DESPERATE for help..

Transfer Students
1

<p>I know this is long, PLEASE HELP!</p>

<p>I'm trying to get my sorry rear out of Virginia Commonwealth U., and into Emory U. in Atlanta (or UVA maybe?). I'm in my third undergrad semester, but VCU gives enough AP credit such that I have junior standing. Earned 32 non-AP credits between The College of New Jersey (the most horrible place on Earth!.. transferred out, desperately, after my first semester) and VCU, and just studied abroad in Barbados over the summer. Will have earned 44 credits by the end of the semester.</p>

<p>I've been a big-time screw-up in college, and I need to know if I'm dreaming or what..</p>

<p>Some more information..</p>

<p>Location: Northern VA
Ethnicity: Persian
Gender: Male
High school: Public, top-ranked in US (Langley HS in McLean, VA)
Major: Economics, Pre-Law</p>

<p>High school stats:
GPA: 3.9 weighted (school gave no weight to honors and only .5 for AP; grading scale 94-100 was a 4.0 A and 90-93 was a 3.5 B+, and so on.)
SAT: 790 writing, 760 critical reading, 650 math (d'oh..)
SAT subject: 650 literature, 690 mathematics level 1
No class rankings
AP: 6 classes, 4/5 on every exam save a 3 on AB Calculus
Honors: Every available non-AP class, save Geometry in my freshman year
Foreign Language: 5 years, Spanish</p>

<p>ACCEPTED TO: Oberlin College, Sarah Lawrence College, U. of San Francisco, George Washington U., U. of Mary Washington, U. of Rochester, New College of Florida, and College of New Jersey
AS MID-FRESHMAN TRANSFER, ACCEPTED TO: Catholic U, Marymount U., and VCU
**I have never been rejected by a college/university.</p>

<p>Now, I'll get to the bad part..</p>

<p>TCNJ Courses:</p>

<p>Fall 2008:
- PSY101 General Psychology: A-
- FSP111 Mind, Morality, and Free Will Freshman Seminar (transferred in VCU as a 100-level philosophy elective): A-
- COM242 Interpersonal Communication: W (I have a cogent, good explanation for this, unrelated to what I have written below.)
- SOC101 Introduction to Sociology: F (I never attended this class, and therefore failed, due to a VERY serious family problem which required me to travel home every other day. THIS GRADE IS MY BIGGEST CONCERN. I hope that when I explain the hard details in my application - I won't here - it will fly with the admissions officials. I couldn't withdraw because it would have compromised my scholarship. And I was forced to stop showing up AFTER I'd already withdrawn from COM242.)
- Each course worth 4 credits each</p>

<p>VCU Courses:</p>

<p>Spring 2009:
- PSYC323 Interpersonal Relations: A (will this make up for above?)
- SOCS303 Marriage and Family Relationships: A
- SOCY101 General Sociology: A (will this make up for above?)
- RELS108 Human Spirituality: A
- PSY340 Intro to the Helping Relationship: A
- Each course worth 3 credits each</p>

<p>Summer 2009:
- STAT210 Basic Practice of Statistics: A
- HIST391 The Atlantic Slave Trade: A
- AFAM410 Caribbean History and Culture: A
- Study abroad!
- Each course worth 3 credits each</p>

<p>Fall 2009 (active):
- INTL340 Global Ethics and World Religions: W (I have a very cogent explanation for this as well, which ties directly into why I wish to transfer.)
- ECON210 Introduction to Economics - Microeconomics
- ECON211 Introduction to Economics - Macroeconomics
- PSY321 Social Psychology
- HIST387 West African History
- Each course worth 3 credits each</p>

<p>High school digs:
- Co-principal violist for LHS Philharmonic Orchestra
- Co-principal Violist for LHS Chamber Orchestra
- Principal violist of American Youth Symphonic Orchestra (American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras subdivision)
- Received private viola lessons from Richard Parnas, former 30-year principal violist of National Symphony Orchestra
- “Music Buddies” Program (AYP) - Volunteered as viola instructor for underprivileged local youth (1 hour weekly)
- “Music Buddies” Program (LHS Orchestras) - Volunteered as viola instructor for underprivileged Langley High student (1 hour weekly)
- Served as staff writer and Entertainment Editor, school newspaper
- Participated in LeadAmerica Academic Conference for Diplomacy and International Affairs, earning two college credits
- First Place Winner of String Ensemble Competition for Maryland State Music Teachers Association
- Member of Maryland Academy of Music, with multiple accolades
- First Place Winner in Category of Earth Sciences at Langley Science Fair
- National Honor Roll member
- Member of A/B Honor Roll
- Lettered in Academics for 4.0 GPA
- Lettered in Academics for National Merit Scholarship eligibility
- National Merit Scholarship Candidate
- Certificate of Excellence - Langley Foreign Language Department
- Recipient of Presidential Education Award
- Recipient of Award for Outstanding Achievement in English
- National Honor Society member
- Quill and Scroll Honor Society member
- Tri-M Honor Society member
- History Honor Society member
- National Society of High School Scholars member
- Rave Dancing partnership with schoolmate **** **, frequently performing at local homecoming and prom dances
- Played league basketball for McLean Youth House League</p>

