Hey everyone! I could not find a thread for people aspiring to transfer to Columbia for the fall of 2018, most likely because it is very early to be thinking of such a thing, so I decided to start one. I am in the class of 2020 and I currently go to a state school, though it is considered a “public Ivy.” I did not apply to Columbia as a freshman, but I did apply to transfer to Columbia (as a sophomore) for the current school year and I was rejected. I do not know what lies ahead for me in the year to come, but I am certainly open to the idea that I may end up loving my current school (I do already like it) so much that I might end up not applying to transfer again. However, I generally abide by the idea that I should keep my options open so it is likely that I will apply to transfer again. I am starting this thread so that all of us considering this option may communicate with one another and provide assistance when needed.
When I apply to Columbia for next fall, my GPA will either be about the same as it was when I applied last year or lower (hopefully not lower, but I cannot predict how next quarter will go!). My activities outside of my academics have certainly improved and I feel that my transcripts this year will better demonstrate the direction I am heading in terms of my academic career – I mention this fact because I know that last year my courses and activities were slightly scattered so it was not always clear what my academic intentions were. I would like to say that my writing has improved as well, along with my narrative intake (we all know how much Columbia loves their book list questions!).
What I am currently debating right now is whether or not to retake my ACT and to take two SAT Subject Tests. When I took the ACT in high school I received a composite score of 30, which is not too bad but still considerably low when compared to Columbia’s average. I did not take any Subject Tests when I applied to colleges in high school, but I am considering taking the World History test and the Spanish test. I have four years of high school-level Spanish classes under my belt and a decent knowledge of World History, though I, of course, would still study for the tests. The reason I am considering taking the Subject Tests specifically is because they are relevant to my intended major (International Relations; if admitted to Columbia I would major in Political Science, which, at Columbia, is made up of four core subjects, one of which is International Relations). I feel that taking these tests would better convey both my competency in my academics and my plans for my studies. I would retake the ACT simply to higher my score; again, I would study for the test again and my score would likely improve because of the additional knowledge I have gained after over a year in college. My main fears with taking the tests is the amount of time it would take me to study enough to significantly increase/get high scores and how this stressful and time-consuming task might affect my grades, because college grades will most likely be more important to them.
Ultimately, my three goals are: 1. To demonstrate that I am still very much interested in attending Columbia; 2. To demonstrate that I have improved in every area possible between the time that I was rejected and the time that I applied again; and 3. To demonstrate that I now have a much clearer idea of what I want to study.
What are your thoughts? I would love for us all to discuss our ideas!
Hi, I am currently a freshman attending a state university in California and I am interested in applying to Columbia as a Sophomore transfer. My high school grades were pretty bad but I got above average SAT scores. If all goes well this semester, I am confident that I can get a 3.8-4.0 gpa. I am a computer science major and I have joined a computer science club at my school and will participate in national events and competitions with other schools throughout the year. I am currently looking for an internship in my field which will help me get some real world experience. However, my main concerns are that my high school grades will be too low and that my reasons for transfer will not be strong enough. I am also unfamiliar with how to ask professors for letters of rec or if they are even willing to write letters of rec (since people dont usually transfer out of 4 year schools) If anyone has any tips or advice, it would be very much appreciated. I understand that my chances of getting in are extremely low but it never hurts to aim high.
College: California Community College
Major: Economics
GPA: 4.0 (on-track)
ECs: President of Business Club, member of Honors Club, member of Phi Theta Kappa, member of Terra club (pro-environment), internship at data logistics company, began a poker coaching business; where I coach people 1-on-1
5/10 classes (15/34 unit credits) taken will be Honors at the time of applying
SAT: 1440 (retaking - shooting for 1500+)
Public High school: 3.5 unweighted
Dropped out due to health reasons first semester junior year. Finished high school doing online/community college classes.
Attended a small vocational college in Oklahoma for a year after high school, where I fell in love with poker, and considered continuing to play professionally after school.
But finally made the decision to try to transfer to a 4-year instead, which I am doing now.
Extras:
Struggled with clinical depression and chronic migraines junior-senior year, which was likely due to my parents divorce too.
Struggled with coming to terms with how my public high school peers moved on to amazing universities and I did not.
I’ve lived in Europe (the Netherlands) and traveled to 30+ countries. Proficient in Dutch and French.
My father went to MIT, my mother is a Wellesley graduate.
I am applying for Sophomore transfer, and will likely apply again for junior transfer if I don’t get into any of the schools I am applying for.
Also applying to: UPenn, UChicago, MIT, Tufts, Northwestern for sophomore transfer
If I get rejected from all of them I’ll just do another year at Community college and apply to target and safety schools too.
Hi! I’m hoping to transfer to. I’ve been lurking on this site since hs and finally made an account, lol You sent your application in early! Fingers crossed for you. Are you applying to any other schools?
@WordSmithNY Hello! I’ve also been browsing the site since hs, it’s so fun reading the threads. I did send it in early, I’ve been so excited about transferring lol. I hope we both get in! That would be fun to meet another CC person irl! I’m also applying to Stanford, Duke, University of Rochester, UPenn, Yale, and Trinity. How about you?
I’m super stressed out about my transfer applications. I’m a non traditional student (25 year old college dropout).
My HS stats are awful, I even asked if Columbia and Stanford would waive the test score requirements for me. (Haven’t heard but yet).
Applied to: Columbia, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, UCLA, USC, Berkeley, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Syracuse.
GPA: 4.0
EC’s: Work for Cancer Research Center. Academy Awards Security. Sundance Film Festival Volunteer. Salvation Army Volunteer, American Redcross Volunteer. Self-published novella. Social activism blog, Several Original Screenplays. Internship at Blue Fox Entertainment.
