<p>Hey everyone, I’ll try to keep this short and to the point. I went to NYU for the Fall 2010 semester, but due to financial hardships, my family and I decided it would be best to avoid the tens of thousands of dollars in loans, come back home, enroll in CC, and try to transfer to Berkeley or UCLA. The following is my academic record:</p>
<p>NYU FALL 2010
Class 1: A
Class 2: B+
Class 3: B+
Class 4: C+
GPA: 3.225</p>
<p>CC SPRING 2011
Class 1: A
Class 2: A
Class 3: A
Class 4: A
GPA: 4.0</p>
<p>CC SUMMER 2011
Class 1: In Progress
Class 2: In Progress</p>
<p>CC FALL 2011
20 credits planned (17 credits will be Honors courses)</p>
<p>CC SPRING 2012
15 credits planned (12 credits will be Honors courses)</p>
<p>As you can see, my grades at NYU weren’t stellar due to the transition to college life, especially adjusting to NYC, meeting new people, and just generally slacking off while enjoying my first semester in the “greatest city in the world.” </p>
<p>Questions:
I will most likely ace my two summer classes and plan to work hard to maintain my 4.0 this fall as well. Is this a notable grade trend that UCs look for? In other words, will my CC grades potentially “override” my mediocre grades at NYU (particularly that ugly C+)? </p>
<ul>
<li>How do they calculate the UC transfer GPA, especially when you have coursework from another institution? NYU has a +/- system while my CC does not; will my NYU GPA be factored into my transfer GPA?</li>
</ul>
<p>Transferrable NYU classes will be factored into your GPA when evaluating your application. You can’t know for sure which classes will transfer, but the rule of thumb is to check UCLA and Cal’s catalog. If they offer a similar class, chances are the classes (and grades) will transfer. UCLA did not use my +/- grades, even though I included them on the application. I thought they were supposed to, but they didn’t for me.</p>
<p>What’s your major? That’s going to be key. In some of the less popular majors a straight 3.2 has a shot at admission.</p>
<p>You’ll be applying in Fall of 2011, which means the UCs will see the Fall grades (but not the Spring grades). If you get straight A’s at CCC, that’ll obviously look good. UCLA and Cal both apparently look for an upward trend. However, NYU is a good school, and that’ll be in the back of their minds. Are you able to do well at a community college, but not at a university? Be prepared to discuss the reasons for your troubles in your application.</p>
<p>Check out my stats in the various decision threads. Long story short, I had crap grades (1 year of 2.0) at an unknown, tiny liberal arts college, followed by 61 straight units at CCC with a 3.95 (all of which were seen by the UCs–I didn’t take any classes this spring). My cumulative GPA was 3.4ish, but the ones that killed my GPA were pretty quirky.</p>
<p>I was rejected from UCLA as a political science major with TAP, but accepted to Cal as a spring admit. </p>
<p>Anyway, depending on your major (you have no shot for Haas or UCLA BizEcon, sorry), you could have a good chance.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply. Hmm just curious, what makes you say I have no shot for Haas or UCLA BizEcon (which is what I am applying for)? I feel like you came to that conclusion without the whole picture (extracurriculars, work experience, etc.):</p>
<ul>
<li>With my NYU grades factored in and assuming I maintain my 4.0 at CC, I should have a cumulative GPA of 3.76 by the end of Fall 2011, which I know is below the average admitted transfer GPA for Haas but still within the 25-75% range (hopefully my work experience, ECs, and essays make up for it though)</li>
<li>Currently working at a boutique investment bank as a mergers & acquisitions analyst intern</li>
<li>Previous work experience: risk management intern at a securities firm in NYC during the school semester; wealth management intern at a west coast bulge bracket last summer</li>
<li>Currently Treasurer of my CC’s Honors Program Student Advisory Council</li>
<li>Currently serving as an officer of Phi Theta Kappa at CC</li>
<li>Was VP Finance of Delta Sigma Pi business fraternity at NYU Stern</li>
<li>Won a couple NYU Stern case competitions</li>
<li>Received the NYU Stern Trustee Scholarship ($10,000/year for 4 years… still wasn’t enough :[)</li>
<li>National Merit Scholar/Finalist</li>
</ul>
<p>I’m not trying to brag or anything, but rather I’m trying to gauge my chances of getting accepted to Haas or UCLA BizEcon. I’ve done my fair share of research and know how competitive admissions are for these two particular programs, but I’m hoping your answer (“no shot”) changes after seeing the entire picture of my academic/scholastic profile.</p>
<p>“No shot” was exaggeration. You always have a chance of admission. That said, Haas and UCLA BizEcon are more GPA-oriented than other majors, and they’re debatably each school’s most competitive major.</p>
<p>You have some strong ECs obviously, but those would help more with other majors (i.e., even though they’re related to your major, ECs matter less in general for your major).</p>
<p>If you have TAP, you’ll get your second choice major (as long as its prerequisites are complete), and you do have a chance at your first choice–I’d say 10-20%.</p>