Please help me patch up my college career

[ahappycamper]

'm so stressed out right now with what I should be doing for school to give me the best opportunity to get into a good graduate school.

At the current moment, I am a CC/JC student. Last fall 2008, I was a University of Riverside student, but was academically disqualified, with an abysmal 5 Ws and 5 Fs. I was told that I could take 8 UC transferable courses at a CC to be readmitted back into UCR. I have done that, passed with all As, and I am ready to be readmitted into UCR. However, I would eventually like to transfer to a higher college for my major, biochemistry. I do not want to finish my bachelor's degree at UCR, preferably something like UCSD would make me happier. The thing with me is, I want to go to graduate school, a very good graduate school.

As I think of it now, I could go to UCR, make up 4/5 Fs(I will always have that 1 F there no matter what), ace the rest of and ace the rest of my college career at UCR. However, no matter what, the graduate schools will see all my extra baggage, even though 4/5 of those Fs will have been made up, there will still be that 1 there screwing my GPA, and those other 5 Ws will be there.

My second option is going to UCR, and trying ot transfer to a better school, perhaps sometihng like UCSD. Again, even if I do great in the rest of my college career(which I'm sure I can do, as I've really disciplined myself since the last time I was academically disqualified at UCR) I will still ahve that extra UCR baggage with the Ws and 1 F that cannot be made up.

My third option is, to simply go to CC and transfer to a higher school like UCSD. That is a clean slate, since I don't have any Ws or Fs at the community college I'm attending right now.

Money is NOT an issue. I am looking at long term. I want to get into a good graduate school, and I'm trying to figure out what my best options are at the moment. Will graduate school like to see the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd option? Or if anyone has any other ideas for me. I am currently 20 years old right now.

[LingGrad2009]

I have done that, passed with all As, and I am ready to be readmitted into UCR. However, I would eventually like to transfer to a higher college for my major, biochemistry. I do not want to finish my bachelor's degree at UCR, preferably something like UCSD would make me happier. The thing with me is, I want to go to graduate school, a very good graduate school.

I dicked around a lot in my first year or so of college and had a similar record (less Fs, more Ws). I took a couple years off, got my priorities straight, went back, and aced everything, and am now on my way to my top choice grad school. So take heart; it can be done.

As I think of it now, I could go to UCR, make up 4/5 Fs(I will always have that 1 F there no matter what), ace the rest of and ace the rest of my college career at UCR. However, no matter what, the graduate schools will see all my extra baggage, even though 4/5 of those Fs will have been made up, there will still be that 1 there screwing my GPA, and those other 5 Ws will be there.

Are you sure about the Ws? The school I went to had a program to remove Ws. I had to take some minimum number of units, get a high average for that semester, and fill out a petition. I was able to remove two Ws per semester I believe, and eventually got rid of them all.

My third option is, to simply go to CC and transfer to a higher school like UCSD. That is a clean slate, since I don't have any Ws or Fs at the community college I'm attending right now.

That won't work. You have to report every school you went to whether you apply for undergrad or grad school. If you don't, and they find out, you can get in serious trouble. Also since you're talking about two different universities in the same system, it'll be VERY easy (probably automatic) for those records to be transferred whether you report them or not. However, it might be better to transfer to UCSD from JC anyway, and work with them to repair the Fs and Ws from Riverside. I can't imagine that bouncing from school to school will look good on a transcript. If you know that UCSD is the school you want to finish at, figure out how to get there as soon as possible. If you HAVE to go to Riverside to repair your grades, maybe it's better to just finish there.

[Stories]

'm so stressed out right now with what I should be doing for school to give me the best opportunity to get into a good graduate school.

At the current moment, I am a CC/JC student. Last fall 2008, I was a University of Riverside student, but was academically disqualified, with an abysmal 5 Ws and 5 Fs. I was told that I could take 8 UC transferable courses at a CC to be readmitted back into UCR. I have done that, passed with all As, and I am ready to be readmitted into UCR. However, I would eventually like to transfer to a higher college for my major, biochemistry. I do not want to finish my bachelor's degree at UCR, preferably something like UCSD would make me happier. The thing with me is, I want to go to graduate school, a very good graduate school.

As I think of it now, I could go to UCR, make up 4/5 Fs(I will always have that 1 F there no matter what), ace the rest of and ace the rest of my college career at UCR. However, no matter what, the graduate schools will see all my extra baggage, even though 4/5 of those Fs will have been made up, there will still be that 1 there screwing my GPA, and those other 5 Ws will be there.

My second option is going to UCR, and trying ot transfer to a better school, perhaps sometihng like UCSD. Again, even if I do great in the rest of my college career(which I'm sure I can do, as I've really disciplined myself since the last time I was academically disqualified at UCR) I will still ahve that extra UCR baggage with the Ws and 1 F that cannot be made up.

My third option is, to simply go to CC and transfer to a higher school like UCSD. That is a clean slate, since I don't have any Ws or Fs at the community college I'm attending right now.

Money is NOT an issue. I am looking at long term. I want to get into a good graduate school, and I'm trying to figure out what my best options are at the moment. Will graduate school like to see the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd option? Or if anyone has any other ideas for me. I am currently 20 years old right now.

Now that's a boat load.

Here's the most important thing. Get yourself back on track. You're already year (or more) behind the curve and have extra baggage to start. Fix that, pronto. Go to school, and demonstrate that you can be a legitimate student at UCR. Get yourself up above a 3.0 and then we can take a realistic assessment of your chances at "a very good graduate school". Don't think that school is a cake walk, either. That attitude won't get you anywhere. Whatever you were doing when you seriously crapped the boat that first semester, get away from those habits.

Community College is not the same as a full University. Don't think that your A's in CC will automatically make you get A's at UCR. The standards are going to be very different.

Also, "I would eventually like to transfer to a higher college for my major, biochemistry. I do not want to finish my bachelor's degree at UCR, preferably something like UCSD would make me happier", check that crap at the door. You'll be impressing nobody with that attitude and piss off a lot of people. UCR is a fine institution and transferring to UCSD will not only set you back some in your studies (as the courses won't transfer over 1 to 1), but it's not even a given that you'll be able to transfer.

[sankd]

Having been academically dismissed from two schools, I can say that I've been in worse straits than you. I agree with a lot of the above sentiments, though. It's okay to try and look for your interests, but you need to be a bit more humble about it.

Like the others noted, you have to report EVERYTHING if you transfer. Better yet, you say you want to go on to graduate school. Guess what? You have to report everything there too. That's right. When I applied to graduate school, I had to send four transcripts with each application. School #1, School #2, the CC, and then where I finally got my degree. My advice to you is to go to the school you want to go to now rather than transfer later. Apply to both UCSD and UCR (and anywhere else). UCR is not a bad school at all, frankly.

[duncandam]

I think it's also important to take into account which discipline he/she wants to pursue in graduate school. If you want to do biochemistry, but having no lab/ research experiences, even you try to get rid of all the W's and F's, I still don't think you will be able to get into good (not even decent) graduate schools

[belowthree]

I think it's also important to take into account which discipline he/she wants to pursue in graduate school. If you want to do biochemistry, but having no lab/ research experiences, even you try to get rid of all the W's and F's, I still don't think you will be able to get into good (not even decent) graduate schools

Not having lab/research experience kills a lot of applicants regardless of whether or not they had Ws or Fs. Obviously the OP would want to have a strong research background by the time application season hits. In any field really, though obviously it's more important in some.

Research experience is one of the best ways to overcome a bad academic record. But a bunch of As in the last several years works too. So going with both is probably wise no matter what field the OP is in.