Chance My Son as a Transfer Student

<p>He is a white male that graduated from high school in 2004. His class rank was 12/687. His ACT score was a 31 (32/32/32/29), and his SAT score was 650R and 670M = 1320. He went to a four year university to study engineering, and left there after three semesters with a 3.7 GPA. He has spent two semesters at a community college and carries a 4.0 GPA. His transcript is heavy with math and science (calc 1,2,3, differential eq, engineering sciences, etc.). He was involved in an accident in 2006 (hit by a drunk driver) and was out of school for 1 year. He now wants to go in a different direction and intends to study philosophy. This was quite a surprise to say the least. Yet, we want to support his planned change. Does he have a chance at some very good schools as a transfer student? What are some schools with good philosophy departments. His intentions are to get an advanced degree to ultimately teach philosophy or become an attorney. </p>

<p>A concerned father</p>

<p>He has a good shot at some very good schools. That said, most top schools have satisfactory philosophy departments. You are likely to find the best philosophy undergrad departments at liberal arts colleges and smaller schools like Dartmouth, Brown, etc. </p>

<p>Given his stats and courseload, I think you and he should take a look at the rankings for both universities and colleges, realizing that at this point he is competitive at practically any college in the country.</p>

<p>No offense an It is horrible to say, but I'd say he has an above average chance at any school since being hit by the drunk driver. All he has to do is include it in his transfer admissions essay and he's in a lot of places.</p>

<p>Thank you for the responses, but you mention schools like Dartmouth and Brown. Those are real heavy weights. I know he is a good student, but aren't those beyond his expectations?</p>

<p>With his SATs, the Ivies are a bit reachy.</p>

<p>If he was out of school for one year he can try for Columbia's General Studies program and then concentrate on a philosophy-centered curriculum.</p>

<p>I'm wondering what standing he would be applying for (not sure how many credits he got at the CC). As a junior? Do you want to say what 4-year school he started at? </p>

<p>I, too, think he is an excellent candidate. It's true that his SATs are a little light for the very most selective schools, but the ACT is a tad higher as converted, and he has more of a story to tell than just the test scores. That said, don't know if there's any reason for him to focus on HYPSM, although he could give any that interest him a try.</p>

<p>Could you tell us if he has any geographic preferences? School size/atmosphere? What about finances? Will he require need-based aid (if so, do you know the approximate EFC? He may or may not still be of an age where parental income factors in.) </p>

<p>Once he focuses on a set of schools of the right size/atmosphere/location, he needs to do the usual: include schools in a range of selectivity so that he has some safe/match/reach schools on his list.</p>

<p>Best of luck to him and you. Please come back with any specific questions we might answer.</p>

<p>The university was in Illinois, and so is the community college. He is now 21 and will have his associates degree in May. He was able to complete two courses last semester and is taking fourteen hours this semester and will graduate with an associates degree. He will need financial assistance unless he receives a large settlement (won't know that until sometime this Spring). I will also cosign on loans if necessary. We are located just outside St. Louis, but he is not adverse to relocating if the school has a quality program. The size of the school is not important. He has more than sixty hours but the cc could only use so many in the different areas upon evaluation of his university transcript. This will leave him with some excess hours from what I can gather.</p>

<p>I think he has a good chance at any school. Look into Brown.</p>

<p>Okay, then you will want to look at the financial aid policies of each school that interests him in terms of how they meet need FOR TRANSFERS. Not all schools that pledge to meet 100% of need for freshmen do so for transfers. So take that into account.</p>

<p>The caliber of school he attended with the 3.67 will factor into how his GPA and overall application is perceived; so it's a little hard to know where he might aim for transfer without knowing that. You probably already know that he will want two strong recs from college profs for most schools.</p>

<p>Is he interested in UIUC, UChicago, Northwestern, WashUStL? These are all strong schools in or near his backyard. </p>

<p>For schools with strong Philosophy departments, you might find this thread useful: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/408842-best-philosophy-department.html?highlight=philosophy%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/408842-best-philosophy-department.html?highlight=philosophy&lt;/a>. He could look through the lists to find locations/atmospheres/sizes which appeal, and then check finaid policies. And, then, take care to stratify to include safe/match/reach. The thread here on the Transfer Forum citing 2006 Transfer Acceptance Rates is a good way to get an idea about that.</p>

<p>I second the notion mentioned in the "Best Philosophy Departments" thread that the Jesuit schools (and some other Catholic schools) will almost always have excellent Philosophy programs. Some such schools are highly selective (eg, Georgetown, Notre Dame) but there are others with higher admittance rates.</p>

<p>Your son's match schools are the University of Chicago and NYU (rumored to have the best undergrad philosophy dept. in the nation). An above post recommended Jesuit universities and I agree. Consider Loyola in Chicago as well as NYU and the Univ. of Chicago.</p>

<p>I second WashU. Concerning his competitiveness, I see nothing particularly weak in his record and think the 3.7 in engineering (not easy by any means), 4.0 at a CC, multiple semesters of work, reasonably strong test scores, and his unique circumstances all make his app competitive at any school. Dartmouth and Brown are a little heavy, yes, but they are that way for anyone. What matters is that he truly has a shot at these schools. Moreover, he should have little to no trouble gaining admission to some good top 30 schools/LACs.</p>