<p>Oh, and Amory, don’t worry about it. At first I was actually a bit deterred from even applying because I didn’t want to have to face rejection again. It’s really not that bad, since there’s the security that you are already in a college, so it’s more of a “Why not? That’d be awesome” than an “If I don’t get in then I don’t know what I will do; maybe McDonalds is hiring <em>sulk</em>.” I didn’t apply to as many schools for transfer as I did in my initial application process (only to what I saw as reaches, since anywhere else wouldn’t be that much of a change in terms of academic challenge for me, and I didn’t see much point to all the trouble of transferring if it weren’t to an Ivy or Ivy-caliber school). As a result, the stressful qualities of the application process were mitigated even further.</p>
<p>If you have any questions along the way, feel free to ask.</p>
<p>@malapropism thanks for the input :)</p>
<p>Essays are probably the most important aspect within the application process. do you have any tips??? would you be willing to look over mine???</p>
<p>Essays are probably the most important aspect within the application process. do you have any tips??? would you be willing to look over mine???</p>
<p>I’m happy to look over any essays, but you might have to wait a day or two for me to get around to it (I’m rarely free on weekends, and I have a few essays from over on the Essays board I still need to review).</p>
<p>Tips: the main essay you should essentially make a strong point for why you want to transfer that
a) Doesn’t dis your current school
b) Explains why your new school (remember, the main essay goes to ALL the schools you’re applying to, so no names and nothing too specific) would be a better fit for you/ a better place for you to learn and grow
c) Explains what you would add to the school (subtly, mostly while doing b)</p>
<p>The other essays that are more particular to the schools should be based off of research and ought to be your real selling point. The schools want to make sure you’re going to make the most out of what you offer them, but will bring something too.</p>
<p>I will e-mail you my first statement! =] But, you can also tailor each individual essay to each school. All you have to do is just create multiple versions of the common app! I will send you my essays, please be harsh! This is not the supplement but the first essay!!! PLEASE BE HARSH! LOL thanks =]</p>
<p>Thank you very much for hosting this thread! It is indeed really helpful.</p>
<p>ballin@thebubble, can you please PM me your stats as well? Thank you.</p>
<p>I will be starting my second year at my current college and this means that I will be transferring into Columbia as a junior most likely (if I get in). I am very worried completing the core. Do you have any advice as to what I can do? Maybe take classes in my upcoming year that I know will transfer?</p>
<p>In terms of completing the core as a junior, I would recommend the following:
Since a lot of the classes that compose the core aren’t easily fulfilled by outside classes (ex. LitHum and MusicHum, and at least one science class), and in fact, Columbia WANTS to see you want to take the core, just work on advancing yourself far enough in one language that you can test out, taking two science courses that have comparable courses at Columbia (you can get the courses that fulfill the requirement for Columbia online; just Google it), and taking a writing course (to place out of the writing requirement, you need to at least send in three essays, though they don’t all need to be from one class).</p>
<p>Also, take classes that you can transfer over to your major. Specifically, check out the requirements for the major you want, and try to do what you can to fulfill them at your current institution, while also seeking classes that have rough equivalents at Columbia.</p>
<p>It’s definitely tougher transferring as a Junior, and you might even want to include with your application a rough plan of how your two years at Columbia will pan out (I think they mentioned something like that at the Transfer Info session, though I didn’t write that down since it wasn’t really applicable to me) to let them know you’ve considered what you’re taking on, especially since it’s almost impossible to get more than 4 years total between both schools (that means two years at Columbia if you’re coming in as a Junior).</p>
<p>Of course, you can graduate with just a Concentration (less requirements than a Major), so I wouldn’t worry too much about it :)</p>
<p>I’m glad you find it useful :)</p>
<p>And multiple Common App accounts… Why didn’t I think of that?!</p>
<p>Hi heres one GPA question:
I was kinda slacked in my first semester in college, so I ended up with a bad GPA (around 3.2), but second semester I went up and got almost 3.8 (dean’s list). My school is a prestigious engineering school (ranked around 40) so I guess the adcom will know about the rigor of the classes. My question is that would that first semester hurt my chances if I were to keep up in the following semesters and get 3.8+ or 3.9+ GPA? junior transfer. thx!</p>
<p>jeveux, check your pm. ps, creative name :)</p>
<p>I was definitely thinking about submitting some sort of plan/outline of what I hope to do in the two years of possibly being at Columbia.</p>
<p>You two are awesome!</p>
