Appealing Admissions Decisions

Most students have heard from most of the campuses by now whether or not they have been accepted. Tonight or tomorrow, UC Berkeley will release admissions decisions for Fall 2011. Many have already been notified by UCLA of their acceptance or denial.

If you have new or previously unreported information that you can share with the UC admissions offices, you can consider submitting an appeal to your admissions decision. Appeals are rarely granted. However, if you have information for the campus that you did not report previously, or if your circumstances have changed favorably since you updated your application in January (e.g. some excellent grades already posted this semester), then consider submitting an appeal.

Here are links to some of the UC campuses regarding submitting admissions appeals:
Berkeley http://students.berkeley.edu/admissions/general.asp?id=113&navid=N
Los Angeles http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/appealstr.htm
San Diego http://www.ucsd.edu/prospective-students/contacts.html#transfer
Davis http://admissions.ucdavis.edu/admissions/fr_nonadmitted.cfm (This information is for freshmen applicants, but it is the only information I could find on their website.)

For all other UC campuses, contact their admissions offices:
http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/campuses/index.html

Be sure to abide by appeals submission deadlines.

Requests for Unit Overloads

The Dean of Counseling, who approves student requests to exceed the maximum units allowed, has announced that he will not approve such requests until after the first day of the term or semester. This new policy will help all DVC students have a chance to enroll in classes.

If you desire to take more than 12 units in the summer or 19 units in the fall or spring, my advice is for you to attend the first day of the class you want to add and ask the instructor for permission to add the class. The instructor should give you a late-add code and/or sign a Schedule Request form. Once you have the instructor's approval, you can then petition the Dean of Counseling for approval to exceed the maximum units allowed.

This new policy is a result in the unprecedented budget cuts being experienced at DVC. Our budget reduction has forced us to eliminate many class sections from our schedule.

Students who desire to complete their degree and/or transfer requirements in 1.5 years need to re-evaluate their goals and be prepared to study at DVC for a minimum of two years.

Finally, registration dates are assigned according to the number of units you have completed at DVC, and those dates are not negotiable.

UCLA coming to DVC!

A representative from UCLA will be available to meet with DVC students on Monday, May 2, 2011, from 10:00 until 2:00 in the Counseling Center. No appointment is necessary; just drop-in and sign-in in the Transfer Center. Don't miss this opportunity to ask questions from someone who works at UCLA!

UC Berkeley has open enrollment for summer classes

Want to take a class at UC Berkeley this summer? You can, through Cal's open-enrollment summer program! Follow this link to learn more: http://summer.berkeley.edu/ Be sure to use www.assist.org to see if the class you want to take will help you meet major prerequisites, or contact the Cal summer program for assistance: 510-642-5612. Remember, summer is your vacation term, so you can take classes as you like, and you don't need special permission from DVC to take a summer class elsewhere.

Transferring students and spring semester grades

Quite a few students have contacted me lately to ask what happens if they make a D or F in an essential class for transfer this semester. First of all, I want to make one thing very clear: YOUR SPRING SEMESTER GRADES ARE JUST AS IMPORTANT AS THE GRADES YOU HAVE EARNED FROM PREVIOUS SEMESTERS. Even though it is your last semester at DVC, you need to work just as hard to make acceptable grades in your spring classes. Do NOT believe the rumors from your friends that "your spring grades don't matter." They do. Very much. Some students in the past have had their admissions offer revoked because they did not complete the coursework acceptably. However, if you are facing an unexpected difficulty in making a C or better in an essential class, your only option is to contact the schools to which you have applied and ask them if you can repeat the class this summer. Considering the current budgetary crisis and the unprecedented number of students trying to attend CSU and UC campuses, I am skeptical that you would get permission to do that. However, you can ask, and if you do get permission to repeat the failed class this summer, then you are lucky. Refer to www.universityofcalifornia.edu or www.csumentor.org for the contact information for UC and CSU campuses, respectively.

