Colleges with the strongest English, Writing, and History Departments?

Transfer Students
1

<p>Let me present you with my dilemma: the school I currently attend was my last choice school, and to my suspected horror, I’m not having the best time. Unfortunately, my roommate and I couldn’t be more different, and this has led to me constantly complaining about her. The social atmosphere of the school is stagnant; personalities all tend to be very similar, and the thought of diversity is laughable. I can’t say much about the school academically, as I have yet to get into the heart of my major.
To be honest, I’m tired of the huge campus and the city life. I am unable to make friends here. Transferring is at the forefront of my mind, but I realize no matter what college I end up at, I will dislike some aspect of it. My question is, are there any colleges that are more of a happy medium? </p>

<p>My goal is to attend a college with a medium sized student population, somewhere not removed from civilization but not right in a city, a college that accepts people from all over the world.I want a college with great academic strength in the English, Writing, and History departments. The students should be more diverse, come from all different backgrounds, and be eager to learn. It should be located somewhere in New England, specifically Connecticut, Massachusetts, or Rhode Island. </p>

<p>Obviously stronger schools in terms of academics and prestige are something I factor in. I’m just wondering if it’s possible to have a school like that where I will generally feel comfortable and have a worthwhile experience. One of the schools I’ve been leaning towards is Brown, undoubtedly a reach, but a school I am interested in nonetheless. Any suggestions are welcome and would be most appreciated. =)</p>

<p>Also, just as a side question, is anyone familiar with academically strong colleges in England? I don't think Oxford or Cambridge accept transfers, but for those colleges that do, are there any that might fit my ideal description?</p>

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<p>Transfer is generally an alien concept in the UK because of the way the degree courses are structured, e.g. not by means of accumulation of credits. So you would need to apply to enter a university in the first year. A number of UK universities are very strong in history and English but Creative Writing, if that is what you mean, is not very common over here as a college subject, although I believe the University of East Anglia has a respected course in it.</p>

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<p>Yale..........</p>

4

<p>
[quote]
the school I currently attend was my last choice school

[/quote]
</p>

<p>It would help to know if you are currently a fr or soph and what college you're attending now so that we can recommend schools that are reasonable transfer possibilities.</p>

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<p>"It should be located somewhere in New England, specifically Connecticut, Massachusetts, or Rhode Island."</p>

<p>Hi Riks,
It seems to me that you're (covertly) attempting to describe the Ivies. Are you seeking some sort of validation?</p>

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<p>Previous post by Riks: "Well, these are the ten schools I applied and was rejected to: Harvard, Yale, Brown, UPenn, Dartmouth, Cornell, Tufts, Carnegie Mellon, Boston College, and Princeton. </p>

<p>Considering the admission for all of those schools is highly unpredictable and the record number of applications, I wouldn’t say it’s so surprising I was denied. I only have a 2050 SAT score and a 31 ACT, which aren’t very impressive for those schools. </p>

<p>I am, however, retaking the SATs, and I’m taking two AP exams in a few weeks. I plan to start the preparation for transfer this summer by actually visiting a few colleges."</p>

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<p>Take this in the least offensive way possible Riks, but you seem misguided. Retaking SAT's as a college student are not looked highly upon, at least I don't know anyone who has ever said they are beneficial. You would be wasting your time retaking them because they won't be considered, being that you are a college student and it could also hurt since they would rather you do better things with your time than retaking SATs. </p>

<p>The fact you got rejected before is not good. I've heard before and I believe that the Ivy Leagues do not strongly consider those who applied and were rejected and apply again as a transfer. If you were waitlisted, maybe, and if you got accepted the first time around that would be one thing. But I've NEVER heard of anyone applying as a transfer to an Ivy League after getting rejected and getting accepted as a transfer. </p>

<p>Plus, you were waitlisted for Boston University. Not a bad school, but if you were waitlisted there--your supposed safety school, how exactly do you expect to have any reasonable chance getting into an Ivy.</p>

<p>All that said, if you can get above a 3.8 at BU, try applying for a transfer to Cornell. I hear they are very transfer friendly. If Brown is your first choice then by all means apply, however you'll really need to stand out and prove to them you belong there</p>

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<p>
[quote]
But I've NEVER heard of anyone applying as a transfer to an Ivy League after getting rejected and getting accepted as a transfer

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Actually...it does happen. I applied to Cornell for freshman admission and was rejected. I applied the following year for transfer admission and was accepted.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
Retaking SAT's as a college student are not looked highly upon... You would be wasting your time retaking them because they won't be considered...</p>

<p>The fact you got rejected before is not good. I've heard before and I believe that the Ivy Leagues do not strongly consider those who applied and were rejected and apply again as a transfer. ... But I've NEVER heard of anyone applying as a transfer to an Ivy League after getting rejected and getting accepted as a transfer.

