My school just completely changed their admission procedure. Now it’s “frowned” upon if you take a course in a major (before declaring it) and it will completely count against you if you do poorly. Which i understand, but it’s infuriating that they didn’t mention this beforehand.
My question is, is this a normal protocol for all schools? Shouldn’t they warn students/prevent students from taking upper division courses in a major if this was the case?
From your other thread, it looks like you want to major in accounting, which at your school requires a 3.4 college GPA, while you have a 2.6 college GPA: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/business-major/1989451-what-should-i-do.html
That the major requires a 3.4 college GPA to declare indicates that it is heavily oversubscribed, and all of its classes are likely to be full anyway. So they may want to keep non-majors out of the classes so that those in the major can take those classes. Seems like they should just give registration priority to declared majors before any others, though.
@ucbalumnus Just a follow up question. Is it “normal” for an average student to steer away from an upper division classes before s/he declares his/her major?
Meaning, if you were advising a college kid. Would you advise him/her to not take a upper division class before s/he gets into a major.
Just wondering if i did a stupid move and if i totally got the college procedure down backwards. I’m just totally confused now.
@ucbalumnus also, are you pretty familiar with the admission process??
Don’t take upper division classes. The only time that it’s very reasonable is if you major in general studies. Since you have options to take 1-2 200 or 300 courses
It really depends on the college (which you did not name) and major. It would be easier for others to help you if you name your college, and which course you have already taken.
What does the department web site say about how taking upper division courses affects whether you will be admitted to the major?
Fall 2014
Microecon— A
H. Program— A
Computer—A
Col. Alg—A-
Int. Writing—A
Spring 2015
Surv. Accounting—C-
Hon. Bus. Found----B-
H.Program----A
Quant. Anlys—D+
Busines Stat----B+
Fall 2015
Surv Acc----B+
Drawing—A
Princ. Bio----C-
Gen Chem----C-
Chem lab----A
Spring 2016
H. Princ. Accoun—B
Found CS—A-
IS—A-
Business Calc----A-
h. Human Behav.----B+
Summer 2016
H. Program Abroad—A
Fall 2016
Fin Acct I—E
Int. Acct—E
Man Acct I----E
Fin mana----C
Pro. Writing–A-
Spring 2017
Fin Acct I—E
Int Acctg----C
Man Acctg—E
Fin man—D-
Busines Law—E
Summer 2017** current semester, currently enrolled
Fin Acc
Man Acc
Fin Managment
@ucbalumnus
This is their updated criteria.
Admitted into the business school
B or higher in Survey Accounting
B or higher in a college algebra course
3.4 or higher University GPA
Even if a student meets the criteria above, we reserve the right to consider the following factors when making an admission decision:
Grades in upper division accounting classes
Amount of repeated courses
@ucbalumnus So i guess to recap. If you were on the admissions committee. how would you review my transcript (that’s all they get and a personal statement).
I do have personal issues for last year, but i never really addressed it to a counselor (so i don’t have any ‘evidence’ or ‘medical proof’, nor do i think i want to.
Are my chances really low? From their criteria, if i retake all my “E” and “D” classes, would it make up for it at all? (Better grades outweigh taking a course 3-4 times) or does it look really bad?
Even if you do make a 3.4 or higher GPA, it is likely that the negative effect of having repeated so many courses depends not just on your individual application, but on the overall volume of students attempting to get into the major. In other words, they will probably first admit those who meet all of the criteria without repeating courses. Then, you may be considered depending on how close to departmental capacity they major is. Be aware that if you have a history of needing to repeat courses, they will believe that you will consume more departmental capacity by needing to take some courses more than once, compared to a student who needs only one try for each course.
But if you want the actual answer specific to your situation, ask the department directly.
What does the “E” represent?
edit - E is a failed course? No, this is going in the wrong direction. It would have been better to not take courses while dealing with the issues, rather than fail the same ones again. Some serious reconsideration of the acct major is needed.
Maybe if you’re failing upper division courses you’re not aiming for the right major.
Maybe if you’re failing upper division courses you’re not aiming for the right major.