How are W's weighed in circumstances CSU-CC-UC?Answered
I am a current first year biological sciences at a CSU and have been contemplating my timeline for leaving as at this point I am set on unenrolling and going to a community college back home in order to eventually transfer to a UC. It has become a lot more than my contemplations before as a path that I am set on due to my unenjoyment where I am currently on top of my will to attend a school that will benefit my future far greater in my opinion on my journey of pre-med.
I have talked to multiple advisors and resources about my situation to come to where I am standing now and my decision has only strengthened. However, the only problem that remains is when it is I will leave my current university, either drop out within the next week or however so, or stick it out till the end of the semester-which brings out my question here on how important me receiving the credits I am in here now is to my future plans.
I have debated this as neutrally as I can throughout some time now in addition to my retention counselor and I am leaning toward leaving before finishing this semester. This is because I believe after being backed by my counselor that I could catch up on these when at CC, let alone do better there because of the environment. It would serve as a reset in a sense for my grades and mental, as not to say that I am doing bad in my classes as I have pretty much all B+ or above in them, but then again I am striving for a 4.0 as I have been told how important GPA is for a transfer, especially to a top UC. I of course have some bias as to me wanting to leave the earliest as possible, but also am forcing myself to hold an open mind in regards to my future above all.
And so I inquire on W's and the 4(Chem 2, Bio 2, Stats, and STEM english course) of them would look on my transcript-given that I would take at the minimum my bio and chem course again at CC so it is not as if I failed them and had to drop, it is a far different circumstance and one that people have told me I could explain in the box for this on the UC application. I am just worried about the potential for this to truly harm my chances and how much weight they hold let alone if the admission officers truly read the box. Overall I just would hope they see my process and not think of it as failure on my end but rather a journey that taught me a lot and one that benefitted my future through my time here at my CSU.
I am truly ready to just embark on the next step of my process at CC back home, but I am stuck-more so than ever before in my life to be honest.
Any help is appreciated.
Earn karma by helping others:
1 answer
You are asking the right question, and the honest answer is that 4 W's in one semester will be noticed but will not hurt you the way finishing with B's in Chem 2 and Bio 2 would.
How UC readers actually treat W's
A W does not factor into your GPA at all. UC transfer admission for biology at the top campuses is overwhelmingly GPA-driven, and admitted transfer GPAs for life science majors at UCLA, Berkeley, and UCSD sit around 3.7 to 3.9. One or two W's are background noise. Four in a single semester is a pattern, so a reader will look for your explanation, which is exactly what the Additional Comments section on the UC application exists for. Readers do look at that section for transfer applicants with anything unusual on the transcript. Keep it to two factual sentences: you left your CSU mid-semester to reset at your local community college before transferring. Do not write a journey essay there.
The real tradeoff is W's versus B+'s in major prep
This is the part to think hard about. If you finish the semester with B+ grades in Chem 2 and Bio 2, those grades become permanent parts of your UC-transferable GPA, and they sit in your major preparation courses, which is exactly where selective UCs look hardest. A 3.3 in major prep is much harder to overcome than 4 W's followed by A's at your CC. If you genuinely believe you can earn A's retaking these courses in a better environment, the W route gives you the cleaner GPA. That is the math that matters for a biology transfer to a top UC.
Three things to check before you decide
1. Financial aid. Withdrawing from every course in a term can trigger Satisfactory Academic Progress problems, and you may owe some aid back. Talk to your CSU financial aid office before you withdraw, not after.
2. Articulation. Check ASSIST to confirm the CC courses you plan to take articulate to the UC biology major prep you need. Not every CC chemistry sequence maps cleanly to what the UCs expect.
3. Timing. UC transfer applications are due November 30 for the following fall, and you need 60 transferable units plus your major prep done. Leaving now costs you a semester of units, so map out the CC timeline and make sure it still works.
One more thing: transfer readers see CSU-to-CC-to-UC paths all the time. A student who recognized a bad fit early and rebuilt a strong GPA at CC reads as mature, not as a failure. Just make the call with the financial aid office looped in, and keep the explanation on the application short and factual.
Your chance of acceptance
Your chancing factors
Community Guidelines
To keep this community safe and supportive:
- Be kind and respectful!
- Keep posts relevant to college admissions and high school.
- Don鈥檛 ask 鈥渃hance-me鈥� questions. Use 黄果短剧鈥檚 chancing instead!
I appreciate your response truly. To explain I have no financial aid and don't match the eligibility for any, so that is a non-issue fortunately for me. I have checked ASSIST and the community college I plan on attending has all the major prep for UC Berkeley as it is a primary feeder school near where I live back home. I have discussed my options with my retention counselor through multiple sessions and she and I believe that catching up on this missed semester's worth of credits is achievable.