable EC. I got in to UC Berkeley this last go around… Spring admit though. </p>

<p>Just make it clear in your essays that you have aspirations and have been upwardly mobile on your career tract. </p>

<p>Assuming your igetc pattern/ pre reqs are completed. I’d give you very good odds of getting in. Berkeley likes the non traditional student.</p>

<p>UCLA would probably reject you though, they are more stat based.</p>

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<p>@BPkid101: UCLA would reject my friend even though he will probably be TAP certified? How do you apply for Spring?</p>

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<p>With a killer essay, he JUST MIGHT get in.</p>

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<p>TAP could help, gpa still seems kind of low to me, isn’t the avg admit closer to 3.7?</p>

<p>I got denied by UCLA, different major though. Just relaying my experience.</p>

<p>you don’t apply for spring, you apply for fall and they can defer you to the spring.</p>

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<p>Won’t TAP get him into UCLA for sure?</p>

<p>How can he improve his chances at Cal? Should he stack on more extra currics this Fall?</p>

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<p>You’re a good friend smith415.</p>

<p>I’m the friend in question.</p>

<p>Thanks to all for your feedback.</p>

<p>It seems the biggest anomaly here is probably my work experience and possibly my age.</p>

<p>I’ve had to work full time for the majority of the past 12 years to support myself and to help my mother pay off the mortgage to her home in SF because she was forced into early retirement due to health conditions.</p>

<p>I have held a human resources training specialist position and a department manager position at Macy’s Union Square in San Francisco (third largest department store in the world) and was promoted after being a sales person for 1 year. I worked there for 5 years and attended CCSF while working. More recently I worked for a medium size company where I started as a part time telephone customer service representative. After only 6 months I was promoted to project manager and after another year I was promoted again to director of training & development. I was with that company for a little over 3 years.</p>

<p>I just resigned from my position as director of T&D in order to increase my odds of acceptance to UC Berkeley. I will be attempting to raise my GPA (currently 3.47) with 6 more courses, 4 of which will be honors courses (to finish TAP), and earning my associates degree all at once. My target GPA is roughly 3.6 by the end of fall.</p>

<p>I have saved up enough money to pay for my first year and to support myself during this fall semester without working. I plan to point out the risk and sacrifice that I am taking/making in my personal essay.</p>

<p>How much will UCB truly consider my work experience?</p>

<p>Does it really matter that I will have my associates degree in poli sci?</p>

<p>To what extent age will play a factor?</p>

<p>Thanks everyone!</p>

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<p>Thanks for joining the site, buddy. </p>

<p>Any else wanna weigh in on his chances? Advice?</p>

<p>HE WANTS CAL!!</p>

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<p>Write about your work experiences–it shows your maturity. I think mentioning how you helped support your mom after her health issues forced her to retire is also compelling. Put the adcom essay reader immediately into your plight in the essay: 18 years old, mother is sick, she is going to lose her home–you could bail or you could support her and you chose the latter. Then expand on the work you did and the <em>dreams</em> that were on hold butthat you knew you’d someday pursue (college, etc.)</p>

<p>Your GPA shows that you are smart enough to handle academic work at any of the UCs. At this point I believe it is about making sure you hook the reader to give you that bump since your GPA is not very competitive. Be sure to state if your 3.5 you carried as of start of Fall 2010 is while working full-time, that is a definite bonus and puts your GPA into better context.</p>

<p>I think you are a probable admit… but be sure to scope out your safety school/s.</p>

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<p>Update 3/20/11: Hungry4UCB was TAP certified from CCSF. The TAP program should help with UCLA, hopefully making him a shoe-in. He is still waiting on acceptance letters to roll in.</p>

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<p>What are my chances as a poli sci major?</p>

<p>3.8 GPA
No ec’s except for hs sports
5/10 essay
Pre-reqs completed</p>