Essay was I feel supremely original and also extremely short and to the point. I mentioned I had some birth defects (hearing loss, mild autism, ADD). Was born really prematurely and I’m also an identical twin.
I feel great about EC’s, GPA, and essay. I’m pretty such a standout with those. It’s all the high school transcripts and test scores that will ruin everything for me. I got a 1310 on the SAT back in 2009. And a 21 on my ACT. My High School GPA was probably a 3.0, maybe lower. REALLY REALLY BAD hahaha
Idk if the good outweighs the bad at this point. What about you guys?
@Chivih Nice to have you join the thread! You sound like you’ve done a lot since high school!! I have identical twin younger brothers!
My HS stats and SATs were also pretty bad, but I’m in my second year of community so I’m hoping they won’t look at them as much lol.
Every time I look at other people’s stats I get kinda depressed about my chances. I don’t know how people have time to do all the things they do tbh. I’m involved in a couple of clubs and I have 2 part-time jobs and I don’t have like any free time. I do have a 4.0 though so that’s cool.
I’m taking a couple courses at Trinity College so I’m thinking my chances there are pretty good. It’s not Columbia, but it’s still a really good school.
Awesome! To be honest I’ve really only done a few amazing things in the past 2 years. It took a long time to get to this point. I’ve dropped out of school 3 times.
I had a lot of family help to do some of the things I did that weren’t cheap at all. (Unpaid volunteerism, Unpaid internships…yikes!) I also worked 70 hours a week at some points. It’s incrediblely hard.
I did a lot of searching on the internet to see just how bad my chances are at getting into a top tier school with my high school record. I hoping an explanation in the “Additional Information” section of the common app, a 10 year time frame, and a lot of Extra goodies will get the job done.
Trinity College is a great school! Good luck! And keep us posted
Hey guys! I have been looking for a 2018 transfer thread and am so happy to have finally found one!
Here are my stats:
Current University: Average in state 4 year public university
Year: Applying for the fall of my junior year
Current College GPA: 3.85
ACT: 28
High school GPA: 3.5
College EC’s:
-Interned for a very famous fashion designer during the summer going into my sophomore year in New York City in the social media and public relations department
-Interned for two companies during New York Fashion Week in September 2017
-Interned as an editorial intern for an online fashion publication
-Attended events for Vogue Magazine and Glamour Magazine and wrote about them in online articles for my on-campus newspaper
-Created a fashion column within my on-campus newspaper and write as a paid staff writer
-Have a fashion spread within the on-campus magazine
-Published a book on Amazon about my life as a fashion intern in NYC and my fashion industry experiences
-Treasurer of the sociology club
-Vice president of the women’s economics society
-Member of the district events committee Circle K
-Paid note taker for the disability support services on campus
What do you think my chances are? I will be heading back to NYC in February for New York Fashion Week 2018 and will have that added to my list as well. I will also be heading back for an event later in the year with Vogue, which will also be added to my list. I’m hoping they appreciate my connection to the city and how that could be enhanced as a Columbia student.
Hey guys! I have been looking for a 2018 transfer thread and am so happy to have finally found one!
Here are my stats:
Current University: Average in state 4 year public university
Year: Applying for the fall of junior year
Current College GPA: 3.85
ACT: 28
High school GPA: 3.5
College EC’s:
-Interned for a very famous fashion designer during the summer going into my sophomore year in New York City in the social media and public relations department
-Interned for two companies during New York Fashion Week in September 2017
-Interned as an editorial intern for an online fashion publication
-Attended major events for Vogue Magazine and Glamour Magazine and wrote about them in online articles for my on-campus newspaper
-Created a fashion column within my on-campus newspaper and write as a paid staff writer
-Have a fashion spread within the on-campus magazine
-Published a book on Amazon about my life as a fashion intern in NYC and my fashion industry experiences
-Treasurer of the sociology club
-Vice president of the women’s economics society
-Member of the district events committee Circle K
-Paid note taker for the disability support services on campus
What do you think my chances are? I will be heading back to NYC in February for New York Fashion Week 2018 and will have that added to my list as well. I will also be heading back for an event later in the year with Vogue, which will also be added to my list. I’m hoping they appreciate my connection to the city and how that could be enhanced as a Columbia student.
Couldn’t find a thread for this so I thought I’d make one!! I just submitted my application last Thursday, so now I’m just waiting for the portal to open so I can see the status of my materials.
@Chivih Thank you! I worked very hard to make them possible. I think you have a fair shot as well.
I feel great about my essays and had them edited multiple times by various professors and a college transfer advisor. My recommendations are going to be strong as well because one of the professors is my mentor who edited my book that I published, and the other was my ACT tutor who worked with me in and out of class on that test and knows me very well.
I think my Essay is my strongest component besides my EC’s for admission. It’s deeply personal and ties in my reasons for my low test scores.
My references are a current professor and my High School guidance teacher who gave me such an outstanding recommendation that I hope they disregard my test scores altogether
@chivih That’s awesome. The only thing that worries me about the Columbia transfer process is the core, which realistically would make me probably have to go through a fifth year. At NYU, I wouldn’t have to do that, so it’s a big decision (that is, if I happen to get into both). I’m applying to Barnard too where I wouldn’t have to do the Columbia core, which is nice.
I agree with that. I noticed Columbia makes you take a swimming course which just seems really really strange to me. Like a physical education requirement isn’t all that odd…but they force you into one?
I’m not sure if that’s common practice at the other Ivy Leagues but I’ve never seen that at any other school I’ve applied to/attended.
@Shoumei Hey! I’m also applying to Princeton, UPenn, NYU, Swarthmore and Franklin and Marshall as a backup. Although, I recently found out Columbia requires a swim test?!? I can’t swim. lol, so I’ll probably switch to Barnard.
best of luck to you!