<p>I know mid-year transfers are much harder to achieve than fall ones and was wondering if I should give it a shot or stick it out and wait for the normal transfer app.</p>
<p>Virginia Resident
Currently a sophomore at Duke University
College GPA: 3.94, ten full classes taken (not including this semester) with eight A's and two A-'s
ECs: Part of a leadership selective living group, work as a research assistant at the Fuqua School of Business, on the executive council of a prominent community service organization aimed at connecting with Durham schoolchildren</p>
<p>Graduated from Thomas Jefferson HS for Sci/Tech in 2005
GPA: 3.98 W 3.8ish UW
SAT: 800V, 730M
SAT IIs: 780 Writing, 780 US History, 730 Math IIC
APs: 4 in French Lang, 5's in Psych, Comp Sci AB, Calc BC, US History, English Lit, English Lang, US Gov, Microeconomics
ECs: Girl Scouts, Model UN, volunteering tutoring, Sunday School teacher</p>
<p>Took two UVA classes during the summer semester after my sophomore year in high school.</p>
<p>Child Psychology - A (.5 off an A+, grrr :p )
Principles of Microeconomics - A+</p>
<p>And for the past three summers I've worked at the local branch of a well-known investment banking firm and could get a recommendation from my boss if that would help.</p>
<p>I'm looking to major in economics although I'm not sure if that will have any kind of effect on admission. I've taken four economics core courses so far at Duke and my math background covers multivariable calc and both theory and applications of linear algebra.</p>
<p>Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!</p>
<p>firebird - I've heard that spring transfers are extremely difficult and so was just wondering if I have a shot.</p>
<p>Lasker - Well I'm not on financial aid so cutting the tuition bill by 75% would be nice, but to tell the truth finances are not a huge issue. It's more for social reasons than anything else.</p>
<p>Banana, you'd have a fantastic shot at spring transfer. Generally it's much more difficult to get in for the spring, but with your GPA, Duke pedigree and other factors, I can't see why you wouldn't get in.</p>
<p>Chu and firebird - I have a lot of friends there and at the very least it's closer to home. My reasons for not being happy at Duke are complicated but I will say I have reason to believe it's unlikely that things would turn out the same way at UVA.</p>
<p>cavalier - Thanks, that's reassuring to hear. :) </p>
<p>Thanks for the input everyone. Now it's just a matter of deciding if I should apply for the spring or give Duke one more semester. It's just my job, which could be my ticket into grad school (PhD program in management) that's holding me back. Were it not for that I would've transferred last year.</p>
<p>banana, you might as well go ahead and apply. If you decide not to enroll in the spring, you could probably reapply for the fall and get in. Also, what makes you think that you wouldn't be able to get a similar job at UVa in one of the business schools?</p>
<p>On a similar note, I am thinking about transferring as well, although I understand competition is fierce to get into UVA for the spring.</p>
<p>Virginia Resident
SAT: 700M, 690V
Current College GPA: 3.84 (College of William and Mary)
Expect great recs from established profs who I knew very well last year.</p>
<p>So, how do you think I stack up, and will it even be worth applying for the spring?</p>
<p>
[quote]
Also, what makes you think that you wouldn't be able to get a similar job at UVa in one of the business schools?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>This particular job, in terms of who I'm working with and what I'm working on, was just a really really lucky break. Also, I'm not sure if Darden takes undergraduate RAs, although that's certainly something I'd inquire about before applying to transfer.</p>
<p>Are the professors actually different? I mean, I'd be willing to work with anyone who's conducting research in my field of interest (and I'd have to stick to that field seeing as I plan to highlight my job as an research assistant when I apply to PhD programs).</p>
<p>Ok, well like I said, anyone who's working on something in my field of interest would be fine. I can ask McIntire and Darden about that more directly.</p>
<p>Quick question - how common is it for economics majors to not start taking econ electives until their junior year? I'm fairly confident the Duke econ core will transfer but I'm not so sure about what'll happen to the more specialized electives (e.g. labor economics, business and government, etc).</p>
<p>The economics major only requires 15 credit hours of electives. You could easily knock that off in one semester along with some math to bolster your grad school apps.</p>
<p>Forgive the stupid question, but around how many classes would that be? Heh, sorry, Duke does one course = one credit, so when people talk about credit hours I tend to get a bit lost.</p>
<p>I can't imagine you being denied in the spring or fall. My advice would be to apply for the spring transfer class for two reasons:</p>
<p>1) I applied for the spring term, was denied, and was accepted for the subsequent fall term. Instead of having to complete a new application, I simply rolled over my spring app. The best part? The app. fee was waived. This all made it a lot easier when I applying to other schools for the fall term, as I had one fewer application to worry about.</p>
<p>2) You mentioned that you have friends at UVA, so integrating into the community would be much easier for you than for someone, say, from Oregon who knows nobody.</p>
<p>Oops, missed these posts, sorry! Thanks for the clarification cavalier.</p>
<p>And thanks for the input Silence Dogood! I'm still undecided about trying for the spring. I don't want to apply then unless I'm absolutely sure I'd want to go if accepted, and needless to say, I haven't made up my mind about that yet.</p>
<p>And yeah, I realize having friends will be a big help, but I was wondering about what kind of experience "normal" transfers tend to have, socially-speaking.</p>