<p>So I'm currently a student at the College of Liberal Arts. Well, sort of. The truth is I was admitted to the CLA 2 months ago as a transfer student from a Minnesota community college. However, I want to transfer (again) to Carlson, simply because Carlson offers the program I that I want to major in. So far so good, I have taken Macro, Micro and Financial Accounting, with 2 As in both macro and micro and a B in Acct. I'm planning to take Calc 1271 this spring 2014 to complete the tool courses that Carlson requires.
Anyways, does anyone (Carlson student, people who have similar interest as mine...) have any tips on how to get into Carlson? I know that along with good grade, Carlson asks for a lot of volunteers and extra activities and to be honest, I don't know what I should do to fulfill their requirements. FYI, I'm an international student. So what kind of on-campus job and voluntary work that can catch the interest of Carlson admission staff?
Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>The grades are super important. I would recommend you make an appointment with one of the undergrad advisors in the CSOM office because that way you can 1) make a personal connection with people who look at applications and 2) sketch out how your credits all fit the prereqs as you have community college and CLA credits, plus get it on a planning sheet with one of their signatures on it and 3) ask ‘the source’ (meaning the undergrad office people) what you can do to enhance the application. Long ago, letters of recommendation, extracurriculars, etc., didn’t have any impact on admission; it was just, ‘do you have the GPA in tool classes, overall, etc’ to get in. That’s why I think asking the people who do the admissions in the undergrad office is better than getting info here. Best of luck to you! 
And congrats on getting into CLA, which is a step closer to CSOM.</p>
<p>P.S. Since I think school doesn’t start until next week, this might be a good time to stop by/ call them because it may be ‘peaceful’ on campus before the next semester begins.</p>
<p>As a recent Carlson transfer from CLA, I’ll tell you right now, it’s quite hard to transfer in.</p>
<p>If you look here, you can see the number of students admitted for transfer Fall 2013 was only 67 students, with an average GPA of 3.86:</p>
<p>[Transfer</a> Admission Requirements - Carlson School of Management](<a href=“http://admissions.tc.umn.edu/admissioninfo/csom.html]Transfer”>http://admissions.tc.umn.edu/admissioninfo/csom.html)</p>
<p>So, yeah, it’s tough.</p>
<p>I think a few things got me in.</p>
<p>There’s no guarantees of course, SO MAKE SURE YOU MAKE A BACK-UP PLAN, but here’s general tips:
- Get your GPA up as high as you possible can! Work, work, work, study, study, study!
- Do you have any good, close relationships with professors (especially Carlson professors)? If so, wonderful! Have them write you letters of recommendation! I had three letters of recommendation when I applied to Carlson, two from Carlson professors and one from CLA. It makes a bigger difference than you think!
- Get involved in areas related to Carlson and the major you’re interested in. Join a Carlson student group. Find a relevant job and do great in it. Show them your passion for Carlson and your ideal major and your burning desire to get in!
- Your application essay better be damn good. Write it, re-write it, and keep re-writing it until it’s perfect. Have as many people proofread it as possible. Make it shine!</p>
<p>ZettaSlow, did you take CSOM classes while a CLA student? I would imagine you did prior to transfer because you mention letters from professors at CSOM. Also, I do not find that letters are actually required on the addendum transfer form; if not required, there is no guarantee the admissions people will consider them for an application. Maybe I am wrong and it’s in the addendum somewhere. I do see that you have to write an application statement if a transfer student. I also see that the undergrad studies office is, as always, happy to see potential applicants at individual appointments. Congrats on getting in! :)</p>
<p>Yeah, I took CSOM classes while in CLA. I believe they require it for you to stay on track as a transfer student.</p>
<p>While in CLA, I took MGMT 3001, ACCT 2050, SCO 2550, IDSC 3001, and MKTG 3001.</p>
<p>I believe if you are trying to transfer in as a Freshman (entering CSOM as a Sophomore), they require Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, and Calculus 1.</p>
<p>If you are trying to transfer in as a Sophomore (entering CSOM as a Junior), they require all of those plus MGMT 3001, ACCT 2050, and SCO 2550.</p>
<p>I took IDSC 3001 and MKTG 3001 just due to interest in the courses and to get a little ahead.</p>
<p>Right, they don’t require them, but the CSOM advisors I spoke with told me that they will look at them if you include it. It just gives you an extra boost. </p>
<p>In my case, I believe mine helped a lot.</p>
<p>For example, from another topic I made on here, here’s a quote from the letter from the SCO 2550 professor:</p>
<p>“Based on what I have learned, I can comfortably say that if there was only one single student accepted to your program this year, my vote would go for (my name). Over the past 18 years, I have taught several thousand undergraduate and MBA students various Business Statistics and Mathematics courses. Among all those students I would rank (my name) among the top 1% based on his curiosity and ingenuity.”</p>
<p>So yeah, that was certainly good to have in there.</p>
<p>I definitely took advantage of the CSOM undergrad advising office. I went there a ton and spoke with the advisors quite a bit. They were a huge help.</p>
<p>And thank you!</p>