I was accepted as a transfer to UC Berkeley this fall as a Chemical Biology major and just found out my admission was cancelled due to breaking one of the conditions of admission I was given. I guess I'm writing this partly so anyone who reads this in the future can avoid making the same mistakes I did, but part of me is also writing it to see if any of you feel this situation is as unfair as I do.
Last semester (Spring 2015) I signed up for 4 difficult courses: Organic Chemistry II, Calculus III, Differential Equations, and the second semester of Calculus-based Physics (E&M). I did all of this while working two part time jobs. At the time, my rationale for taking such a heavy courseload while working was that Differential Equations wasn't a required course for two of the schools I applied to (UC Davis and UCLA); as well as the fact that I would have to retake it's equivalent course at UCB if I was accepted, regardless of the grade I received in the course at my CC. This is because DE and Linear Algebra are a single combined course at UCB, while they are split up at my CC. I knew I wouldn't be able to finish both courses in time many semesters ago, it's just the way my schedule worked out. So the ONLY reason I was even taking this course in the first place was so that I would be exposed to half of the material in Berkeley's Math 54 course prior to taking it. I also decided at the beginning of the semsester that if I couldn't handle the workload I would just drop DE and hope UCB didn't care.
However, as the semester progressed I was managing my time well and my grades were solid. Halfway through the semester my grade in Differential Equations was an 89, so I figured there shouldn't be a problem and let the drop deadline pass. This turned out to be a huge mistake, because soon after the drop deadline passed my mom (who is an alcoholic) decided to relapse at an incredibly inopportune moment, leaving me to drive my little sister to her job and school, which cut into my already impacted study time significantly. I immediately requested more time off from both of my jobs, but one of them was a retail job which required two weeks notice for additional time off. During this 2-3 week period I was sleeping 3-5 hours most nights just to be able to keep up with my homework. My grades fell slightly in all 4 of my classes, but I made a concious choice to focus the least on DE, for the reasons I already stated. At this point in the semester I had already found out that I was accepted to UCLA, UCB. and UC Davis, and part of my UCB admission contract was that I had to get at least a B in all 4 of my classes, so I was trying my best to at least maintain my B's. As you can imagine things didn't turn out that way, and I ended up with a 78.6% in my DE class. At the time I was disappointed but still hopeful that UCB wouldn't cancel my admission, because I managed to get an A in my OChem class and still pulled out B's in Physics and Calc III. This meant my combined GPA for the term was still over 3.0, and the only condition I didn't meet was getting a B in the one course that I knew I would have to retake anyways.
I found out that I got a C on the morning of May 22. I sent my admissions officer an email in which the ONLY thing i said was that I got a C in that one class. My admissions officer emailed me back a week later saying he would forward my case to a committee who would decide whether or not to revoke my admission. I emailed him back asking if I would have an opportunity to explain the circumstances surrounding my failure to meet the condition. I also decided to SIR to UCB at this point because I didn't really feel like it was very likely that they would rescind me in this situation based on other experiences I had read about. My admissions officer never responded to my email asking If i was able to explain my situation, and the next email he sent me was the one notifying me that my admission had been cancelled. I was obviously very upset, but thought that since I hadn't had any opportunity to explain my situation that I would have that opportunity through some sort of appeals process. So I called undergraduate admissions, where they told me that there was no appeal process, and when I told them I hadn't had an opportunity to explain my situation they told me to get into contact with my admissions officer. And this is what I have been attempting to do for the past week, sending multiple emails and leaving voicemails on his machine. I even drove down to Berkeley and went to the undergraduate admissions office to try to find him there, but he was in meetings the entire day.
So now here I am, looking at a 5th year at my local CC after getting accepted to the top 2 UC's, and a GPA that took a huge hit for reasons mostly outside my control. I'll probably try to at least get a response from my admissions officer but I don't have high (or any) hopes at this point. If anyone has any suggestions I'd appreciate it.
So, I’m not sure what the mistakes were you feel you made. What would you have done differently?
I’m sorry. It sounds like a horrible bind. Is it too late to contact UCLA and UC Davis and see if their offers are still good? You might have better luck explaining situation to them and if there are still openings they might be sympathetic. Good luck and post an update should you hear from UCB.
Contact UCLA and Davis - and shorten your personal story to the essentials. I’d concentrate on the mom issues, not specifically driving time but emotional toll, and say you needed the 2 jobs for $.
Did UCLA or Davis have similar B requirements that you have violated or not ? Can you transfer in spring ?
I think Berkeley is not a good bet since they are looking for people who could have handled that course load.
I think the error was SIRing to Berkeley when you had not met their terms of attendance … if the other two options were available. And not walking out of the retail job … you are not indentured and your academic future is more important.
PickOne1-
I hadn’t even really considered contacting Davis or UCLA, thanks for the suggestion. Since DE wasn’t a a major req for either school i’m pretty sure I didn’t violate either of their admission contracts.
“I think Berkeley is not a good bet since they are looking for people who could have handled that course load.”
