Chance me (again?)

Transfer Students
1

<p>My original post is [url="<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/transfer-students/386818-chance-me.html#post4616845%22%5Dhere%5B/url"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/transfer-students/386818-chance-me.html#post4616845"]here[/url&lt;/a&gt;]. But for a quick refresher:</p>

<p>-Currently at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY
-GPA: 3.72 (3 A, 4 A-, 1 B), major: Psychology, possible minor: Mathematics
-HS GPA: extremely competitive NYC private, A-/B+ average
-2230 SAT
-Why I want to transfer: Not entirely satisfied with class quality here; too rural; student population not to my taste either in class or out of class.</p>

<p>I'm in the middle of my first term, sophomore year, here, and I think I'm on track to get somewhere between a 3.7 and a 4.0 for the semester. Additionally, I've taken another EC on, as DJ for my radio station, and an on-campus job (which is difficult for non-aid students to get).</p>

<p>My list has only expanded: it was originally:
Stanford
Brown
Pomona
Penn
NYU (Gallatin School)</p>

<p>but now I've added:
CMU
Michigan
UCLA
Tufts
USC
Columbia</p>

<p>I know all of these schools, save possibly NYU, are reaches, just because it's so hard to transfer and I don't really have the best reason for wanting to get out of here (my major is fine, I'm doing well, I'm getting a "decent" education)- but I really don't want to graduate from here and I want to be somewhere else by Spring 08. What are my chances? Can you suggest any safeties that I can definitely leave for if everything goes wrong in the transfer process?</p>

<p>Thanks in advance!</p>

<p>ETA: Should I even consider Cornell? I want to go somewhere that's at least partially urban and I know Cornell doesn't fit that, but if there's a chance of my being able to get in, should I send off an application? Or would I be wasting money on a rejection letter?</p>

2

<p>ur SAT scores are solid...and gpa too...i think u cud make it into these colleges; cornell, nyu, cmu, ucla, tufts, usc, pomona and michigan pretty easily but brown, stanford, penn, columbi may be slightly harder but if ur essays and recs are good..then u stand a good chance....as for safeties, look into the university of florida...nice school</p>

3

<p>Thanks, prathiba6.</p>

<p>I'm bumping this because I talked to my guidance counselor from HS and confirmed what I thought they did, which is just send the old application support material along with the application. (That is, new guidance counselor recommendations aren't written, nor are the old ones modified.) This means that my recommendations will probably hurt me, because I was not a hard worker in high school, nor was I blessed with the ability to perform at an extremely high level and get As without trying. That's why I'm at Vassar.</p>

<p>My question is this: I know the old recs will hurt me, but how badly will they hurt me? I could swear up and down on whatever object or to whatever deity college counselors like that I am a seriously different person than I was two years ago and that I now have a work ethic and actual, real-life ambitions that extend past "I want to go to college because people told me I have to." I know I can communicate that in my essay, but then it becomes my word against, basically, the word (as interpreted by my high school guidance counselor) of a younger, stupider me. What do I have to do to get them to take New Me at face value? </p>

<p>And while we're at it, how do I go about getting a teacher here to write me a great rec?</p>

4

<p>Pomona only accepts an average of 16 transfer students every year, though you are a strong applicant.
I know, because I'm also applying there, and it's the only one I'm dreading.
Make sure to get an interview, the school likes to get to know its students.</p>

5

<p>hi kisskisskiss....i have some good advice for u...when ur applying to a college try and get a professor who graduated from that college to write a rec...and dont worry...ur HS recs wont hurt that much..infact most colleges dont even ask for hs recs..if u want a teacher to write u a good rec then stop by at his or her office, once or twice a week and speak to the professor and build a personal relationship...because thats where the best recs come from....</p>

6

<p>prathiba6, a lot of the schools I am applying to do in fact require HS recs- Penn, Stanford, etc. do, though not Columbia. That's part of why I'm worried.</p>

<p>I can get a good rec, but I am not sure how to get a great one- there's nothing quite like telling a teacher "I gotta transfer" before asking for a rec to blow away any chances of a glowing rec. Especially since it might be construed as being somehow a referendum on the quality of my teacher's work.</p>

7

<p>i clearly understand where you are coming from...i too had a terrible time thinking of how to approach some teachers for a rec..what i told me teachers was a made up excuse which im not proud off but felt necessary for a great rec..i told them that my parents are forcing me to transfer and i have no say or option in this...</p>

8

<p>kisskisskiss (lovable kkk? maybe a bad sn choice lol), can your persuade your HS to just tell the schools that they didn't hold your old recs? Yeah, it is deceptive, but it will probably help you enough to be worth it to you. </p>

<p>I would suggest telling your profs that you sincerely enjoyed their classes and conversations with them, which is why you are asking them for recs, but that the school just isn't the fit that you thought it would be. Poughkeepsie sucks, and they KNOW that, and sometimes personalities clash. You aren't the first person to transfer; they probably know the pros and cons of the school. Handle it maturely and they will respect you more (and most likely write you better recs in response).</p>