Chance me as a community college student aiming for top 25s [CA resident, 3.92 college GPA, 3.3 HS GPA, public health or sociology]

Chance Me / Match Me
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Hi! I’m hoping to get some honest feedback on my chances as a transfer student, especially given my weak academic record

intended major: public health / sociology, planning on getting MPH

demographics: black, female, middle class, first gen american (my parents are immigrants but they both went to college in my native country, so im not a first gen college student)

academic background:

  • high school GPA: 3.3 UW / 3.7 W

  • my hs GPA was brought down significantly by C’s in math and in college my 2 B’s were in Calc and Gen Chem 1

  • took no AP tests nor did I take the SAT/ACT (planning on taking SAT in December for private schools)

  • community college GPA: 3.92

  • biggest concern is my 3 W’s on my community college transcript

Extracurriculars / activities:

  • founded a health equity-focused club on campus (we did BP screenings at a local shelter, made womens health kits for DV shelters, mental health event on campus, food drive)

  • Main EC: I’m currently transforming the idea behind that club into a student-led non-profit built around the idea that students should be empowered to create change in the public-health landscape within their communities. I’ve completed the paperwork and created a website, but theres still a lot more work that needs to go into it. it also has one additional chapter on another campus besides the one at my own school so im excited to see where it goes in the next few months

  • Worked with a professor on research focused on tobacco use/health equity. this led to me getting into a competitive physician mentored tobacco/health equity research program (~2% rate)

  • Research presenter at public health conference through the research i did, im working on publishing a paper with the professor i work with soon.

  • I have a leadership role within a healthcare access nonprofit focused on health literacy, i mainly work in marketing

  • Community outreach summer internship at a community clinic through an internship program at my school that was kinda competitive (~10% rate) I helped develop materials for health week that focused on providing free health services and other resources for homeless and low-income communities

  • I had a certified medical assistant job for about a year, and then i got offered a role at the same community clinic i interned at so now im a medical assistant there (ill put both jobs on my app)

  • Cardio-oncology research internship last year which was mostly just literature review

  • Independent research project on sleep deprivation in college students and its effects on health, with a research presentation at my school

  • Tutor/mentor for unstably housed students

  • Hospital volunteering last year

  • im in the Honors program and on Dean’s List

  • BLS/CPR and CCMA certifications

My main focus for this semester is getting my community college GPA as strong as possible and continuing to grow my nonprofit.

I know the high school GPA and 3 W’s are horrible and that my school list is pretty unrealistic but I wanted to give it a shot especially since i didnt really apply to much schools during high school (i was pretty much set on cc)

Schools I’m considering: UC Berkeley, UCSB, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UCLA, UCSD, UC Riverside, USC, Cornell, Columbia, Yale, Brown, UPenn, Dartmouth, Stanford, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Vanderbilt, UMich, Notre Dame, Emory, Georgetown, UNC Chapel Hill, NYU, San Diego State

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State of residency?

Cost constraints, if any? If there are cost constraints, have you and your parents checked the net price calculator on each college?

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Transfers by major | University of California can help you see how your college GPA stands at various UCs for your major.

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I think many schools will be hard as they won’t necessarily have an established path. But in CA you’ll have an established path to UC/CSU - assuming you are there.

I think for an MPH, you’ll be fine no matter where you attend.

Talk to your cc counselor. They’ll have a good idea. And yes make sure the NPCs work if you have budget constraints.

But a Yale, as an example, accepted 45 of 1747. Brown 154 of 306.

If you are transferring as a Junior, no need to test. If as a soph, your hs record will count and likely preclude you. I’d wait til Junior year. And yes 3 WDs are too many so you might add a true safety school. Just in case because while your background seems great, there are holes and you never know. Do you have a 100% certain acceptance ?

Best of luck. You sound wonderful.

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The reach schools often have very few slots for transfers. And few give FA to transfers. And as your parents attended college elsewhere, very few would consider you first generation. Are you going to try to transfer as a sophomore or junior?

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california, so i have the best shot at the ucs but i also wanted to try my luck at the privates as well

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uc riverside is probably 100% certain acceptance, its transfer rate is very high for cali community colleges students besides that i will TAG (transfer admission guarantee) to UCI so i have a couple of certain acceptances and the rest we’ll see how it goes

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im transfering as a junior

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my parents have not checked the net price calculator for each college though but ill have them do that

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@Gumbymom can give you more information. And she knows the costs as well. Are you Calgrant eligible?

