Contemplating transfer from Hopkins...advice please?

Transfer Students
1

<p>I know it's only been a couple of months into the school year, but already I'm regretting my decision to apply to Hopkins ED for Biomedical Engineering. There are a number of reasons why I'm considering a transfer (I won't elaborate on them all and waste your time), but two big reasons are the lack of things to do at Hopkins (you really have to try hard to search for things to do, and even then it gets repetitive quickly) and the fact that I'd like to broaden my horizons as far as majors are concerned (Hopkins is mainly good in Sci/IR). </p>

<p>My high school stats were pretty good, so I'll sum them up briefly here:
3.85 UW GPA
2290 SAT
800 SAT II Math, 800 SAT II Chem, 740 SAT II US History
AP:
Calc BC 5, Biology 5, Stats 5, US History 5, Psychology 5, Economics 4, Chemistry 4, World History 4, Compsci A 4.</p>

<p>Co-Captain of Sci Olympiad, President of volunteering organization, Black Belt in Taekwondo, etc.</p>

<p>It's too early in the school year to predict my college GPA, but I think it should be > 3.5. I'm in quite a few clubs and organizations here, such as TKD and a club that fixes computers for local schools.</p>

<p>My current college courses are:</p>

<p>Physics for Biological Sci majors
Physics Lab
Cognitive Psychology
Intro to Neuroscience
Biology Workshop
Digital Photography Workshop</p>

<p>My choices for transfer schools are rather limited; so far, I've only seriously considered the following:</p>

<p>UPenn
Duke
Case Western Reserve (I got in when I applied in HS but had to turn down their offer due to ED)</p>

<p>I have a few questions regarding the transfer process:</p>

<p>1) Will schools give you the same financial aid/scholarship considerations as incoming freshmen?</p>

<p>2) What are good ways to get recs from processors, since freshman year courses are usually very large seminars?</p>

<p>3) What do colleges look at most in a transfer application? How much do high school achievements matter compared to first-year college grades, etc?</p>

<p>4) If my school has "covered" first semester grades, do they have to be un-covered for transfer applications?</p>

<p>5) What are my chances at getting into the above schools as a sophomore transfer?</p>

<p>Thanks in advance for your help. I know the decision to transfer is a serious one, and it's not one I take lightly. I just find myself regretting my choice to ED here since I'm just not satisfied with the overall environment of Hopkins, especially taking into consideration the huge costs of tuition.</p>

2

<p>1) No, they won't, in general. Merit scholarships are very scarce. You'll have to check the finaid policies of each school you're considering. Need-based aid is not as tough for transfers as merit aid.
2) and 3) Check the Transfer Admissions 101 sticky thread.
4) This I don't know. But it's not likely a problem in your case with the GPA you're tracking.</p>

<p>It is a tough decision. But you'll likely have good transfer prospects as long as you choose some transfer schools in a range of selectivity. You also may find that your current situation will grow on you. Baltimore is a pretty vital city. </p>

<p>Good luck in whatever you decide.</p>

3

<p>What are my chances based on the info above?</p>

4

<p>Your chances for admission largely depend upon your college GPA. If your GPA is above 3.7, your chances for all of your prospective schools are solid (UPenn and Duke being the challenges). Make sure your recommendations and essays are brilliant.</p>

5

<p>
[quote]
two big reasons are the lack of things to do at Hopkins (you really have to try hard to search for things to do, and even then it gets repetitive quickly) and the fact that I'd like to broaden my horizons as far as majors are concerned (Hopkins is mainly good in Sci/IR).

[/quote]
</p>

<p>If that's the case, I wonder if Duke/Case Western should be on your list. Maybe Duke's campus is more happening (I am not sure), but Baltimore >>> Durham even though Baltimore isn't among the most exciting cities. I just don't think Duke+Durham is more happening than Baltimore+JHU. </p>

<p>You seem to imply that you want to transfer to a school with better programs in the social sciences/humanities. Case is definitely not such school. I have a feeling JHU is better than you think in those areas.</p>

<p>I'd suggest Northwestern. It has a top-15 BME program (so not a huge step-down) and there are a lot of things to do on/off campus. It's also strong in social sciences/humanities.</p>

6

<p>Yeah, you probably could throw in an application to Northwestern. Chicago's pretty awesome.</p>