UC Acceptance Revocation Limbo
When contacting the UCs regarding violations of the Provisional Admission Contract/Conditions, you are likely to receive one of two responses:
- You may receive a communication from the campus (usually an email) asking for an explanation. From what I heard over the last couple years, some UCs have loosened the enforcement of the contract/conditions (likely to reduce shrinkage of the pool of students who have committed to enroll). Keep in mind that how stringent each campus enforces the contract/conditions may vary widely each year. But, if you receive such a communication, a borderline plausible explanation will likely allow you to keep your admission offer from that campus (one that asks for an explanation rather than leaving you in limbo or outright cancel you).
- You may be informed that no decision will be made until after the final, official transcripts are received and evaluated. In this case, the campus is likely trying to better manage/control the enrollment numbers (uncertainty regarding the pool of students who have committed to enroll). This, unfortunately, puts you in a really bad position because acceptance revocation may not show up until mid to late August (at which point you will have zero alternative for the Fall term). If you are caught in limbo, here are some suggestions to help you prepare for the unknown:
- Start putting together your appeal in case your admission is revoked, especially if you had extenuating circumstances that affected your ability to do well in school. Gather supporting documents you may need to submit with the appeal such as official transcripts and/or medical records (illness).
- Explore and work out possible alternatives in case your admission offer is cancelled:
- Freshman Applicants – Apply to community college NOW! Fill out the necessary paperwork, take the assessment tests, and register for classes. You can always withdraw/drop and pay the nominal administrative fees (fairly cheap for a backup plan). Note: if you intend to apply to the UCs as a freshman applicant AGAIN next year, you can ONLY enroll for the summer term immediately after high school graduation; if you enroll in any regular terms (Fall or Spring, or Winter for community college that is on quarter system), you will become a transfer applicant and must abide to the transfer requirements.
- Transfer Students – Enroll in classes! Finish up any missing major prerequisites or find some easy classes to pad your GPA.
- Gap Year – If you can afford to pay, sky is the limit. If not, use these resources to help you plan a meaningful gap year:
- Gap Year Association (general gap year information, gap year planner, list of GYA accredited gap year programs, list of gap year program providers, and gap year financial aid information)
- TeenLife
- Other opportunities are available through organizations such as Student Conservation Association, City Year, AmeriCorps, and Outward Bound
- Study abroad and exchange programs (many offer scholarships to cover part or all of the expenses) such as Abbey Road Programs (scholarship information), AFS-USA (scholarship information), School Year Abroad (scholarship information), or Youth For Understanding (scholarship information)
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22 Comments
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What does SIR stand for?
SIR is “Statement of Intent to Register” and, for me, a shorthand for students who have committed to enroll at a particular UC campus. But I see that may not be obvious, so I have edited the post to clarify.
I ended up staying a third year but when my counselor and I calculated my units she said by spring ill have 115 units. I asked her if thats too many and she said no, but dont UC’s have a policy that you can’t have more than 90? But i need those classes for my major since i changed it, will i be okay? will i be automatically denied? Thanks!
The limit you are referencing is for past/current UC or 4-year college students. If you only have community college units, the limit doesn’t apply to you. You are allowed to transfer a maximum of 90 quarter units toward your UC graduation unit requirement, but you get subject credit for all coursework you have completed.
I’m in a similar situation since I only took one class last semester for IGETC and got a C in it. I did a transfer update and explained why it happened but I don’t have any idea what to expect. Trying to prepare in case my transfer admission to Cal is rescinded — are cases like these black and white or is there room for explanation offered later on? I was an L&S admit.
At Berkeley, each admitted transfer student is assigned an admission officer and you can find your admission officer’s contact information in your MAP@Berkeley (or maybe CalCentral) account. You need to get in touch with that person about the C to get a direct answer about whether your admission offer will be extended or rescinded.
If W’s on transcripts turned into AR and I forgot to tell the them will my acceptance be rescinded, will they ask me about it?
Nah, you should be fine. I wouldn’t worry about something like that.
Thank you for all your helpful information on this website!
I’m currently in the “limbo” period for UC Irvine as a transfer. I received a NP in one of my classes, but it doesn’t count towards GPA and it doesn’t affect my units/prereqs/etc. How terrible of a situation you think this will be? I’m currently expecting the worst. Also, would you expect any message to be sent through that my transcripts were evaluated and they decide not to revoke my admission? Or would the only communication be if it is withdrawn and I just assume that everything is fine once it gets near to classes starting?
Did you inform UCI of the NP grade prior to sending your transcript? Either way, keep checking your portal/account; you won’t get anything if all is well (although you’ll likely have a check mark or something on your portal/account once the transcripts are evaluated and verified).
Yes! I let them know and got the “we won’t know if this affects your admission until we receive your final transcripts” response
Is it a hardcore academic class or one of those borderline fluffy ones? How heavy of a load were you carrying? I think if your performance in the class may give them pause (and question your ability as a student), then that could potentially endanger your admission offer. If it’s one of those classes they might shrug off (like a half-credit PE class or something), then I’m fairly certain you’ll be fine. There are also other factors that are out of your control, like if the major may be in danger of not having enough students (campus will be more forgiving) or if it is over-enrolled (campus will be more stringent).
thank you for your replies! It wasn’t quite as fluffy as PE, but it was a pass/no pass lower division class mostly focusing on ‘life skills, etc’. I’m probably going to work on an appeal letter just in case, but it’s very helpful to get an idea of what could sway the decision. Thanks again!
Wait, is it even UC-transferable? If it’s not, you don’t have to worry about it.
Do you know if UC Berkeley rescinds for receiving AP scores late? I sent the AP scores on July 15th, but processing time will take a while. I misread to think that I have to send the scores by the 15th, not have UC Berkeley received them already by then. According to an admission officer, “ALL final, official exam results must be received by July 15, 2018. Next week, we will send out the cancellation notice.” Do you know if that means I will be rescinded, or is there a grace period? I know this is my fault, but I’m extremely worried. Thank you.
You need to contact your assigned admission officer, explain that you requested the score on July 15 (this informs the admission officer that the scores are enroute, because how else would he or she know that), and apologize for misreading the deadline. Hopefully your admission offer won’t get canceled.
If I change my course schedule after 3/31 as a transfer, how likely is it that the UCs would rescind my admission decisions because of this?
Also, do I have to take 12 units (be a full time student) in the last semester of my time in a CC? Thank you.
Full-time enrollment is preferred by Davis and I think that is part of the stipulation in TAG, so you would need to provide an explanation to that campus if you fall below full-time enrollment. For other UCs, providing an explanation for why you are not enrolled full-time could be helpful. Either way, you should reassure the UCs that you are committed to full-time enrollment after transfer.
It depends on what changes you are making. If the changes do not affect your ability to meet minimum unit requirement, IGETC or minimum GE requirement, and major prerequisite requirements, then your admission offer should remain in effect. Although you should still report the changes to each UC campus.
I will be fulfilling my foreign language requirement for full IGETC certification during summer prior to my UC Berkeley document submission deadline. That being said my admission contract states that summer courses will not be allowed for IGETC fulfillment. Should I reach out to the UC knowing that if I do I will most likely get cancelled or just submit the certified IGETC transcripts before the deadline?
Berkeley assigns an admission officer for each admitted transfer student and the contact information for your admission officer should be at the bottom of your Berkeley portal. Let your admission officer know the situation and ask what is the best course of action.