Match Me / Maybe Chance Me - Current 4.0 CC Student With a Terrible Academic History [VA resident, computer science]

Chance Me / Match Me
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Hi all! It’s too early for me to apply to transfer since I want to actually earn my Associate’s first, but I’m looking for input on possible matches just to get a start on things. Areas I’m interested in are New England, the Mid-Atlantic, Illinois, and the Pacific Northwest. Maybe Colorado. I’d really like to go to a school with a strong CS program, but it doesn’t need to be T20 by any means.

Demographics

  • US citizen
  • State/Location of residency: Virginia
  • Type of high school (or current college for transfers): Community college
  • Other special factors: Nonbinary. Attempted college over five years ago but ultimately flunked out due to undiagnosed ADHD and mental health issues.

Cost Constraints / Budget

  • I’ll be relying on financial aid. It should help that I’m not a dependent, at least.

Intended Major(s)

  • Computer Science (preferably general or theory)

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: I don’t know this offhand.
  • Weighted HS GPA: It was above a 4.0, but I don’t remember the exact number
  • College GPA: 4.0 (for now - I still have to take calc 2 and my sciences)
  • Class Rank: Unknown
  • ACT/SAT Scores: N/A

List your HS coursework

I’m skipping this section because I really don’t think it matters at this point.

College Coursework (Transfer Applicants)

From my current school, this is where I’m at:

  • General education course work: College comp 1, a couple of art courses, a geography class
  • Major preparation course work: Calc 1, intro to CS
  • Three of these classes are in progress, and all of them look like they’ll be As. After next semester, I’ll have all of my major prep courses done except for discrete mathematics.

Like I said, I’m asking about this early and I know it - I want to make sure I’m prepared so as I’m slogging through my fall 2025 semester I can focus on my coursework and not worry about which schools to apply to.

I have a bunch of other classes from my first attempt at college as well, but the bulk of those probably won’t be used for credit at my future university.

Extracurriculars
I’m a member of PTK, and I’m the president of two clubs at my school.

Essays/LORs/Other

I don’t currently have any of these, but I’m a strong writer and I have a very good relationship with a number of my previous professors, so I’m not worried about getting a good LOR.

Schools
I’m mostly be here to be matched, not chanced, but these are some schools I’m currently considering, and I wouldn’t mind input on them. I’d have to check my school’s transfer agreements for ODU and VT, but I know I won’t fulfill W&M’s unless I sacrifice the additional math and science courses I’m planning, so into ‘likely’ it goes.

  • Extremely Likely: Old Dominion University
  • Likely: W&M (I know for a fact W&M will only consider my most recent two years, so unless I start to get a lot of Bs I’m going to consider myself pretty safe)
  • Toss-up: Virginia Tech, WPI
  • Stupid, But Let’s Live a Little: University of Chicago

Thank you!

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The financial aid for transfers is very limited. I would suggest that you go to the website of the schools that interest you. Then fill out the net price calculator (NPC) that each school site has and see what kind of aid they may provide.

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Yeah, I suspected as much. I’m hoping my financial status will help me out there, but I’ll definitely do that, thank you!

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Out of all possible elite reach schools, why UChicago?
If the Net Price Calculator shows that Chicago would be affordable for you, then there are probably additional options for you in the full-need-met private category. Conversely, if Chicago is unaffordable, then there’s no point in applying.

WPI doesn’t meet full need, and given relatively limited merit aid for transfers, it seems optimistic to think it’ll work financially, but again run the NPC and see.

In-state, why not George Mason, James Madison, VCU, and UVA?

The great likelihood is that an in-state public will be your best option; luckily, there are many good ones in Virginia. How do those financial aid projections look? Is one of the four-year schools commutable for you?

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I’m interested in quarters as opposed to semesters, and I like that a foreign language is required as part of their general education. My original list doesn’t take any NPC results into account.

WPI does give out a scholarship to PTK members, so I’ve given it a lot of latitude here, although I do still need to check the NPC.

I’m not going to be able to get into UVA’s CS program with the courses I’ll have completed by the time I finish at my community college. George Mason was the school I originally attended, so it’s possible they’d take me again, but I might’ve burned that bridge. I don’t think VCU is a good fit for me, and I don’t think I need a second safety school in Virginia if I’m applying to ODU. I could look at JMU, but honestly it’s a little too close to home, so I’d rather not go there if I don’t have to.

