Chance a transfer applicant, please

Colleges and Universities A-Z Brown University
1

<p>Hey all, I would really appreciate some input on my chances as a junior college transfer to Brown. I have posted in the What Are My Chances thread and received ZERO responses, so something here would really help me out. </p>

<p>Ethnicity: Mexican</p>

<p>GPA: I have had a 4.0 all five semesters I have been attending junior college, and am positive I will be able to continue this trend my sixth semester.</p>

<p>Volunteer Work: I have volunteered at the same Humane Society for two years now, give blood frequently, donate my hair to Locks of Love, and am a volunteer TA for a history teacher. My TA responsibilities include grading quizzes and papers, lecturing, leading study groups, and occasionally running the class. I also watch my four younger siblings at least five hours a week, tutoring them, cooking for them, etc.</p>

<p>Letters of Rec: I think mine will be great. One is coming from a Princeton graduate who is the man I TA for. I got high A’s in three of his classes, have dinner with him and his family semi-frequently, and would call him a friend. Another is from a professor who is a UC Berkeley PhD graduate and whose classes I have gotten A’s in five times. The third is from a woman who I know all the way back from when I went to high school. She is good friends with my family and I got an A in her English class.</p>

<p>EC’s: I play tons of musical instruments and am in multiple bands that tour and record, and I record and sound engineer for my own bands as well as others. I also create films and video shorts, have worked since I was a Junior in high school, am currently working two jobs, and participate in non varsity athletics.</p>

<p>Essays: I am confident my essays are strong</p>

<p>High School: My High School GPA is a mere 3.0, but I think that since I’m transferring that won’t play a big role. I really turned my life around after graduating.</p>

<p>SAT’s: 2160 – 750 reading, 740 writing, 670 math. I’m hoping that although the math is only at the 25th percentile for the schools it won’t hurt me much because I’m a history and religious studies double major, which has nothing to do with math. At least the reading and writing are above the sixtieth percentiles though?</p>

<p>If anyone has an idea where all this might put me I would really appreciate it, thanks so much!</p>

2

<p>Do you need financial aid? I’ve heard Brown is need-aware for transfers and whether you apply for aid can make a big difference in your admission odds.</p>

<p>Does anyone more knowledgeable than me know how important financial aid is for transfer admissions?</p>

<p>Anyway, if I had to make a prediction, I’d say you’re in if you don’t need financial aid but out if you do.</p>

3

<p>Whether or not you apply for financial aid, it’ll be hard to get in. You have a superb GPA, but recognize that you’ll be going up against kids who also have 4.0’s at four year colleges (public, private, and ivy’s).</p>

4

<p>I unfortunately do need financial aid :confused:
Although I realize this puts me at a disadvantage, there is no point in getting into a school I can’t pay for. I don’t want to go $105,000 into debt by the time I’m 23!</p>

5

<p>^
Well, in that case it’s going to be really tough. The acceptance rate is below 10 percent, and that’s with need-aware admissions. </p>

<p>However, the good news is that Brown is really an anomaly among elite colleges in its usage of need-aware admissions for transfers. As far as I know, all of the other top-20 private universities are need-blind, so you might want to focus your efforts on those schools.</p>

6

<p>They say that they are “need-blind”" but I doubt they want to give money to every applicant which means more rejections for example UPenn. </p>

<p>“Q. Does Penn have financial aid available for international students?
A. Yes. The University of Pennsylvania has limited need-based financial aid available for students who are not U.S. citizens or bona fide permanent residents of North America.”</p>

<p>“I am not a citizen of the U.S., Canada, or Mexico. Will applying for financial aid affect
my chances of admission?
A. Yes. We urge you not to apply for University-sponsored financial aid”</p>

<p>Most importantly, this one, it happens A LOT to my senior, who scores ARE THERE but ASK for AID
“Q. If I apply for financial aid as an international student, will Penn offer me admission
without offering a financial aid package?
A. No. Some candidates whom we would like to admit will be turned away because we exhaust our aid budget.”</p>

<p>I don’t how Brown works with their budget though…</p>