What’s up CC Community!
I’m looking to transfer out of my current school but I really have absolutely no clue where I stand as an applicant. If someone could help me get an idea of the type of schools I would have a solid chance at getting into, that would be so awesome!!
Here is my info
College: Top 3 Liberal Arts College
GPA: 2.9
Major: Undecided
EC’s: Volunteer Work, Campus Newspaper, Varsity Athlete, Campus Job, Christian Club, Conservative Club, Academic Adviser, Intramural Sports, Summer Internship
HS GPA: 4.2
ACT: 31, 33 Super
Took 13 AP’s
Did research w NASA
What is your inclination for a major? Science, engineering, something else? What about finances? Is there a compelling reason you wish to transfer? How long have you been at your current university?
@xraymancs Inclinations are toward math and econ. I just finished my second year but i think im going to take a gap year/year off and go for applications in next year’s bout. Reason is that i dont fit in at my current institution in any way. Its not a place where i can grow personally, intellectually or even athletically. I dont like the academics and have had some really bad profs and some really bad things happen to me. If i do math, i want to specialize in applied but we only have have general math, which is actually just pure/theoretical math. we dont really have application classes. i also have a lot of problems w campus culture but thats another story.
Definitely look for Applied Mathematics programs and a place which also has a business school. The [url="<a href=“http://theaitu.org%22%5DAITU%5B/url”>http://theaitu.org"]AITU[/url] schools are reasonable possibilities if you want a private technological university. A number of them offer transfer scholarships and have rolling admissions for transfer students if you don’t want to take the gap year.
I also noted that you mentioned athletics. Are you looking for Division 3?
Your majors of choice are incredibly competitive, and your GPA will severely hurt you if you don’t find a way to raise it. If you had a 3.5 or higher, you’d have a fantastic shot at transferring to a lot of schools, but taking a gap year, getting work experience, and then returning to school and getting a MUCH better GPA will give you a lot more opportunities, transfer-wise. Whatever you decide to do, best of luck!
Do you have any plans in the gap year? You could try to go to community college and take classes to help bring up the GPA.
@xraymancs that would make sense, but i dont think im looking for tech schools, just regular 4 research or LACs. although i do play a sport, the division doesnt matter to me
@aspiringauthor7 but seeing that i dont have a 3.5, am i not really competitive at any school?
@philbegas i looked into that but the problem is that ive already taken so many math and econ courses that the courses i need to take arent offered at any community college near me. i would have to take somthing outisde my major. do you think it would still help anyways?
@Drwizardmoose you are competitive for a few schools, but the more well-known and higher-rated they are, the more the odds are stacked against you. As a community college student myself looking to transfer, I know GPA is the number one thing colleges look at when assessing transfer applicants, because they want to see if you’ll succeed at their school. The higher your GPA, the more doors that are open to you. If you look on certain colleges’ admissions websites, sometimes they have stats like the average GPA of admitted transfers, and typically they’re lower than the average UW GPA of an incoming freshman, simply because college is harder. So a high GPA = better odds for you.
@aspiringauthor7 damn…does coming from a top 3 LAC mean anything? my school has madddddd grade deflation, especially in math, part of the reason i want to ditch
I’m not quite sure. I’m no expert, I just speak from my experience and what I’ve learned from my peers and my counselors. The better the school you’re coming from, the better it looks to admissions when you have great grades. Do you think maybe going to a community college to get your GPA up and save some money before transferring is possible? Just because they might have easier classes so you can get above a 3.0. That’s really the best way to ensure your competitiveness. Your 2.4 sounds like you have mostly C’s and maybe one or two B’s, which isn’t a great reflection of your ability to succeed at whatever school you want to transfer to. That’s why I’d hesitate to say you’re a competitive student, regardless of where you currently attend.
Your High School performance was exceptional while your college GPA is “Meh”. That is a downward trend, which is not something that schools like to see. Is taking another year and then transferring an option for you? From what i’ve researched 3.5 is like the general cutoff to be considered for any selective schools. Even for moderately selective schools like Uconn or Penn State you’d likely need at least 3.25 to compete. Especially considering your High School performance is evidence you are capable of that. The clubs definitely help though! Regarding your High School performance, a lot of schools don’t require High School transcripts for transfer students with over 60 credits. You may want to omit them to avoid showing a downward trend. Ask a professional about that because I’m not positive, but it may be so.
You mentioned a top 3 liberal arts college? Is that where you want to transfer or where you are currently going? If that is where you are currently going I’d honestly tough it out. Not to be too harsh but frankly 2.8-3.25 isn’t going to get you into another top 3 school of any category. Best of luck!