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Update: I ran the NPC for UChicago and in the fantasy world where I get in, it would be incredibly affordable. WPI is entirely unreasonable, even taking into account the very generous PTK scholarship.

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Why would William and Mary not consider your entire college academic record?

In addition, have you looked into whether the VCCS’ guaranteed transfer agreements with VA colleges consider college courses taken prior to earning an associate’s degree? Or is completing an associate’s at a VA CC (and meeting the guaranteed transfer requirements) all that is necessary?

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When I spoke to the transfer admissions officer about it, she told me it’d just be the two most recent years. I do have a gap of over five years between my prior school and community college, so for my particular situation, that might be why.

I haven’t looked into all of the transfer agreements, just W&M and maybe Tech’s, but my understanding is that it’s necessary, although some schools have more specific course requirements they need to see fulfilled. For example, W&M has a writing intensive requirement that would probably require me to take advanced composition or a lit course. Admittedly I could stand to learn more about it on the whole, but it seems like going that route would lock me into a school, and I’d really rather consider my options instead.

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Have you met with the transfer advisor at your current institution? Do that before you invest hours on the internet. Get a handle on where kids with records like yours have gone; get perspective on the financial angle (there may be sources of funds out there you don’t know about for in-state students in STEM who agree to stay instate after graduating); verify that the courses you think fulfill an institutions requirements actually do.

I know it shouldn’t be complicated, but it is. I know kids who have applied to transfer who discover belatedly that the statistics class they aced won’t “count” for their new institution/major. (not staying this is you- just an example). So the CC stats course they took which is appropriate for a marketing major will not “count” for the new major- and they can’t use it for Gen Ed credit since the four year won’t give credit for the same overall content twice.

I know it’s crazy, but I’ve seen this happen with all sorts of majors. Students take the “wrong” bio, the “wrong” stats, the “wrong” psych. There are gradations of rigor in many subjects and you need to make sure that your assumptions are correct because needing to pay for an extra year or semester is going to mess up your financial plan.

Are you getting Pell now and how many semesters are left?

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Not yet, but I plan to, and you’ve given me some great specifics to ask about !

But yeah, this is the exact reason I’m planning to take calc 3 or linear algebra instead of stats, because in the research I’ve done (I like spending hours on the internet looking this stuff up and so I’ve already spent a lot of time on it, haha) I’ve noticed there’s a lot of variation in stats classes among four-year CS programs. I’m honestly already mentally prepared for the fact that I might be stuck spending an extra year in school because of it.

I am getting Pell right now, but I’m not sure how many semesters are left, just because I don’t remember my financial aid situation from my last institution. I know I at least have it through the Spring 2025 semester. This is part of why I’m eyeing some private schools - I don’t think it’s likely for me to get into the ones that provide incredible financial aid, but if I do, I’m going to be a lot safer financially than even if I go to an in-state school.

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Please please please meet with a real live human being and don’t rely on your love of internet research! You need to find out how much Pell is left; you need to make sure that the credits you think are transferring will actually transfer; you need to make sure you have a viable financial plan to cover the entire Bachelor’s degree.

Every institution has its own rules about how many semesters/credit hours at their institution you need to complete in order to earn a degree. And then every department sets its own rules about what counts as credit towards the major, and what only counts as Gen Ed, and what does not count at all.

It is so sad when students discover that their calculations were off. I know a case recently where a kid learned that the English class they’d taken at the CC (which they assumed would get them out of the Freshman English requirement at the four year institution) not only didn’t do that- it didn’t count for credit at all. The course number matched up what the CC system claimed was remedial (even though the title of the class, the syllabus, etc. never mentioned that) and the four year university’s policy was that remedial course work didn’t count towards your course count.

Please make an appointment today!!!

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blossom, thank you for your concern; I’m going to be okay. I’m going to do my due diligence and make the necessary calculations before I pursue a Bachelor’s, I promise!

I’m acutely aware of transfer credit issue, since I’ve heard VCU literally makes VCCS art student transfers retake all of their art courses. I will make sure to look more into it and understand the situation for each of the schools I’m planning to apply to as well as I can, and as I said, I will make an appointment to speak to someone about all this.