[/quote]
There is, unfortunately, a lot of misinformation here.</p>

<p>First, some colleges do allow re-takes of the SAT. And they certainly do consider them when they allow it. I am not saying that it is or isn't a good idea for you to re-take. But you will need to evaluate that in the context of the specific policies of each individual school to which you are planning to apply.</p>

<p>Second, there are most assuredly examples of individuals who were rejected at top schools, including Ivies, as freshmen and then accepted as transfer applicants. I know of some personally and there have been examples posted here on cc.</p>

<p>This does NOT mean that there is a good likelikhood. There are likely far more examples of people rejected twice; but it is possible and it has happened.</p>

<p>If you are feeling that all of the personalities at a school the size of BU are the same, that there is no diversity and that you cannot make friends there.... I think that the issues are more of you giving the people there and the school a chance. It is simply not possible that all of the personalities at a school of that size are of a piece. </p>

<p>If you don't like the school size and location, you will simply have to select a schools with a range of selectivity in the size range that you like and apply to those. I would certainly not recommend that you have a transfer school list that mirrors your freshman application list. As you have posted yourself, the odds are not in your favor.</p>

<p>I'm not sure why you don't want to be in a city. Perhaps in a city but with a more defined campus might work? In which case, Trinity College in Ct. could be a possibility. Perhaps Brandeis. Safer than those might be Wheaton, Stonehill. If you are a female, Wellesley, Smith or Mt. Holyoke might work. They are small but strong.</p>

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<p>I apologize for the misinformation in my previous post. You see I was suffering from a massive hangover, and was slightly intoxicated as well which led me to state things which were rather erroneous. The only thing I maintain though is that I strongly recommend you don't apply to those Ivy League schools again.</p>

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<p>I know 2 people personally who applied to Ivies and were rejected as freshman and were accepted as transfers - one to Cornell and one to U.Penn. I've also seen several people on CC post that they successfully transferred to top schools after being previously rejected - since it's the internet, I don't know if they're being honest, but assume they were. </p>

<p>I'm also applying to a college I was previously rejected from, and it's an Ivy. However, last time I applied I had an overall weak application, vague essays, and applied undecided to CAS - now I'm applying to a different school, and can write about my intended major with passion and enthusiasm, I have done my research, and I did really well junior/senior yr of HS, which I hope they'll focus on, and also well freshman yr of college. So I really hope what mfd3q said isn't true! If it is, I guess I'm screwed. My advice is apply anyway.</p>

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<p>There's a problem with making general statements about "students not getting into an Ivy as a freshman but being accepted as a transfer". If not a accepted as a fr, the chances of transferring as a jr will be better than as a soph IMO. Also, you can't talk about a generic "Ivy" as the transfer acceptance rates between, for example, Yale and Cornell are very different.</p>

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<p>if it is indeed true you were waitlisted to BU, extirpate any vision you have of going to an ivy or oxford/cambridge in the next couple of years...if you really want to transfer, as stated above, looking at a wide range of schools is a good idea (and to be realistic with what are reaches, matches and safeties...it seems, from what was posted, that this may be a problem for you)</p>

<p>if you could post your stats we could give you a better idea of schools to consider</p>

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<p>I'm a little confused here. I don't remember posting in this thread I was going to retake the SATs in college. I did retake the SATs, but that was when I was still in high school...</p>

<p>I'm not at all targeting "just the Ivy League schools." There are many good schools that are not a part of it, including LACs. I mentioned the specific states that I did because this is the area in which I live. I have no desire to apply to Cornell or UPenn again now that I have a grasp of how far away they are. There are many amazing colleges on the West Coast that I never applied to because of their distance.</p>

<p>Apart from low SATs (2100), my applications to colleges when I was in high school were very weak. I had barely any extra curricular activities, no traditional community service, and good grades in high school couldn't set me apart from others who did just as well but did more. One of my friends got into Brown, and though she had generally lower grades and lower SATs than me, she was on the varsity basketball team and did many activities that made her more well-rounded than me. It also doesn't help that I completed the applications at the very last minute, making everything seem very rushed and not well thought out.</p>

<p>There is very little opportunity to meet people here because of the vast amount of students. I have tried clubs, but even the clubs were cliquey, and I didn't feel I could fit in. I'm not a social person to begin with.</p>

<p>As for selecting colleges, I don't want to apply to a school that will offer me even less in terms of academics than BU. I'd rather stay at BU. </p>

<p>As I mentioned, Cornell is too far away. Wellesley would be great if it weren't an all-girls school. I don't think I would personally like Brandeis. </p>

<p>The difference from applying as a senior in high school to applying for sophomore year in college is that I actually plan to try with the applications. I don't know my college GPA right now (nor do I know how I could).</p>