TAP program requirements (those accepted in please reply!)

Colleges & Universities University of California - Berkeley
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<p>Hello all,</p>

<p>I am currently a first year community college student attending in the San Francisco Bay Area. My community college is one of the listed ones that has the TAP (transfer alliance project) and starting point mentor ship program. There is a UCB representative named Merryl Owen who is visiting my campus on Wednesday the 5th and I’m going to do a drop-in with her to find out information about the requirements for the program. Yes, I’m aware that the TAP requirements are first-generation college students (none of my parents went past the equivalent of middle school while in Iran, I’m first member in immediately family living in the United States attending college) and low income (what income is considered “low?”). </p>

<p>In my immediate family consisting of parents and an older sibling (I’m 20 years old), I am the first in my family to attend a college (any college lol). My current community college is Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, California. What concerns me the most before I meet with the representative is what income bracket is considered “low.” I work one full time job and one seasonal part time job during the summers and holiday seasons in addition to full time enrollment (12+ units per semester) to support myself. Current household consists of my dad, older brother who is 26 years old and has no job, and me. Dad and I both work for a full-line Nordstrom store. Dad’s annual net pay is around $28,000 to $30,000 after taxes and loan payments are taken out of his payroll. Mine is around $15,000 to $18,000 depending on business demands (whether slow or picking up) and if I have to work a second job. We live in a two bed room apartment where total rent is $1,600 and I pay half of it each month on top of auto loan, credit cards, and more.</p>

<p>Before I meet with the rep, I plan to print copies of my past four months paystubs from Nordstrom and copies of my dad’s also. I also plan to show her my ed plan that I made with my counselor. One of my biggest concerns is the lack of extracurricular activities on my transcript for when the time comes to apply for transfers some time between 2016 or 2017 due to current socioeconomic factors.Employment obviously counts as extracurricular activity but how far can it take me? Right now I am trying to squeeze out as much time as I can to join at least ONE student club on my current campus (Persian club) and possibly another club next semester. </p>

<p>I went to high school at Northgate High in Walnut Creek, Ca. My English was not as developed and powerful as it is today after high school. While in high school, I had language barriers (native language is Farsi and second language before I learned English is Arabic) when it comes to AP and honors classes. Struggling with basic reading, writing, and oral communication with the English language.</p>

<p>The major I want to study is accounting & auditing. Haas is where I’d be applying on the campus. I had some friends that got accepted into Berkeley straight from high school, but they came from a wealthier family and didn’t have to work after schools and weekends like I did. During their free time, they all joined various student organizations on campus, volunteered, and did many other “activities” on top of athletics.</p>

<p>Current TAP students who got accepted into the program, what was your situation and circumstances like? What was your GPA and course loads like? I read that the TAP program has an 80%+ acceptance rate into Berkeley which is not guaranteed slot, but high chance of acceptance. I’m attempting to balance two jobs and full time school, but it’s getting harder each semester. Any input is appreciated! Main goal is school first and work second but it can always change.</p>

<p>Some background info about me:
-20 years old
-born in Tehran, Iran
-first language is Farsi, second language is Arabic, and third language is English
-high school in Walnut Creek, CA
-community college student at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, CA
-Current GPA right now is 2.2
-goal is Haas as an accounting major</p>

<p>Thanks </p>

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<p>You may be considered independent, with two adult roommates. I don’t know, but it is a question I would ask.</p>

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<p>My college’s definition of independent student is a student who is either; A) married, B)over 25 years old, or C)former armed forces veteran. Any other factors besides those three is considered dependent unfortunately, even if I lived alone. </p>

<p>I forgot to add this into my main post…</p>

<p>During my first semester (Fall 2013), I had enlisted for four classes which totaled to 14 units. Halfway through the semester, my parent’s went through a bitter divorce, we lost our house due to foreclosure, and I had to work two full time jobs while dropping out of school for the next six months until Spring 2014. My transcript has 3 W’s and one F :<</p>

<p>I spoke with a counselor and he said to get academic renewal on my F. I also retook one of the classes that I had a W in, replacing the withdrawal with a B.</p>

<p>Now I only have two W which I also plan to retake (math 120 and ct-110). Gpa is now 2.2 rounded, I got off of financial aid suspension, and after this semester finishes, I will be taken off of academic probation level two.</p>

<p>How screwed am I for Berkeley? lol</p>

<p>Think I’m wasting my time or still worth a shot to boost gpa and apply?</p>

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<p>You are in OK shape. You do need to move from ‘B’ to ‘A’ territory though, even if it means living on loans rather than working so many hours. Your GPA is fake in that it is so early on and your grades will literally replace, not be averaged in with, the F and W. You have a very excellent reason for your path, as well, and that will go a long way in holistic review.</p>

