Please guide me 🙏 I don’t know what to do!

Transfer Students
1

Hello,

I’m a rising freshman econ major at UIUC from Arizona. Due to non-extenuating circumstances I won’t get into, I had an awful first semester and got the following grades:

Business 101 B+, Intro to Macroeconomics B, Into to Anthropology B-, Calculus 1 D, Intro to Astronomy D-

Currently I’m taking intro to microeconomics, finance 101, classics 101, and retaking astronomy (for a grade replacement), and have an A in every class. I wasn’t a great student in high school (so my HS gpa is awful), and only got into UIUC by sheer miracle, but I’m definitely finally beginning to take my education more seriously now. While UIUC is a great school, I hate the environment here (was pretty much forced to go by my parents, though even they’ve realized their mistake), the lack of finance/economics clubs, activities, and great career opportunities, and most importantly, UIUC is quite restrictive when it comes to upper-level classes, so I won’t be able to take any higher finance or finance/econ-related data science/CS courses I really want.

I’m really hopefully hoping to go back West and my top choices are UCLA, USC, and CMC along with a few other UCs and schools around the country. I feel really awful about seemingly blowing my transfer chances because of my first semester, and have lost almost all hope. Having to possibly be at a place I quite strongly dislike for four years seems incredibly daunting and weighs on me at times, and the worst part is that it’s all my fault. Do I have any chance of transferring to a place not ranked significantly lower than UIUC? Where would you recommend I try applying? Assuming I continue to perform well, are there any universities that allow junior Spring semester transfers to graduate in 3 semesters?

2

I think you DO know what to do!

You need to finish this semester strong, to demonstrate to any adcom who reads your application that you experienced a bump in your transition to college but that you’re on your way to a successful college experience. You need to ignore the rankings- because maybe you’ll get into a similarly ranked college, or maybe not, but if you don’t want to stay where you are, the ranking doesn’t matter, right? You need to figure out if the lack of finance/business clubs is an actual issue (I’ve been hiring for large corporations for over 30 years and have NEVER heard during a decision meeting “We need to hire her, look, she was in a business club!”) or just something you’ve belatedly decided is relevant, etc.

So you know what to do. If you want to move Westward, don’t get distracted by “schools around the country”. Work with your parents to figure out your budget and focus on schools in your desired geography.

Good luck.

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First of all, forget about rankings. Rankings do not say anything about whether any particular university is going to be a good fit for you. There are hundreds of very good universities in the US where you can get an excellent education. Rankings are good for selling magazines.

Also, if you want to transfer out of UIUC, then I would recommend applying to in-state schools, most likely including U.Arizona and Arizona State.

And you should try very hard and put in a consistent strong effort to do well in your current semester of university.

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I think you need to continue to focus on your grades and figure out your finances before you place emphasis on transfer targets.

The UC’s are going to be expensive, competitive and rapid. You need to have 60 transferable units in order to transfer.

A transfer from another university is on the low priority for admission.

Priority goes to Freshman and community college applicants from California.

Next in line, are other California universities, then finally, out of the state transfers.

Remember that the UC’s are funded by the State of California so their priority will go to instate residents.
Expect to pay $70,000 per year for the UC’s. Financial aid is extremely limited for transfer students. You’ll be paying full fees.
USC will run about $90,000 a year.

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Sorry to hear of your troubles. Finish strongly.

I don’t know what your grades were in hs - you said not good. So - you’re unlikely for a UC (maybe some of the easier ones) SC or CMC. In other words, if you weren’t getting in out of high school, you won’t now.

Define rank - because you can go to U of A or ASU and your outcome will be little different than UIUC. A large state flagship is a state flagship is a state flagship.

So you’re putting way too much focus on rank.

I think it’s like a year ago - you look at budget (what can you afford - can you afford the $75K+ UCs) and where your stats (including SAT for the non CA publics) can get you into.

Would I worry about UIUC vs. Oregon or Arizona, etc.

Not one iota - not last or this year. You’ve struggled - so you need to get into a good spot - and perhaps that includes going home and going to a CC for a year to get yourself reset - to where you hs record will matter less.

You know, I get why you don’t like UIUC but you’ve struggled - so i don’t think high level classes should be your concern when you aren’t doing well in the intro classes - just being honest.

Finding a school you feel comfortable at, forgetting what a magazine or website says, is all that should matter.

That said, you’ve not blown anything - but you do need to focus on the place you can excel, not one US News says is better.

It’s econ - short of a few schools and you weren’t at one of them - the where isn’t going to matter.

PS - are you sure another large school is what you want - you mention UCs and USC but also CMC - so first figure out, what kind of school and environment do you really want rather than throwing out names.

Your issue may be one of size or environment, beyond what you mentioned.

Best of luck.

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Do you think I’ll have any shot at UCSD or UCSB?

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Have you considered schools like Santa Clara or San Diego?

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Depends on your high school record.

But by what you write, no.

But what I think doesn’t matter.

OMG - there’s tons of great schools for you - and U Arizona or UIUC won’t make a bit of difference. Nor will UCSB or Arizona.

So think at that level. Oregon, Utah, Colorado State, etc.

But if you want something, go for it!!

But have something surely obtainable too - or take a year, go to a CC and set yourself up better.

But in your first year, you’ve showed that maybe college is too tough for you - so that and your HS record aren’t doing you favors.

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The UC’s accept Junior level transfers so a minimum of 60 semester/90 quarter units.

As stated, as an OOS transfer you have low priority for the UC transfer process.

Both UCSB and UCSD have around a campus admit rate of 25% for OOS transfer vs. 65% for California residents.

One of the main issues is that the UC’s do not have specific course articulation agreements with OOS universities so you would need to try to match the required transfer courses at each campus to the courses you are currently taking at UIUC. Also the cost of attendance as an OOS Transfer is around $76K+/year with no financial aid.

For both UCSD and UCSB successful Econ transfers had GPA’s in the 3.6-4.00 range. UCSD Transfer admit rate for Economics is between 25-30% and UCSB Economics is around 20%.

You have been given good advice by other posters. Good luck.

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10

Agree that this will be another issue for you. You will lose credits if the UC’s don’t accept some of your coursework. Their course descriptions are very specific. I’ve had students from other universities, who are in the same counties, where the local UC will not accept certain courses.
Everyone is vying for exceptional grades, in a quarter system.

Because you are in a semester system, it will be a tough transition to 10 week courses. The high schools in California, mostly transitioned to a “quarter type system” years ago to acclimate their students to the rapid rate of the UCs. Will you be prepared for that?

Your previous posts indicate that you were originally applying to schools that had “magazine rankings”. Other posters here have indicated schools that may work better for you. No one cares what university you attend as long as you have a diploma.

The UC‘s are extremely competitive, not only for grades, but also for courses. They are obligated to prioritize, in-state residents and California community college transfers. Plus, any available internships may be limited to you because of your history of grades. Employers do ask for transcripts.

California will gladly accept your money at full fees, but there is so much pressure by the taxpaying residents of California to have their children attend California public universities, that the State is obligated to its residents.
I would suggest that you stop looking at rankings and focus on the current school and your grades and developing relationships with your peers and professors. You’re going to need letters of recommendation from your professors and if you don’t like your school, and you don’t like your professors, those LORs are not going to happen.