UC TOEFL policies

Here's information from the UC website about the TOEFL policies at each of the UC campuses: When are transfer students required to take the TOEFL examination? What score must a student earn to pass this exam? UCB: The TOEFL is not required for international students who transfer from a California community college or from another U.S. institution, and who have completed two UC-transferable courses in English composition (not ESL) with a grade of C or better in each course. To be admitted to UC Berkeley, students who have not completed two transferable courses in English must achieve a minimum score of 550 on the paper-based TOEFL or 83 on the Internet-­based TOEFL. UCD: An international student who plans to transfer from a California community college or another U.S. institution must complete two UC-transferable courses in English composition (not ESL) with a grade of C or better in each course. The TOEFL is not required. UCI: An international student who plans to transfer from a California community college or another U.S. institution must complete two UC-transferable courses in English composition with a grade of C or better in each course. The TOEFL will be waived by virtue of completing the two transferable English composition courses. UCI requires the minimum TOEFL scores of 550 (paper-based) or 80 (Internet-based). UCLA: UCLA requires a minimum score of 550 on the paper-based TOEFL or 83 on the Internet-based TOEFL. The TOEFL, however, is not required for students who transfer from a California community college or from another U.S. institution and who have completed two UC-transferable English composition courses (not ESL) with a grade of C or better in each course. Non-native speakers who completed any of their high school or college-level education in a country where the language of instruction was not English may be required to sit for the UCLA ESL Placement exam prior to or during their first quarter at UCLA. All students must have strong preparation and skills in English to succeed at UCLA. UCM: Non-native speakers of English must earn a score of 550 on the paper-based TOEFL or 83 on the Internet-based TOEFL, or earn a grade of B or higher in each of two UC-transferable classes in English composition. UC Merced will also accept a score of 7.0 on the IELTS (academic modules) examination. This proficiency requirement also applies to students who completed any of their high school education (ninth through 12th grades) or college-level education in a country where English is not the native language. UCR: An international student who plans to transfer to UCR from a California community college or other U.S. institution must complete two UC-transferable courses in English composition (not ESL) with a grade of C or better in each course. The TOEFL is not required. Applicants transferring from a college or university outside of the United States and whose native language is not English must provide evidence of English proficiency. Proficiency may be demonstrated by achieving a minimum score of 550 on the paper-based TOEFL or 79 on the Internet-­based TOEFL. The IELTS test with a score of 7 is also accepted. UCSD: Students in the U.S. on a non-immigrant visa must meet one of the following: earn a grade of B or better in each of two UC­-transferable classes in English composition; or earn a score of 83 on the Internet- based TOEFL. This proficiency requirement also applies to students who completed any of their high school education (ninth through 12th grades) or college-level education in a country where English is not the native language. UCSB: Applicants transferring directly from a college or university outside of the United States and whose native language is not English must provide evidence of English proficiency. Proficiency may be demonstrated by taking the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), with a test on the internet (minimum passing score of 79), or on a computer (minimum score 213) or as a paper-based test (minimum score 550). TOEFL test results must not be more than two years old. Proficiency may also be demonstrated with the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam. Minimum passing score for the IELTS exam is a band score of 7. To be considered for admission, the TOEFL or IELTS Exam must be taken by the December test date prior to enrollment. Test results must be sent directly from the testing agency to UCSB Admissions, Santa Barbara, California, 93106, USA. An international student who plans to transfer to UCSB from a California community college or a four-year U.S. institution must complete two UC-transferable courses in English composition with a grade of C or better in each course. The TOEFL is not required for these students. UCSC: Non-native speakers of English must earn a score of 220 550 on the paper-based TOEFL or 83 on the Internet-based TOEFL, or earn a grade of B or higher in each of two UC-transferable classes in English composition. UC Santa Cruz will also accept a score of 7.0 on the IELTS (academic modules) examination. This proficiency requirement also applies to students who completed any of their high school education (ninth through 12th grades) or college-level education in a country where English is not the native language.