<p>Work experience:
- Completed intensive gov't research internship at National Institutes of Health (NIAID Division). Participated in microbiological research (40 hours/week, 8 weeks, 1 summer) pertaining to leukemia and breast cancer cells, bacteria cultures, DNA/genomes, and several other viruses/infectious diseases. Tasks included but were not limited to: agarose gel preparation, cultivation, gene mutation, and DNA extraction; cell culture creation, mutation, mini-preparation, ligation, extraction and analysis; and DNA analysis and sample quantification.
- Self-employed musician, performing at paid gigs and appearances.</p>

<p>College digs:
- Ed! magazine journalism networking organization (TCNJ)
- Some Latino organization, whose name I don't recall at the moment (TCNJ)
- Asian Student Association (TCNJ)
- Afghan Student Association (VCU)
- Persian Student Association (VCU)
- Network of Spiritual Progressives (VCU)
- Golden Key Honor Society member (VCU)
- Established Leader's Society (VCU)
- Serving on University Appeals Committee (VCU)
- There is more, but I haven't exactly done anything Earth-shaking.</p>

<p>I NEED HELP..
*If I try to transfer to Emory or UVA, would I be wasting my time? Will they laugh in my face?
*Which school would better accommodate the credits I've taken and allow me to graduate on time?</p>

<p>Many thanks,
"Hameh khoshbakht basheen,"
Allen</p>

2

<p>Please at least skim through and answer questions at end! Much appreciated</p>

3

<p>You have been in college for two years, so your HS grades and ECs don’t really matter at all. No one cares about where you were admitted two and a half years ago. What does matter is your college transcript, and college activities.</p>

<p>Why do you want to be at Emory instead of VCU?</p>

<p>Why would you like to be at UVA if you can’t get into Emory?</p>

<p>Do you have the money to pay for the difference between a public school in VA (I’m assuming that you are a VA resident) and Emory?</p>

4

<p>To answer your question, allow me to paint a picture:</p>

<p>I signed up for an upper level RELS/INTL class this semester, which you can see I have dropped. VCU is so poorly run that for this - a very serious class - our assigned professor was changed the day before the beginning of classes, without any notification to students. He was replaced by a last-minute graduate student hire from UVA who refuses to hold office hours due to the “long drive” he must “endure”, and who took a solid three weeks to obtain a working school email and Blackboard access. Everyone in this class has taken some sort of RELS survey class - a lower-level class - and yet he, being the overzealous non-PhD-holding young graduate student he is, has assigned three separate introductory textbooks for each of the Abrahamic faiths in an upper-level Religious Studies class, bringing our textbook total to a whopping and already-gratuitous 9 BOOKS.</p>

<p>I need to get out of VCU and into the type of school a student like myself needs to be in - and I don’t mean to be arrogant. Emory and UVA are prestigious institutions. They are run well, and they will serve my needs. Moreover, I cannot continue to be in the company of potheads and high school have-nots, and I cannot continue to take serious interdepartmental upper-level classes with unqualified hotshot “professors”, aged 25 and under.</p>

<p>I am willing to pay the significant difference for Emory simply because it is Emory. I have a very loving family in Marietta (20 minutes from Atlanta) that I can stay with, so as to avoid the exorbitant on-campus housing costs (and since I have so many credits, I should not be forced to live on campus). UVA is a more than sensible alternative if I am not able to obtain additional scholarships or grants. I would be honored to attend either.</p>

5

<p>I don’t really think it’s a good sign towards admissions that you’ve stalled on taking Economics (you’re taking it right now for Fall) and it also looks like you haven’t taken any Political Science courses yet. Try fitting your major prereq courses into your schedule because that’s kind of a big deal for admissions.</p>

6

<p>I have only this semester decided to pursue study in Economics. I am still listed as a Sociology major/Psychology minor and will be when I submit my application, though I will apply as an Economics major.</p>

7

<p>I need the help and opinion so BUMP</p>