<p>Well, as I’m sure you know, an upward trend is always much better than a downward trend. If you do well in your next two semesters (or even better than you did this past semester), that will definitely reflect well. Naturally, your overall GPA will take a hit because of that first semester, but if you focus on getting your GPA high enough so that they’ll consider checking out your application more closely (and thus note that you did so well your past 2 1/2 semesters, and only got under a 3.7 your first semester), you should be fine. Of course, admission is dependent on a lot of other factors, too, and depending on what schools you’re planning on applying to, your overall GPA taking a hit might have more or less of an influence.</p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>
<p>I’m not too worried about the core, since I’m hoping to place into my third semester of a language, and out of the Writing requirement. I wrote out an entire schedule and don’t see it as interfering with me being able to get the major/ concentration I want (particularly because I took classes focusing in those areas at Brandeis). Actually, I’m really psyched about the Core and all it stands for. I think I might be a bit worried if I were transferring in as a junior rather than a sophomore.</p>
<p>You really might get placed out of the writing course? How come? During my visit to Columbia, I was told that they usually don’t place you out of the Core courses (i.e. University Writing, in this case). What do you know about placing out of PE courses? I already completed two PE courses at my college so I am wondering whether I have retake two more courses at Columbia too. </p>
<p>If I transfer as a junior I’d have to be on a tight schedule so I am trying to chop off as many courses as possible.</p>
<p>I don’t think you should have a problem placing out of gym courses, although honestly, that wasn’t a problem I had (since I hadn’t taken any yet). Of course, you’ll still have to pass your swim test.</p>
<p>Some core courses are easier to place out of than others. Lots of schools have University Writing courses, the point of which is really to make sure you can write at a University level, rather than expanding your views on life and academia in any particular way (or at least that’s how I see its purpose), so once you demonstrate that (through three papers you’ve written at your previous school, and a syllabus if you took a similar course), you’re set. Classes like LitHum and MusicHum you’re pretty much not going to find an equivalent. Same with ArtHum and CC, I’m pretty sure. You might be able to place out of Global, and you have to take at least one Science course (out of three; transfers don’t have to take Frontiers of Science, so you’ve got a bit more freedom) at Columbia. Then you have four semesters of language, but since most people aren’t starting from scratch, you take a test at orientation to figure out what level you should be in. They basically just want proficiency in another language.</p>
<p>The Core is focused on what you get out of it. Columbia wants to make sure you have that foundation. As long as you’re getting that foundation, they are happy, but they don’t want you trying to skip over it.</p>
<p>I definitely would love to take The Core 
It’s a really strong foundation for learning.</p>
<p>My college makes it compulsory for freshmen to enroll in a first year seminar course in the Fall semester. They are writing intensive courses with a theme. Mine had a scientific theme, but we had to write over seven papers for the entire semester ranging from creative writing to reviews and research papers. Lots of university writing techniques and skills were stressed during the course as well. I would hope that this writing course replaces University Writing.</p>
<p>Science won’t be a problem for me, seeing as how I intend to major/concentrate on biology or biochemistry. Were you personally told that Frontiers of Science isn’t required for transfers or is it on the website?</p>
<p>Thank you :)</p>
<p>I was told at the Transfer-specific Advising Session, though I am almost sure it’s also on the website.</p>
<p>Malapropism, I am applying to Columbia as a junior transfer and I am concerned about my stats from high school. My hs GPA is around a 3.2 and I scored 1910 on the SAT. Now I am acing nearly all of my classes (flunked one but I’m retaking this semester) and I am planning my essays and preparing for solid recommendations from professors. Will it help to retake the SAT and do I still have a chance of gaining admissions with the failed class?</p>
<p>Assertive, I really can’t say, since (of course) I’m no admissions officer. I’d say it’s always worth a shot, so long as you go for the killer essays and solid recommendations and have a good reason for transferring to show you’ve got what it takes to make it at Columbia. Retaking the SATs might very well help, at least in my opinion, and I’m not sure how the failed class will affect you, though I would certainly advise you ace it this time around :)</p>
<p>Heck, I didn’t think I was going to get in, but things clearly worked out. If you think you have what it takes, I’d say don’t give up before you’ve tried.</p>
<p>Assertive: Since you will be applying as an incoming junior, your SATs will not matter nearly as much as your grades. Columbia, and any other school, would definitely be more interested in your recent performance, mainly in university. Obviously this is just what I think of the process. Transfer admissions are definitely not very defined and clear-cut and there can be a lot more to it. </p>
<p>As for the failed class, I never quite understood how retaking a failed class worked. If you pass it this time around, will it show that you had previously failed it? If it won’t show that you had failed it, you’d probably want to retake that class this Fall so that you can replace the grade in time for your application.</p>