At what kind of school do I stand a chance at transfer admission?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Currently, I am attending community college (DMACC in Iowa). Naturally, I want to transfer out as soon as possible. But, the reason I chose to attend community college was that, when I graduated HS, I was not academically prepared for a full university or LAC. My ACT scores reflect that: I earned slightly below average math/science scores but nearly perfect English/reading scores (35 and 34 respectively). My wretched math/science scores reflect the fact that I took very few math and science courses in high school. Actually, I'm quite good at such subjects, although I still need more courses to be where I want for an econ major. My guess is that when I retake the ACT, I'll be up in the 30-33 range, overall.</p>

<p>My question now is "what kind of schools do I have a chance at transferring to?" I'd like to attend a top 20 university or LAC as an economics major. Two that stand out are Grinnell College (nearby, which is a plus) and Emory, both highly regarded institutions in the top 20 of their category. Do I have a chance?</p>

<p>Here are my credentials in no particular order:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Valedictorian of my class at a private, accredited high school (but...out of a class of only 13!). GPA: 94%, scale 100. </p></li>
<li><p>Current college GPA: 3.9 so far. I was a bit lazy in a sociology class, but I could easily retake it for an A and thus bring my GPA up to 4.0, if my admission depended on it (which I doubt it would).</p></li>
<li><p>ACT score of 26. That was the first time I had ever seen the test, having never practiced nor prepared. Add to that my having only 4 or 5 hours of sleep on test day, and I can probably get up to a 29 or 30 by just getting some sleep and doing practice tests. My 3 semesters of college coursework will also boost my average score.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>And my sparse extracurriculars: </p>

<ol>
<li><p>On the board of directors of the Des Moines Astronomical Society; director of Ashton Observatory (Ashton</a> Observatory - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia); and a 3rd place recipient of the Jack Horkheimer Service Award. </p></li>
<li><p>5+ years of piano lessons and choir; 3 years of vocal lessons; and 1 year of guitar lessons. Plus I volunteer my musical skills to a local youth program, playing for mostly younger kids.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>That's my situation. Do I stand a chance at "good" schools like Emory, Michigan (Ann Arbor), UCLA, and Grinnell, or should I reach a little lower? Don't let the low ACT score distract you; it will be much higher when I retake it (hopefully).</p>

<p>Thanks for any suggestions! And sorry for the long post.</p>

2

<p>What you need to do is call the admissions office at Grinnell and set up an appointment with the admissions office. Meet with someone in person, explain your situation, show them your grades and ask explicitly about your chances (and financial aid if you need it). The staff in admissions is extremely friendly and they try to be as transparent as possible.</p>

<p>Find out, as well, how many people they are planning to accept as transfer students next year. They have been over-subscribed for freshman year the past few years, reflecting growth in their popularity and name recognition outside the mid-west, which may impact their ability to accept any transfers. But if you go in person, you will get a straight story in so far as that is possible.</p>