Hi I am a first year at Grinnell and I want or transfer to Wes and Midd. I applied to Wesleyan for early decision 1 and got rejected(><)
So the reason why I want to transfer is that I seek a decent East Asian Studies or Japanese program. Unfortunately, Grinnell only has EAS as a concentration and doesn’t even have an independent Japanese department. Also, the school is very suppressing for conservative students (We don’t even have a republican group). Even though I am not conservative myself, I’m very disappointed with the fact that the school is not open to different voices(..)
So here is a list of my stats and courses:
Current Courses:
1st year seminar
Japanese 102
German 102
Japanese society and pop culture
Estimated GPA:3.5-3.7
Chairman of the East Asian Studies Club (I started this Club) and a member of the student government first year council
And below is my status for my HS (I’m an international enrolled in an American high school in Conn):
Best composite ACT: 31 (English 27 Math 34 Reading 28 Science 33)
Best superscored ACT:32 (English 30 Math 34 Reading 30 Science 33)
TOEFL: 104
Final HS GPA: 4.07 (w/ IB and AP courses weighted by .50)
Courses for Senior year: AP lit, AP stats, AP american gov’t, IB math SL II and Spanish II
You want to transfer to Wes AND Midd? Transfers don’t usually get the same chance at financial aid as incoming freshman so check that out if cost is a factor at all. Have you visited either school? I would also think that both would be very liberal so if you are looking for a conservative vibe not sure you are looking in the right direction. Good luck.
@NEPatsGirl
Thank you for your reply! Well since this is the “What are my chances” thread I am asking for my possibility(^_^)
Given that I am an international student I am not expecting ANY financial aid in the first place. As for the political vibe, I have mentioned that I am not conservative- is just that liberal students at Grinnell are literally suppressing conservative students and I don’t think that’s right.
Idk about those 2, but have you looked at West Coast schools that have established economic and cultural ties to East Asia? I know Midd has the program with Monterey but you could be out here and benefit from proximity for 3 years.
@Oregon2016
Well I didn’t really think much about the west coast schools! However the only west coast school w/ ties that I know is Soka University and I don’t really like it there… I will take a look at the Claremont Colleges.
U of Puget Sound has some amazing connections to East Asia. Gonzaga might as well. Oregon universities have opportunities through partnerships with local companies like Nike, Adidas, Intel and Columbia that have manufacturing in East Asia.
I know you are hunting for prestige, and Willamette is not as prestigious as those you’ve already mentioned but it has a very well developed long term relationship with Japan and has a great Japanese department, check it out :http://willamette.edu/cla/jc/japanese/
Also “prestige” is highly subjective. Look for the quality and depth of the actual programs. If you’re in the mix for “prestige” you should be able to figure that out.
I’m actually curious about the Japanese department at Grinnell for my DD who is applying for next year. Is it weak? She wants to double major in East Asian Studies with a focus on Japanese but also study creative writing. Grinnell is a top choice for her. She’s liberal politically so she may not be as bothered by the same issues you raise but I do wonder if she should reconsider her focus.
@LMC9902 Good question to ask under the circumstances, but you’ll probably get a broader range of better-nuanced answers if you post something separate with a subject line focusing on the subject matter (East Asian etc.). I’m personally a big fan of Grinnell, but have no info on that department.
@LMC9902
While Grinnell does offer Japanese courses up to 300 level, all the Japanese professors are visiting scholars and we do not have a Japanese department. East Asian Studies at Grinnell is offered as a concentration only but it’s possible to expand it in to an independent major. However, those who apply for individual major cannot have double major.
Best of luck!