Hey everyone,
I’m applying from Smith College (top 20 USNWR LAC, if that matters) as a junior transfer to BC (Lynch School of Educ.) and Tufts.
–GPA: 3.75 (but with upward trend, from 3.66 freshman year to a 3.93 my last semester)
–ECs: was an RA my sophomore year, tour guide, member of LGBT activism group, was chair of OUSR (working to change Smith admission policy towards undocumented immigrant applicants), and did some volunteer tutoring of Somali and Ethiopian refugees in English
–Common App essay was mainly about my experience taking a year off after finishing sophomore year at Smith–I got some professional experience (got a job in the special education department of an elementary school), this gave me a better sense of direction in terms of career and finding a college that was more relevant to my needs (proximity to city allows for more community engagement, as well as a pre-professional experience in underserviced elementary schools with large ESL and special ed populations). I think my Tufts and BC supplements were both pretty solid, and my recommendation from a prof at Smith should be very good as well.
High school wasn’t as good, 3.9 weighted at a very competitive/elite public school in the Boston area, 2230 SAT, tons of ECs w/ leadership and volunteering, 8 AP exams (all 5s)
I’m applying as an education major and need financial aid. Any thoughts on my chances?
If you don’t mind my asking, why do you want to leave Smith? (Sorry, I don’t have the answer to your questions-- my D is class of 2019 and also circling all of these schools.)
probably #1 reason is location. I knew I wanted a city school in HS as well, but Smith gave me FA I couldn’t really turn down. Once you’ve exhausted the 2 or 3 streets “downtown” in NoHo, you’re pretty much out of luck. #2 reason would probably be disappointment with the activist community on campus. Smith obviously has that reputation, but there are very few active social justice orgs, and the ones that exist focus primarily on online activism or raising campus awareness (ie very little hands on engagement or int’l focus).
Also, just didn’t love the social life. Generally extremely quiet on a Friday or Sat night, and it gets tiresome to do the 1.5 hour round trip bus ride to UMass every week. Lots of anime watching and Dr Who, which is fine, but just not how I want to spend my college years. Smith has tons to offer, and lots of students are very happy there, but it wasn’t the right place for me. I want a school where I can go to hockey and football games, have a fun/urban social life, and a community very into volunteering/service. Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions!
Thank you, that is very helpful and all things to keep in mind. Good luck with Tufts and BC. I hear BC has a strong drinking culture as part of its social life.
My friends from HS who are at BC have actually told me that the party culture is pretty healthy and not overly dominant on campus. I guess at almost 10K students, there’s probably a lot of diversity in social life and student activity (one of reasons I’d love to attend!).
Anyone else have an opinion at my likelihood at either Tufts or BC? I’m so nervous, it’s terrible having to wait until June to hear back!
bump? would love to hear any opinion 