Hi, I’m a sophomore in college and I really like MIT, I went to visit the school with someone a while ago and fell in love with it. I already had plans to transfer but not to MIT until now. I’m seriously thinking of applying to transfer but I’m unsure. My SAT/ACT are extremely low, my high school grades are fine, but I don’t think I have anything extraordinary in my application(nationals, competitions).
My GPA at college isn’t amazing but it’s about a 3.5 (it took a dip bc of my physics class + I took too heavy of a load at that time) I know so many people apply to transfer but do you think its worth it? I have some ECs as well from high school and college that I did. I work as well.
I’m planning to retake the SAT and ACT and get a higher score. I have my passion for Computer Science - I do really well in things I love. I also have a love for language learning so I’ve learned languages across the years.
Advice on if I should apply or not or if there’s something I can add to my application that will make me standout.
What classes have you taken and what grades did you get?
Are you involved in *something * on campus?
What type of college are you attending (NESCAC, public flagship in the South, cc…?) ?
You don’t really need to retake the SAT/ACT. I assume your college grades would be more important at this point. I can see how you perhaps could consider making a lateral move from a MIT-type place if you are at a good school now and are getting a 3.5 there.
@MYOS1634 I’ve taken mostly Computer Science classes and my grades have been good for all of those, two Calculus classes, a literature class and a physics class and lab. I just messed up in my Physics classes
I’m attending a private university but it’s not very well known unless you live where I do and yes I am involved on campus in some clubs!
Is the university ranked?
Have you developed a good relationship with you adviser, do you go to office hours every week?
It sounds like it would be worth a shot.
But beside MIT, there are lots of good universities for CS (RPI, for instance ). The issue would be determining whether you’d get sufficient financial aid.
The OP says “I already had plans to transfer but not to MIT until now.” So if someone is already filling in transfer applications, gathering LoR’s etc. then the additional effort in adding an application to MIT in addition to their other transfer applications, is modest. So what is at risk is really the MIT application fee ($75 which is waivable for students with financial difficulty). So if you think that you really really would want to go to MIT, then apply.
However, recognise that transfer applications are insanely competitive (more so than regular admissions) and that the chance of success is low. A GPA of 3.5 is not awful for transfers, but MIT looks for mostly A’s in STEM subjects, and if the OP’s GPA tumbled because they screwed up Physics then that is not normally a good thing for transfers.
