Chances, advice, recs for schools

Transfer Students
1

<p>I'm trying to transfer out of Mount Holyoke College. I would be a junior, but I opted to take a year off instead of going back because I loathe it so much. Completely suffocating, both academically and socially.</p>

<p>SAT: 1440 (730V, 710M) + 760W
HS GPA: 4.321
HS Rank: 3/140 (totally robbed of a three-way salutatorian tie... err...)
College GPA: 3.848
College Rank: unknown, but in top 15%
Solid academic courseload all throughout. College courses were predominantly 200/300-level; could graduate a year early with AP credits. Had a bad second semester (parents moving, mom's health problems, start of a long bout with depression), but worked my way back up to getting a 4.0 last semester. Also working on a little vocal audition CD as a supplement, and possibly if I apply for a dual-degree at Oberlin, but that doesn't seem too feasible at this point in the game.</p>

<p>Great HS ECs--involved in everything: choir, MUN, NHS, etc. Won several regional district awards for both choir and MUN, was NHS secretary. College involvement mostly revolved around singing (12+ hours a week in 3 different ensembles). Also served as a TA for my major department (CS) since my second semester. Would have become a Philosophy dept. grader if I had stayed. Did research this summer at Carnegie Mellon; planning to return to Pittsburgh to continue research during my time off. Currently working two part-time jobs in retail (3-6 days of the week).</p>

<p>Anyway, enough with the terse sentences. I guess I should offer a bit of background, although this post is getting much too long. Basically, I'm discontent with my undergraduate experience so far. I dislike the isolation of being at a remote women's college. I'd be perfectly happy if I were at a remotely located coed school with more socioeconomic diversity. However, what's most important to me is going somewhere that's a bit more challenging, not that MHC has a terrible academic reputation. FYI, I've been taking 20+ credits every semester (each class is typically 4 credit-hours). I also want to branch out into cogsci and linguistics, or at least attend a school with a strong foreign language program (specifically East Asian languages--Korean is a definite bonus). I'm considering either law school, or getting a PhD in Phil. or CS.</p>

<p>I've gone through three rounds of transfer applications, although I guess the one spring app I sent doesn't REALLY count... I haven't had much luck, actually, which I'd like to attribute to not spending enough time on my apps. Was accepted into CMU SCS twice, but declined. The first time was for financial reasons, and the second because I got cold feet and decided I still wanted to go the LAC route, which I rather regret now, because god knows I want to be in school more than anything. But if taking a year off means I have the opportunity to finally get this college thing right, then it'll be worth it. My parents have been supportive enough, although they treat me like I'm a dropout, which I resent very much. They're focused on me getting a piece of paper, and like the idealist I am, I always respond with, "Anybody can get a piece of paper; I want my remaining two years to be an experience I'll cherish for the rest of my life." (I'll probably be in debt, because they've a limit to how much they can pay) This chagrins my parents to no end, especially since I could've graduated in three years--with a scholarship, to boot--but we've developed a semblance of mutual understanding.</p>

<p>Schools I'll Be Applying to, Regardless of Past Decisions:
-Pomona (w/l in HS, crushed by their outright rejection last year)
-Swarthmore (w/l T_T)
-Chicago (rejected; I'll be the first to admit my essay sucked)
-Wesleyan
-Reed
-Haverford</p>

<p>Thinking about:
-Grinnell
-Middlebury
-Oberlin
-Brown (if only their transfer acceptance rate were higher :)</p>

<p>Any thoughts are appreciated. Sorry for the lengthiness!</p>

2

<p>I think that in general, you're a strong applicant. However, there are a few things to keep in mind:</p>

<p>-- If you have more than 60 credits, that will be a problem at most places. Send along a note acknowledging that you're willing to shed excess credits if accepted, so as to meet your new school's residency/credit requirements.</p>

<p>-- Have a concrete, but general (for common app purposes), reason for wanting to transfer that these colleges meet. Mentioning the lack of men is likely not the greatest case. The lack of a solid linguistics department, or a full compliment of Asian language courses is, provided of course that these other schools have them.</p>

<p>-- Get a safety. Clearly you hate Mount Holyoke, which is both fine and understandable. But then, if finishing up a BA is that important, and you cannot do it there, you need to have an easy option. In other words, the schools you've listed, while great, are mostly very competitive. What about somewhere like Eugene Lang, Occidental, or SUNY Geneseo (also not as expensive).</p>

3

<p>Thanks for responding. Of course my main motivation for wanting to transfer is that I miss guys, although I won't deny that it's true.</p>

<p>My problem, I guess, is that I'm fixated on the idea of going to a little liberal arts college in New England, despite my first choice being Pomona. Anyway, I'll look into the schools you suggested. I guess Brown would be a waste of money?</p>

4

<p>"I'd be perfectly happy if I were at a remotely located coed school with more socioeconomic diversity. However, what's most important to me is going somewhere that's a bit more challenging, not that MHC has a terrible academic reputation. FYI, I've been taking 20+ credits every semester (each class is typically 4 credit-hours). I also want to branch out into cogsci and linguistics, or at least attend a school with a strong foreign language program (specifically East Asian languages--Korean is a definite bonus). I'm considering either law school, or getting a PhD in Phil. or CS."</p>

<p>Occidental College sounds like it would be a great choice for you. I'm currently attending, and we are located in Eagle Rock, CA, which in the Los Angeles County. We are about 10-15 minutes from Hollywood, Pasadena, and Glendale, and only 35 minutes or so from the beach. We are co-ed, and we have a population of about 1800. In terms of diversity, I believe somewhere in the rankings we are the 3rd most diverse school, just behind Swarthmore. Diversity is also a huge part of our mission statement, and you will be beaten over the head with it before you graduate, haha.</p>

<p>Oxy is an extremely challenging school, if you get an A here you really deserve it. As are almost never given for average work, actually, Bs are almost never given for average work. The professors challenge you and are more than willing to meet with you to work on whatever you need help with.
I know we have a CogSci major, and we have a Spanish and French Literary Studies and a German, Russian,and Classical Studies department. Also, not to be disagreeable, but I would not say Oxy is a safety school, it does take alot to be accepted, but your stats sound very good. </p>

<p>And finally, I would say the best reason to look into Oxy is that not only do we accept transfers with open arms, we really are excited to have you. I know this whole post sounds really "cheerleader" about Oxy, but it's because I really do love this school. All my friends love it, and when you transfer in, you take part in Orientation Week (O-Week...can you guess I was an O-Team leader?) the same as freshman, although we are bit more lenient in making you attend if you really don't want to. The main message is that we are a really close-knit community, without feeling too suffocated. If you have any questions about Oxy I would be glad to answer them. =)</p>

5

<p>Gosh, that sounds awesome! I'll definitely get in touch with you in a bit. Thanks for letting me know--it does sound like the sort of place I'm looking for. :)</p>

6

<p>Sorry to keep bumping my own thread. Well, maybe not too sorry. :P</p>

<p>So I guess I'll scratch off Midd after reading about the overenrollment problem. Still thinking about Oberlin, and I do like Grinnell's odds (and almost everything else about it). I was wondering if it would be worth a shot applying to Dartmouth, too, which was my first choice in HS, but I was much too ashamed to try applying again last year. Hrm.</p>

<p>Apps are too friggin' expensive.</p>