<p>Hey everyone. I've just finished up my first semester of college at St. Louis University, and at this point I'm thinking that I'm going to apply as a transfer for Fall 2012; I'd like to know what you think about my chances! It's not that I don't like SLU - I've met so many great people, I've had (mostly) fantastic professors, and I like the environment. However, I'm determined to major in International Relations, but IR is only offered at SLU as a secondary major, and the program doesn't have the breadth or depth that I would like. Also, I'd like to become fluent in Chinese, but SLU (currently) only offers two years worth of Chinese classes. </p>
<p>So all in all, I know that I could stay at SLU and be happy, but I feel like transferring to any of the schools below will better prepare me for the future careers (at the State Dept., CIA, UN, etc.) that I'm considering. </p>
<p>Here's the list of schools I'm applying to right now. (NOTE: I applied to the first two for admission as a freshman.)</p>
<p>Georgetown University (deferred --> wait-listed --> wait-listed again --> rejected)*
Middlebury College (wait-listed --> rejected)
U Penn (Legacy)
JHU
USC
*I honestly don't know how much this may help my chances here, but at the end of my rejection letter there was a paragraph that said, "The Committee on Admissions noted your strong and continuing interest in Georgetown and has asked me to advise you of the possibility of transferring to Georgetown after one or two years at another institution. While we hope that you will find the institution in which you enroll to be exciting and challenging, you will be given strong consideration should you decide to apply as a transfer candidate and your academic work continues to be outstanding."</p>
<p>Any more school recommendations for IR/Chinese? Thanks a lot for looking this over!</p>
<p>========================================================</p>
<p>College Stuff
GPA: 3.94
1st Semester (18 credits):
CHIN 110 - Communicating in Chinese I: A
SPAN 315 - Oral Communication: A
HR 190 - American Youth Movement in the Post-War Era (Honors): A-
POLS 151 - Politics of the Developing World: A
PLS 100 - Introduction to Law: A
HIST 111 - Origins of the Modern World to 1500: A
MLNG 210 - The Global Villa: S (one-credit course for freshmen in my dorm)</p>
<p>2nd Semester (18/19 credits - not sure what it's going to be yet):
CHIN 115 - Communicating in Chinese II
SPAN 310 - Written Communication
HIST 112 - Origins of the Modern World, 1500 to the Present (Honors)
ISTD 110 - Introduction to International Studies
ISTD 393 - Special Topics: Stuttgart-Mumbai*
PHIL 105 - Introduction to Philosophy: Self and Reality
FREN 110 - Communicating in French I
*Online course about globalization with students from SLU, the University of Stuttgart in Germany, and St. Xavier's College in Mumbai - we'll all be meeting in India this coming spring, and I can't wait!</p>
<p>Work Experience:
Office Assistant (FWS) in the Admissions Office at SLU Law (which is great for someone considering law school like myself :)) - 1st semester = 10 hrs/wk, 2nd semester = 15 hrs/wk</p>
<p>Extracurriculars*:
International Partnership Program (Ambassador)
Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion
SLU Students for Obama
*I've also done some various, unrelated volunteer activities, but I plan on doing more this upcoming semester; I wanted to focus on my grades this past semester.</p>
<p>High School Stuff</p>
<p>ACT: (I only took it once) 36 (English - 36, Math - 35, Reading - 35, and Science 36)
HS GPA (unweighted): 94/95 on a 100 scale (equivalent to a 4.0)
HS GPA (weighted): 96/97 on a 100 scale (roughly equal to a 4.2/4.3, max. weighted GPA was 4.5)
AP Tests Taken: Macroeconomics (4), Microeconomics (5), Government and Politics: US (5), English Language and Composition (5), English Literature and Composition (4), Calculus BC (4), US History (5)
SAT II: Math II (750), US History (740), Literature (740)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): My high school didn't rank</p>
<p>Work Experience:
Kumon Learning Center (Assistant) - anywhere from 3-7 hrs/wk (from Sept. 2009-Aug. 2011)</p>
<p>Extracurriculars:
Scouting (Held various leadership positions such as Assistant Patrol Leader, Patrol Leader, and Assistant Senior Patrol Leader; I'm also an Eagle Scout)
Track and Field (Earned my Varsity Letter after the 2010 season)
Model UN (Head Delegate)
Law Club (Photographer)
National Honors Society
Math Team</p>
<p>Thanks again for looking this over! Let me know if you need any more information.</p>