Columbia transfer chances from U-Miami? (3.6gpa + 2160 + took year off)

<p>Hey, I will be applying to Columbia as a rising Sophomore. I'm actually part of the class of 2010, but I took a year off, so now I'll be part of class of 2011.</p>

<p>Anyways, my stats at the University of Miami are as follows:</p>

<p>Male</p>

<p>Freshman Yr Semester 1: 3.8
Freshman Yr Semester 2: 3.4
Total GPA: 3.6
Stanford Scholarship ($16k)</p>

<p>SATs: 720V, 740M, 700W</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:</p>

<ul>
<li>Started own business during year off (just made some quick money).</li>
<li>Beta Theta Pi scholarship semi-finalist</li>
<li>Entrepreneurship Club</li>
<li>Provosts Honor Roll (higher than Dean's List)</li>
</ul>

<p>How good are my chances? What else would I need to work on? Any feedback would be appreciated!</p>

<p>You need a story, a theme, an explanation for why you want to transfer and why Columbia is uniquely suited to satisfy your academic needs.</p>

<p>And great essays backing that up.</p>

<p>transfer admissions are more competitive than the normal cycle, with only a 3.6 at a university that isn't as academically competitive, you haven't proven that you can cope with the academics at columbia. The worsening gpa from 1st to 2nd term doesn't help. a scholarship that you got when you got in is hardly relevant. I see neither a huge amount of passion in what you do, nor very much achievement. Starting up a business in a gap year is fine, but that by itself can't get you in, unless it was very successful. </p>

<p>and yea what does Columbia do for you that U Miami doesn't?</p>

<p>I was wondering if you guys think i have any chance transferring into Columbia: Economics/Math
Georgetown: Finance
BC*: Finance/Economics
Dartmouth: Economics/Math </p>

<p>high school stats:</p>

<p>GPA 3.3
Sats (kinda of low)
Math: 610 Verbal 560 Writing: 560
satII
Math I : 620 Bio: 560 (i dont do well with stand test)
Ecc: school's news paper, class representative, key club, interact club (vice president), Toys for Todd (chairman)
Awards: Ap scholar award , Horatio Alger National Scholar Award
AP European History 4
AP United States History 3
AP Biology 3 </p>

<p>College: Fairfield University </p>

<p>BS finance / BA economics
first year </p>

<p>GPA: 3.9 cum (3.8 first semester and 4.0 second semester) </p>

<p>Intro to Micro: A-
Intro to Macro:A
Applied Calc I: A-
Applied Calc II: A
English Comp and Prose: A
Intro to literature:A
Intermediate French I: A-
Intermediate French II: A
Intro to Financial Accounting : A
Intro to Managerial Accounting: A </p>

<p>invited and accepted into the honors program
Deans list award
finance and accounting club
Fairfield University Student Association </p>

<p>second year
will maintain the gpa
become a mentor and RA </p>

<p>i realize that my high school record is weak (really weak ) but i have improved and i am more focused. and my current college record shows that i have changed (do they care about that ?)</p>

<p>I have applied to BC during my freshmen year in college and i was wait listed*
I am also Egyptian i moved to the states about 6 yrs ago
I am the first one in my family to get a degree from the states</p>

<p>^Hi, Jack.</p>

<p>(Get iiiit?)</p>

<p>To be honest I don't see you getting in. Last year kids with near 3.8+GPAs, 2250+ SATs, at strong schools weren't getting into most of the Ivies. I recommend looking at UNC-CH, Georgetown, Rice, Northwestern, Michigan, WashU, and Emory. These schools are all more forgiving to transfers.</p>

<p>First of all: DEFINITELY retake the SATs. Those scores are subpar....for every school you're applying to.</p>

<p>I think that if you manage to raise your SATs (my cutoff would be 2200) you have a decent shot. They like their transfers to have personality and a story. I would push the discreptancy between your High school years and your college performance as part of that story and elaborate on what led to the change/ improvement.</p>

<p>So to make it short:</p>

<p>High school record won't keep you out since you'll have spent 2 years in college by then.
College GPA is competitive.
SATS are a big issue.
Your extracurriculars are a bit bland.....</p>

<p>You should focus on the SATs and really shaping up a profile/personality (I'm not seeing much, no offense).</p>

<p>The egyptian and first generation hooks won't help you much imo.</p>

<p>Considering you took a year off, I believe you would be applying to GS which is not quite as competitive as CC. From what I understand, the admission decision is a bit more holistic so depending on your situation that could help.</p>

<p>Actually agree with that completely. Apply to GS. Its not the college but you'll get in and at the end of the day many people don't even know the difference. You miss out on some aspects of the college, most importantly the alumni networking and social life (you can't live in dorms, etc), but on the other hand you still get the Columbia degree.</p>