Hey, I’m currently a senior in high-school who’s planning to transfer after my Sophomore year in college. My denials to UW-Madison and the Twin-Cities are immenent, and I want to make sure I have a plan/goal for college. I want to ask transfer students or applicants a few questions on what I should stride for in order to be a strong transfer canidate.
Brief H.S. stats:
ACT: 24
GPA: 3.6
EC’s: Online Business (5000~ hrs of work, leading internationally), Jazz/Trombone
AP: Comp Sci Principles & A, Calculus AB, French Language, Language & Composition
Intended Major:
Computer Science or Engineering
Schools I plan on applying for:
UW-Madison, U-Mich, Georgia-Tech, Northwestern, UVA, UC-Berkeley
Schools where I plan on at least trying:
Stanford, MIT, Cornell and CalTech
1.) What type EC’s are colleges looking for and how many?
2.) Does it matter that I’m attending a less “elite” school for transferring?
3.) Should I worry about my highschool stats?
4.) What is a GPA to strive for? (Reasonably)
5.) Are financial options less available for transfer students?
6.) If you could go back in time, what would you do to become a stronger applicant?
Depends. Note that some colleges take most transfer students from community colleges.
Yes for sophomore level transfer. Less or no for junior level transfer.
4.0. Especially given some of your targets.
Merit scholarships tend to be less available for transfer students. Of course, do not expect need based aid from out of state publics, just like for frosh applicants.
It depends upon the particular college or university as to whether grant aid is available to transfer students on the same basis as for incoming freshmen.
Focus on in-state options especially if attending a community college or junior college in your home state.
Some of your target schools will expect a near perfect 4.0 GPA during your first two years of college. Based on your ACT score of 24 & on your high school GPA, several of your targeted transfer schools may not be reasonable targets.
@Publisher
I plan on retaking my ACT but how much does my high school GPA play into the admission process? Stanford, MIT, CalTech is already out the window for me (Considering their extremely low acceptance rates) but is it reasonable to consider Madison, Michigan, Georgia-Tech or maybe even Cornell?
Your intended major, along with your ACT score, will complicate your admission to the schools you have listed.
Those schools receive students with 4.0 and ACT scores above 34 (and even then, there are no guarantees of acceptance).
Once you have taken coursework at a college or university, and you apply for transfer, your HS gpa and EC’s won’t be considered for admission. It’s what your GPA is in college, and your college EC’s, that will be applicable and reviewed.
Consider applying to your instate schools and be open-minded about where you apply. Don’t fixate on the competitive schools whose programs are impacted. Quit the prestige hunt.
Are you instate for any of these schools? If so, there may be an articulation agreement to the flagship at either community college or other state schools. If so, find out what is required and take those classes.
Do not take a lot of withdrawals in your classes. Stick to a course plan.
Your list of schools looks very high-reach-heavy to me. Your ACT score is very, very low for MIT, Caltech, Stanford, or a school near that level. Do you want to attend a university where the majority of the incoming freshman class has one or more 800’s on their math and science SAT scores, and even they find the school very difficult? You do not need to attend a school at this level to get a good job with a degree in computer science or engineering.
Have you been accepted to any universities? If so, which ones? If not, then which schools have you applied to that you consider to be safeties?
For the schools on your list, I would strive for A’s and pretty much nothing but A’s, at least in math, science, and engineering classes, if you want a good chance to be able to transfer to any of them.
Your intention to transfer to top level universities is completely unrealistic based on your high school GPA and ACT score. What would you do differently in three semesters of college that you have not done in four years of high school that would make these schools admit you?
@DadTwoGirls I forgot to mention before that I do plan on retaking my ACT (if I decide to transfer). It looks like I’ll be attending UW-La Crosse or UW-Eau Claire, where I’ve already been accepted to. UW-Madison is the school in my crosshairs for transferring (since I would already be in the UW system).
*** As a disclaimer, I don’t necessarily believe I’ll be admitted to top universities, neither that I’d want too either (considering academic fit, demographics, and locations). I’d like to keep my options open and know what my limits are. Regardless of school, I’m still going to pursue technology-based business endeavors which, evidently, matters a lot more in landing a job.
Given that UW-Madison is your target, would it make better sense to start at a Wisconsin community college that has a formal transfer agreement or articulation agreement for your major with UW-Madison? Think about that too.
When choosing between UW-La Crosse and UW-Eau Claire, consider which of those you would be happiest at and/or would be most affordable for you if you can’t transfer out and need to remain there for all four years.
@happymomof1 I would really like to have the dorm room experience but would that greatly stifle my chances of transferring? I’ve heard that if you at least maintain a 3.2 GPA, there’s a high chance for transferring from another UW school to Madison.
If your specific goal is UW-Madison, then you need to find out the easiest pathway there. Here is a link that I found for Transfer Agreements at UW-Madison: https://www.admissions.wisc.edu/apply/transfer/agreements.php This could be where you found the information that a minimum 3.2 GPA is required. I don’t see a good link to the specific “13 UW Colleges” that are covered under that agreement, but I expect that your guidance counselor can help you out with that as it is your state system. College Navigator finds three 2-year colleges in Wisconsin have dorms https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?s=WI&l=92&ct=1&ic=2&hs=1 Others might have off-campus privately managed residence halls. Again, that is something your counselor could help you sort out.
The problem I see is that your very low test scores indicate that even after 2 years of college, your odds of being competitive in the classroom at the colleges you’ve listed in CS or engineering are pretty low.
If you are a WI resident, you will have in state tuition at WI or MN colleges, so that broadens your options for transferring and still paying a reasonable price.
Whether living in a dorm will hurt your gpa is entirely up to you. You may need structure, and that’s available living in a dorm.
My daughter played a sport and her coach/AD required all athletes to attend study tables 8 hours per week, so every night off to the library my daughter would head and study study study. She actually loved it and was released from the obligation after 1 semester but she still kept those same hours for studying. At a table. With all her materials around her.
It is easy to blow off studying and go out for a beer or to play video games if you are living in a dorm, but it’s also easy to waste time watching TV with your brother if you are at home, or talking on the phone with friends. YOU have to organize your time.
Computer science is one of the MOST competitive majors out there. You’ve also selected an over abundance of schools that have roughly less than 15% acceptance (40,000 students apply, a few hundred, if even, get in).
You have a 3.6, not bad for a mid-tier University (A school like San Jose State might even turn you down for your specific major).
But I’d hit the Community college trail hard. Once you do 2 years at CC, your H.S education and everything you did in H.S becomes irrelevant.
Lastly, schools like Stanford want interesting people. As rude as it may sound, trombone isn’t interesting. If you toured a few years with like…Pink Floyd or something, then sure, put that down with pride.