<p>Hi everyone. I'm currently a rising UC - Berkeley sophomore that's thinking about transferring to either Harvard, Yale, Stanford, or Columbia. Before I present my stats, I want to say that I had barely average hs stats mainly because my freshman and sophomore year were mediocre. However, I've been on a rising trend ever since junior year and it has even carried me on through Berkeley. I think there's a huge discrepancy between my hs stats and my college stats. The reason I want to transfer is because I feel like I have more potential and could've done better if I applied myself more in high school. So far, Berkeley is somewhat easy to me and I'd like to see how far my potential is. Without further ado, my stats:</p>
<p>High school:
GPA: 4.17 weighted; 3.84 unweighted
ACT: 30
Rank: 9/400~
EC: started my own club/CSF scholarship recipient/LEOs (honors volunteer service club)/AVID tutor volunteer/VP of film club/solar club... and other misc, small stuff that I don't think is that significant. lol.
Others: Took all APs and honor classes available (which isn't much; my high school sucks).</p>
<p>College:
GPA: 3.83
Awards/EC: on-track for Magna Cum Laude distinction (called "high honors" in Berkeley), volunteer service to help low-income families do their taxes, and a variety of business clubs.</p>
<p>Now, I know that my stats aren't really that amazing; I'm only thinking about transferring. If you guys think I have a decent shot at it then I will attempt it. If you guys think I'm just in over my head then I wouldn't hold it against you. I'm pretty sure I'm not the most competitive applicant. Either way, I thank all of you for your opinion and time.</p>
<p>of the schools you mentioned, i think columbia is the most likely, but that’s also still a reach. your HS stats are actually quite good. i would maybe save yourself the time/energy/money and apply to columbia and then just one of the HYS schools and then apply to other top 20s because i see no reason why you wouldn’t get into at least a handful of those</p>
<p>It’s not about grades. While you need high stats (consider retaking ACT or SAT), what S and and Y look for in the few transfers they accept is exceptional talent that will contribute to campus life. So they will want to see deep EC involvement that made a difference on your campus, unusual research participation where you were a key player…They’ll want prof recs that say you’re top of the top and not just because you got an A in one class, you need to be valuable to the department.</p>
<p>I was also wondering that if you want a good shot at being a HYSC transfer, do they prefer you continue with the language you studied in HS or would it be fine to start a new language? I was thinking of applying under sophomore standing and my only course in the 200s is Calculus and the other courses are in the 100s unless I continue into an intermediate language level. And I know that HYSC wants a rigorous load so I am sort of confused about what is considered rigorous.</p>
<p>Honestly, I’m not going to even try to help you because of this sentence. Yeah, a 3.84 and 9/400+ is real mediocre man. I know it’s CC, but still. Reality check if you think that’s mediocre.</p>
<p>I will say though that HYS are next to impossible though.</p>
<p>Out of curiosity, why do you want to transfer out of Cal?</p>
<p>I think you have a shot at Columbia, but I really can’t say for the other schools. It’s really unpredictable for HYS. I’d suggest applying to some other top 20 schools though, I think you have a chance.</p>
<p>@Knights09: Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound elitist or anything. What I meant was that my stats were mediocre in comparison to the hs applicant pool for HYS. I’ve never applied to HYS in hs but I assumed that I would’ve had a high chance of rejection.</p>
<p>@ilikebananas: The two main reasons I want to transfer out of Cal is because I want to increase my chances of breaking into the banking/consulting industry and that I honestly don’t find Cal that intellectually stimulating at the moment, even though it’s considered a highly grade deflated and tough public school, so I want to see if any other schools higher up can challenge me.</p>
<p>But, there are reasons why I WOULDN’T transfer though. I’ve built some good connections of friends here and feel at home at this school. That is why I’m only aiming for schools such as HYSC. Other schools that are above Cal would probably be a good transfer chance for me too but I feel that the slight jump isn’t worth the trouble of leaving my friends at Cal.</p>
<p>I really wanted to try the academics and challenge myself at HYSC but If I don’t have chance then it’s fine for me to still stay Cal.</p>
<p>I think, also, you should think of specific reasons you want to transfer, whether abstract or concrete. Some die-hard Cal fans would never agree that Yale is more “intellectually stimulating.” You should write about the department you want to transfer into, the classes you want to take, etc. Transferring to HYSC from Cal for harder classes isn’t very convincing. What’s your major anyway?</p>