I’m a freshman at CMU right now studying mathematics and CS and I want to transfer here for CS.
HS: 3.83 / 2210 GPA
My college GPA is going to be ass though (like 2.8-3.1?)
Do they look at my HS GPA and college GPA equally? Or are they going to put more emphasis on my college GPA. I read that the average GPA here is 3.3 so does this mean I’m like boned.
What happened at CMU? I assume you mean Carnegie Mellon and not Central Michigan. I have read that the minimum for transfers is 3.0. The fact that your high school stats do not match your college stats will not help.
Culture here is absolutely not what I expected
You mean its cutthroat and highly competitive? That’s what I’ve heard the culture is at CMU.
Try and get your GPA over 3. Can you drop a class? Are you looking to transfer for next fall? You need to choose your spring courses wisely so you can bring up the GPA. @intagi
I think you should be in. The admission committee at Northeastern knows how hard the courses are at Carnegie Mellon. A 2.9-3.1 at Carnegie Mellon is like a 3.9 at a community college.
Also, think hard about this transfer. Students often have a hard time with the transition to college, particularly at an elite place like Carnegie Mellon. I’d personally say work hard on improving your study skills and see how you can improve to keep up with the better students in CS. Northeastern is great for CS, but CMU is the best and has a more to offer. Once you graduate, even a 3.0-3.5 in CMU will take you very far in the industry, particularly in Silicon Valley. Transfering from CMU to Northeastern might signal to employers that you couldn’t cut it (which is fine, many can’t and in the grand scheme, it isn’t a huge deal). You have a unique opportunity that many at Northeastern wish they had, despite Northeastern being fantastic for CS.
tl;dr Think twice
@frontpage Employers would never know he went to CMU. You only put the college you graduated from on your resume, not where you started. So no, "Transfering from CMU to Northeastern might signal to employers that you couldn’t cut it " Not true.
My GPA will probably be 3.06, 2.8 is absolute worst case scenario, and a 3.28 is possible too; my advisor definitely doesn’t want me to drop classes because I’m not actually failing(like F or D level)
While I could technically force a drop, I’m going to need a rec letter from someone and I don’t feel like burning bridges. I’m looking to transfer next fall, so the only final grades available would probably be my first semester grades. I’m not sure if they’ll ask for mid semester GPA 2nd term.
And yes, the culture here is extremely competitive and cutthroat. Lot of people here are always on edge, and it’s honestly quite a miserable place for someone like me. I don’t handle the trial by fire that well. The education here though is absurdly good and the faculty and staff here are amazing.
fk me the 15 timer here is annoying
@suzyQ7 My GPA will probably be 3.06, 2.8 is absolute worst case scenario, and a 3.28 is possible too; my advisor definitely doesn’t want me to drop classes because I’m not actually failing(like F or D level)
While I could technically force a drop, I’m going to need a rec letter from someone and I don’t feel like burning bridges. I’m looking to transfer next fall, so the only final grades available would probably be my first semester grades. I’m not sure if they’ll ask for mid semester GPA 2nd term.
And yes, the culture here is extremely competitive and cutthroat. Lot of people here(at least engineering/math/cs, other majors are definitely stressed but not nearly as much) are always on edge, and it’s honestly quite a miserable place for someone like me. The education here though is world-class and second to none and the faculty and staff here are amazing.
@frontpage I am very aware of the world-class education and program here, but I genuinely feel that I am out of place here. While in my heart of hearts, I could probably manage to live through the trial by fire here, I’d be miserable doing it, and I don’t feel like 4 years of debilitating suffering is worth that much higher of a salary.
I wrote about this somewhere else, but ultimately my reasons for leaving are:
-the workload here is soul-crushingly immense, and while the work here is certainly doable, I want to pour my heart and soul into my own side projects and not into problem sets. Here, I feel like I devote my mind to my studies and ultimately lose out on the capacity to devote myself to doing something that I truly love and feel fulfilled about doing because I’m always mentally exhausted.(and yes I know I’m getting ahead of myself here) I always end up spending way more time than others because I’m just a naturally slow learner and even assignments that others deem as “easy” or “doable” are mind blowingly hard for me.
I know this sounds really whiny and quitter like, but admissions made a mistake and I am not the caliber of person that should be at a school like CMU.
I would hardly call that a “slow learner”.
@PengsPhils is a CS major and may be able to help.
Have you heard of impostor syndrome?
At the same time, I graduated with the exact same SAT score and a similar GPA as you and I don’t think I would have survived as a CS major at Carnegie Mellon.
Schools like CMU SCS are good to be from, but are extremely stressful to be at. Northeastern is certainly a step down in the CS food chain, but it is still a strong fundamentals-based program and will be significantly easier (though not easy). Your reasoning seems fine, and if you aren’t thrilled about the degree of theory- and problem-set intensity of Carnegie Mellon, Northeastern is a reasonable alternative. It’s unfortunately a compromise, but I think you’ve thought through your decision and it’s a respectable decision.
The salaries at Northeastern should be high. I graduated with an EE from WPI, which is somewhat weaker than NEU for CS and made 6 figures out of school as a software engineer. I did very well in school but am not a genius in any way or an anomaly. The co-op at NEU is a unique differentiator and the program itself is good. If you’re going into software development, then NEU should not hold you back much, even at Google or Facebook.
I can’t speak to admissions, but as far as transferring, all of those reasons make sense and it sounds like a good idea. As you said, it’s about general lifestyle and happiness, not just about academic quality and the salary edge. I think all of those reasons make perfect sense.
That said, Imposter syndrome is certainly at large in CS, and it’s important to keep confidence in yourself and your abilities. The admissions department didn’t make a mistake, it just wasn’t the right fit for you. Northeastern offers a fine CS program and plenty of great opportunities - Google, Apple, Intuit, Facebook, Snapchat - they are all currently taking students from NEU for co-op and full-time and competitive pay, even if not quite as high as the average of CMU. Being a bigger fish in a smaller pond a bit will help, and given the nature of Northeastern, it’s much more collaborative than cutthroat - nearly every project and problem set is teamwork. The only vastly significant edge CMU has is in research, and that doesn’t seem like a point of concern.
One note: The introductory course is required here for most, including transfers (unless you have strong experience with a Scheme/Functional Programming). Be aware that you will have to retake that. Certainly look at accepted transfer credits via the NEU transfer database and line up your courses accordingly, in addition to any other schools you’d apply to.
As far as CS in general here, you’re still going to spend a significant amount of time on projects and problem sets, but there’s breathing room. There’s also co-op search, which adds some additional work that probably isn’t as much at CMU. Most students here, even the super nerdy (and proud) CS ones get out into the city and explore frequently enough. Any good CS program is going to be challenging due to the subject itself.
Good luck! I would think that the school you transfer from will be taken into account vs your GPA, but I just don’t know transfer admissions that well.
nvm busted my ass and ended with a 3.4
so i’d assume i’m not messed up anymore right? I’d think this is an average GPA wise to apply with.
Based on past years a 3.9 was rejected and a 3.0 was accepted as a transfer. Admissions is holistic.