<p>Hi,
I'm a freshman at Dickinson College, and I'm kind of on the fence about transferring. I came into college wanting to be an English/Spanish double major, and I still want to pursue these majors. I just finished my first semester with a 3.1 GPA, which was destroyed through taking the introductory Chemistry course for science majors. My grades were an A- in a 200 lvl Latin American Culture course taught in Spanish, an A- in a 200 lvl English course on literary theory, a B in my freshman seminar, and a C in the Chemistry class. I had a 1330 (660v 670m) on my SAT in high school, and my Sat II scores were: 720 Spanish, 700 US History, and 670 writing. My GPA in high school ended up being a 3.6, and I was in the top 3% of my class of 475. I was an editor of the literary magazine and newspaper in high school and participated in a few other clubs, and won a few awards for writing. Oh and if AP Scores matter I have a 5 in English Lit, a 4 in US Hist and Spanish Lang, and a 3 in Bio. I know that Chem was a dumb choice to take, but I withdrew from AP Chem in high school, and I wanted to see exactly how I'd do if I actually dedicated myself to the class. In summary, it obviously didn't work out for me. But anyway, places that I would like to try transferring to are Swarthmore, UPenn (my dad has worked there for nearly 30 years), Muhlenberg, Villanova, and Penn State. Despite my not-so-great GPA, I know I can recover in the upcoming semester, and currently I'm wondering what exactly my chances are, and perhaps some suggestions as to the caliber of schools I could possibly get accepted to. I'm still giving Dickinson a chance, but it would be nice to have a ticket out if I really want to leave by the end of the year. Thanks a lot to whoever helps.</p>
<p>you should be fine for Muhlenburg, Villanova, and Penn State. i really dont know how the family member working at UPENN helps someone get into the school so i really couldnt comment on that. Swarthmore on the other hand is an extremely high reach.</p>
<p>i think when you write long paragraphs like that, you should seperate it into sections to make if easier and more enjoyable to read, lol, at least for me do it for me. With the grades you have so far, i dont think you have the greatest chances since you must apply now for fall, or at least before you spring grades come out. Not all schools will wait to recieve those grades to make a final decision, some will, however i read at villanova's website that they have extra large classes and are taking in less students and not taking any students in a few majors, i would check into that.</p>
<p>I would highly recommend planning on finishing three-four semesters before you apply anywhere, and trying to raise your overall GPA to 3.6. Don't rush -concentrate on where you are now, take classes you'll enjoy and do well in, and do things right. You'd probably have like a 2.something at Swarthmore if you were there right now... You could do freshman and sophomore year where you are, trying to get a super-high GPA for the next three semesters, then you could take a year off to work and internship, travel, etc. and apply to schools. The long-term approach would probably give you the best chance at transfer to a competitive school. And maybe you'd be mature enough by then to handle the work with grace. I think a well planned-out junior transfer would be much more effective than a sophomore one where you aren't sure what you're getting yourself into.</p>
<p>simaddict, just out of curiosity... why do you want to transfer out of dickinson? my daughter is considering applying there next year. thanks.</p>
<p>If you're looking to go into arts and science at Villanova they want you to wait 2 years before transferring</p>