<p>Your future is leveraged on where you are when you graduate from undergraduate. Make sure you do the calculation of the NPV of accumulated earnings assuming different scenarios (no college, good college, so-so college) and act accordingly for the long term. It will require a lot of assumptions, but the exercise may help you to quantify or at least clarify your decision process and values. It will help you when you are confronted with hard choices. Right now, grades and CC involvement (honors program, etc.) are paramount. At least I think they are paramount- do the analysis and come to your own conclusion.</p>

<p>I would move in with some roommates. “Moving on” from the family crisis will be much more difficult while living in the same household as your Dad and Brother. It is too much of an emotional burden for you- you need to concentrate on yourself right now. You can visit for weekly dinner or lunches.</p>

<p>Remember, as always, this advice is worth what you pay for it. :)</p>

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<p>I don’t mind living off of loans if it means I could focus on studying only, however that is unfortunately possible. The COA at my community college is $11,400/year, which includes books, tuition fees, equipment such as computer(s), and such. For me, since I hail from a “low income” family, I qualified for a fee waiver called the BOG (Board of Governors) where the price per unit is dropped from the current $46/unit to literally $1/unit for me. I’ve only paid $35.00 for the past year of studying. Financial aid-wise, my pell grant’s median approved sum is between $2600-$3000. As for student loans, my federal subsidized and unsubsidized total cap is around $32,000-$33,000 for the entire duration of my undergraduate studies (federal cap for my bachelor’s degree is $33,000 ish). Anything beyond that, I have to take out a private student loan for god knows what interest rate(s). </p>

<p>Honestly, it is my deepest desire to not have to work and be employed, but I do not possess the luxury that others do. If I don’t have my job, I won’t have a roof over my head lol. My plan is to keep working at my current job until the time for transferring to another university has arrived (between 2016-2017 maybe, give or take a few months). Will definitely look into the NPV calculations, thank you for bringing it to my attention. GPA and grade letter wise, I definitely plan to move into the A range, no doubt about it. This semester I am forecasting at least Two A’s and possibly two B’s (A in history 120 and career+life planning 110 for sure). The two B’s would be in math 120 (intermediate college algebra as I struggled with translating math from my native language of Farsi into English) and possibly English 122 (my teacher is very strict in terms of grading and will mark me down for even minor formatting errors in MLA style). So far, in English, we have had three major essays, with the last one due next month right before finals. On the first two essays, I received an A- and a B+. But will definitely try for at least a 3.4+ average until I finish disciplining my mind into study mode only.</p>

<p>Tomorrow, I am meeting with the UC Berkeley representative who is in charge of servicing my community college campus (her name is Merryl Owen). I plan to print out the past three months worth of my paychecks that shows how much my income is for year-to-date along with my dad’s ($26,000 from January of this year until today for dad and $5k for me). On top of printing out my paychecks, I also plan to show her my transcript with the two W’s and the F (before it gets academic renewal which I’ll qualify for after this semester) and explain the reason behind it, including how I got financial aid suspension, academic and progress probation levels one and two, along with how I improved and getting removed from the lists. The academic renewal requirement at my college is a minimum of 20+ credits completed with a grade of C average or better, which I will qualify for when this fall semester ends sometime next month. </p>

<p>Mine:
YTD is year-to-date meaning how much I’ve gotten paid from the start of my employment until the present (I started working for Nordstrom in June of 2014)
<a href=“http://i.imgur.com/91qpOOw.png”>http://i.imgur.com/91qpOOw.png&lt;/a&gt;
This is how my direct deposit is set up; A is my first account and B is second account that my income is deposited into
<a href=“http://i.imgur.com/wnAMt83.png”>http://i.imgur.com/wnAMt83.png&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Dad’s:
his monthly income after taxes is a little over $2,300 to $2,400 at the age of 56
<a href=“http://i.imgur.com/r90r5JY.png”>http://i.imgur.com/r90r5JY.png&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://i.imgur.com/AyU4omM.png”>http://i.imgur.com/AyU4omM.png&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Do you guys have any tips on how to communicate with her?</p>

<p>-I plan to show her my transcript with two W’s and one F before it gets academic renewal
-plan to show her copies of my father and I’s paychecks for low income bracket check (also will show tax transcripts when filed)
-plan to explain the reason behind my first semester screw up (parent’s divorce, foreclosure and loss of home, dropping out of school working two full time jobs for a year, and my reintegration into the college, finishing with how I successfully got reinstated for financial aid AND level two probation)</p>

<p>Many thanks for all of your guys’ inputs, even to the ghost users reading this thread lol</p>

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<p>UC transfers: <a href=“UC Transfers - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/uc-transfers/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Some UC transfer admission information you may be interested in:
<a href=“University of California Counselors”>University of California Counselors;
<a href=“University of California Counselors”>University of California Counselors;