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What was your first college gpa?

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I don’t know the number offhand, but it was bad. I’m in a situation where I’m going to have to contact the schools I’m interested in to make sure they’re primarily concerned with my current GPA. Since the gap is over five years, I do think some schools will give me some latitude there, but I definitely have to reach out to admissions and make sure my application wouldn’t be discarded immediately.

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I predict that your instate public U’s will look favorably on your current performance. Their mission is to provide higher education to its citizens-- and you seem to be a highly motivated and studious citizen who really wants an education!

The picture gets murkier with private U’s… not that you are any less of a fantastic person and student, just that they have other stakeholders…

Good luck!

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I agree. The universities have invested time and money into their students and really do want them to succeed.

One of the primary reasons I always suggest that you meet with a real human is because they will put a face to the applications and they go to bat for you if you are willing to go to bat for yourself.

Once they see how much you are invested in completing your education, they will submit the “paperwork” and help to guide you to your “destination”.
Good luck!

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I’m just doing my best. Thank you for your help and support! :slight_smile:

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This is an excellent suggestion. I was thinking about re-touring the VA schools I’m interested in anyway, so maybe I can do that on the same trip(s). We’re also having a transfer fair pretty soon at my school, so hopefully I’ll be able to meet some admissions officers then!

Thank you so much for all your advice!

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Which schools does your community college have a transfer agreement with? That’s where you’re probably going. You get up to 12 semesters (6 years) of Pell grant eligibility - I don’t know how the quarter system would affect that, and I don’t know how many semesters of Pell you’ve already received, if any, or how much you’ve borrowed of the federal money you’re allowed to borrow for undergrad.

How far along are you? It sounds as if you have finished only 3 classes, and are currently taking three classes. That’s not very far along, but it’s fantastic that you’re on track, and doing well. Keep it up and you will be able to transfer to a decent college, and get your degree.

Rather than dream about which prestigious college you’re going to transfer to a year and a half from now with your hypothetical 4.0 associate’s from community college, better to focus on current academics, and on exploring the transfer agreements that your community college has with the VA public colleges, and plan your coursework to satisfy those requirements.

It is extremely unlikely that you would be accepted to a prestigious out of state school at all, even with a 4.0 from community college (if that’s what you wind up with), let alone with enough fin aid that you’d be able to afford it. Focus on the plan to transfer to the transfer agreement public U’s in VA - there are some very good ones, like VT, UVa, William and Mary, and George Mason. Hopefully, your community college has a transfer agreement with at least one of them, and hopefully you still have Pell grant money remaining, and are still eligible for federal loans.

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My school has transfer agreements with pretty much all of the big-name public institutions in the state, and skimming the page I see at least two private schools as well. And those are valid questions regarding Pell, but those are all things I can find out.

I’ve actually finished four (excluding a required college success skills course) – I forgot to list precalc with trig in there and it wouldn’t let me edit it in. But that’s a five credit course since it’s both semesters of precalc shunted into a single semester, so I’m a bit further along than it appears. Like I said, I’m getting started early just so this becomes something I don’t have to worry about later!

I’m doing both! William and Mary is already on my list. VT and ODU are there as well. I reserve the right to have at least one ridiculous dream school on my list. I’m capable of balancing that with practicality, especially since I’m motivated by ambition to meet the requirements of that school. As implied in my original post, I don’t actually expect to have a 4.0 by the end of my time at my school, but I think having a reason to push for it is a really good thing for me as long as I don’t get swept up in it, especially since it will help my chances at other schools.

A couple of people have recommended that I look at the transfer agreements, and at this point I have. There are schools I can enter in an agreement for a guaranteed transfer. My problem with that route is this: if I enter that agreement, my understanding is that I’m locked into that school. I don’t have the opportunity to compare my financial aid offer to that of another school, then I don’t have enough information to be making the best decision for myself. There is a $1000 yearly renewable scholarship for VCCS students who make a guaranteed transfer, but in the long run, that’s not a significant enough scholarship that I’m comfortable signing onto a school without an actual financial aid offer. For that reason, I’d kind of just prefer to use my remaining electives to take classes that are more widely applicable for a computer science transfer than ones demanded by a specific college for a guaranteed transfer.