I felt at that time (and still feel) as though I was handling the courseload prior to the 2-3 week stretch I mentioned in my post. It’s also difficult to accept the idea that the when difference between “handling the courseload” and “not handling the courseload” comes down to less than 10 points in circumstances such as mine that they would still decide to cancel my admission.
I made a bunch of mistakes looking back on it, not quitting the retail job is definitely one of them. At the time my rationale was that I had been there over 2 years and was only a few months away from receiving a $1500 scholarship from the company, so I wanted to avoid quitting before that. I feel like the biggest mistake I made was taking DE that semester in the first place when my schedule was already busy enough. I also should have tried harder to get into contact with my admissions officer after he sent me the email saying that he sent my case in without the full story. If I could do it over, I would have just sent in the full story in the initial email letting him know that I didn’t meet one of the conditions. This is honestly the most frustrating part, because I feel like if I had been able to explain the situation fully I feel like there’s a good chance I wouldn’t have been rescinded. The ONLY information they even had to base the decision on was that I didn’t meet the condition.
Hi rescinded.
I’ve got nothing of true value to offer, but while I was expecting a sob story and “life is unfair,” this really does sound like a shi**y situation. Aside from the fact of what you went through was pretty rough, it’s just unfortunate that you don’t at least have a chance to illustrate to them what happened.
In the scheme of things, another year* certainly won’t hurt if you truly do want to go to Berkeley and I think this type of adversity can only strengthen your application and whatever your overall GPA is, you can boost it with some fluff classes and get anything else out of the way that still may need to be done. Either way, I feel for you and your family.
*I say this as someone who also has spent a considerable amount of time at a CCC. I’m spending another year at a CCC just for a couple required courses so I can apply for UCB, and I’ve been in a CCC for ages.
Yes, as horrible as it is, another year truly is not the end of the world. You will be applying next November.,
It does seem like you got the bad end of the deal. But I’m not sure why you can’t appeal. You should just appeal. Just do it.
It can’t hurt to appeal their decision.
After 5 years at a CC, it is time to move along. If they decline, see if you can transfer elsewhere in the Spring. Given the recent UC funding agreement, i wouldn’t be surprised to see several UCs accept TAG applications then.
Good luck.
If you intend on contacting UCLA or UCD, I would do so immediately, as your housing and orientation options might be severely limited if your readmitted.
Yeah I think that is unfair. They should at least hear your story, and it’s ridiculous that the admissions officer can’t return your emails. Good luck, I hope it works out.
@JustOneDad If you read the post he/she said the mistake was not dropping the class. Why does it matter if they would do anything differently?
NCalRent/Lindyk8: I called the undergraduate admissions office on monday and they told me flat out there is no appeals process in these cases. I tried to explain the situation to them and they told me to get in contact with my admissions officer. It seems like my only hope is to get my admissions officer to have my case reevaluated. Like I said before though I’m having a lot of trouble getting into contact with him… I’ve left several voicemails on his machine over the past few days and I sent him an email last tuesday (6/16) outlining my current situation. I’m not even sure if he’s going to respond at all at this point.
@rescinded Is your admissions officer Quincy Jones? That guy NEVER gets back to anyone in a timely manner. That alone is grounds to complain. You really need to be firm. Literally - send a letter to the dean. I’ve heard it works. I think everything in your story should be included. Someone said to leave stuff out. I think all of it is relevant. Number one, whoever told you you cannot appeal, I’ve never heard of such a thing. Based on the fact that your advisor did not respond in a timely manner meant you did not have the opportunity to SIR UCLA.
I think you have an extremely strong case. For God’s sake, where the humanity?
BTW, if he is Quincy jones, google his name in the UC transfer forum. His name is all over the place in terms of not responding. Include copies of them in your documentation.
Lindyk8: Yes, it is Quincy Jones. How would I go about sending a letter to the dean? I would honestly feel better if I could get ANYONE at UCB to consider what I have to say.
Pm me
Contact The other schools. Berkeley is not going to budge.
You don’t know that aunt bea. Why say that to someone? The admissions person who told him there was no appeal was a student answering the phone. Of course he should appeal. Why just give up?
@lindyk8: It doesn’t sound like Berkeley wants to try anything to help the OP; rather than wait out some entitled phone student at Berkeley, the OP should be proactive and quickly gauge his options at the other schools where he was admitted so that he has a backup.
If OP will only go to Berkeley, then he needs to fax something immediately with dates and paper trail, and acknowledge that UCB holds the cards. Is it fair? No, but OP has to react quickly.
I am assuming another year at the CC will not be beneficial to the OP.
The SIR deadline is way past. The admissions officer he had has a history of not responding. If he were my kid I’d say appeal. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t figure out a new possible plan. One does not preclude the other.
He is reacting quickly. He has his appeal letter completed.
I was looking for all the mistakes identified because that is usually the first step in formulating a plan that will prevent things like this from happening.
I would be happy in your situation. You definitely chose the wrong major.
Apply again but instead go for Chemical Engineering or some other type of engineering of your choice.
Be grateful because you just saved yourself from a huge mistake.