Have your parents told you how much they will contribute to you college costs once you transfer?

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As a Junior level transfer, your HS record will not be considered by the UC’s for admission purposes. I cannot comment on the other schools on your list, but in general the more college courses/grades under your belt, the less your HS academic profile matters. As a California CC student, you have transfer priority for the UC’s. @ucbalumnus has posted the 2025 Transfer GPA by major information (most recent published information) to give you an idea of where you stand with your GPA.

You are a solid applicant and have a chance for an acceptance at all the UC’s listed. Unless you have a significant amount of W’s on your college transcript, the UC’s will not care.

For financial aid, definitely run the NPC’s: Estimate your aid | UC Admissions

Best of luck.

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In my opinion…get your bachelors degree at one of the CA public universities…it sounds like you have a good chance of acceptance at those.

Save your money and application time for your master’s MPH program at one of the reach schools. Get fabulous grades and finish off your undergrad with a fine record. You likely will need an MPH anyway to work in the public health field…and where you get that degree will matter more than your undergrad one…in my opinion.

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I think you need to use the NPCs on your list to make sure they are affordable.

If you have a safety, and it appears you do, you are good to go.

The OOS cap will not apply to you at UNC, as you are applying as a junior. That being said, it will still be very competitive. I would try to address the W’s. They will view your application holistically, but if you have an upward trend and an explanation for the W’s (health, family emergency, etc), that will add context.

Public health is a very competitive major at UNC, requiring a separate application and interview process. They will not accept everybody, and having a backup major in sociology is a good idea. This does not mean you won’t get in.

I actually think that staying in-state for undergrad and applying to desired MPH programs is a good plan.

You sound great. Best wishes!

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Columbia requires the SAT for transfer. I’m surprised.

You might ask though as a Junior if they want. Their info says you need at least 24 credits. You might review or ask each b4 taking it.

And yes run the NPCs first. Don’t apply where you can’t afford and given an MPH will be in your horizon, I’d save your money unless your folks can afford both - then choose where you want to go. Of course, those others can be cheaper with need aid.

Glad you have UCR and UCI in the bag. Both fine schools so the rest is up to you - where and how many to apply to.

Best of luck.

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This will be a concern if a college starts asking questions about them during transcript(s) & credit evaluation. You could be seen as a potential high risk of not graduating on time from the senior college. Some colleges distinguish between official withdrawals, ‘OW,’ & unofficial withdrawals, ‘UW’ & situations like withdraw-passing, ‘WP,’ or withdraw-failing, ‘WF’. Others don’t make such distinctions.

What may also matter is when, how, & in what subjects you received these three "W"s, were they all in the same term, across two terms, three different terms, earlier or later in your community college tenure.

I’ve heard several times in the past the myth of withdrawal grades being viewed the same as failing grades. Nonsense! 3 “W” grades is not equivalent to 3 “F” grades, though 3 “WF” grades would be.

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I might be misunderstanding when you say i wont graduate on time but I’m taking a lot of courses across 2 differrent community colleges (because the max at my school is 18 units) so I’ll have more then enough to transfer/graduate. the W’s are in math and one in chem cus im not a huge STEM person.

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They will be able to pay for UCs and SDSU however privates will probably need scholarships/financial aid

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Keep in mind that public health is going to have classes in math and science.

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Yes. That might be why the student said or sociology. Some, like UCR, have a different major like Global and Community Heakth which appears less Stem-Y.

@malece20 make sure you study curriculums b4 choosing a major. But that could also impact your grad school plans or ultimate career goal.

Personally, I wouldn’t want an undergrad degree in one of these type majors. If grad school doesn’t happen, and there’s a cost there too, finding a job may be difficult.

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Let me make it clear: I am in no way indicating or suggesting that you are high risk of not graduating. I am not the one who will be evaluating your college applications. However, more competitive colleges may want to know more information about the three "W"s. I’d refrain from stating “I’m not a huge STEM person” as the reason, especially on an application. That’s too vague. No interest in chemistry or no interest in engineering is more specific, some part of STEM unrelated to public health or sociology, which both rely heavily on probability & statistics.

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