Desperately want to transfer out of Williams College, do I have a chance? :(

Transfer Students
1

Hi everyone, I really want to transfer out of Williams College to a similar caliber school. I just don’t know how much of a chance I have?

I have taken 5 semesters (2.5 years), and I will be taking a break from Williams this spring, so I plan to apply as an incoming Junior to whichever school I plan to apply to. I am willing to relinquish one semester of credit if need be or take an extra semester if required.
My GPA here is a 3.45. I have an “A” average in my humanities classes and B/B+ average in my science classes.

*I am of Latino heritage.
*I have done bio research at Harvard affiliated hospitals under the guidance of Harvard Med professors/dr.s and presented at the NIH these past 2 summers.
*One of my principle investigators (research supervisor) from these summer research experiences is a prominent figure at Harvard Med, and I feel like I could get a good letter of recommendation from her.
*I also feel like I could get 2 fairly decent letter of recs from professors here at Williams, but nothing spectacular if I’m being honest with myself.

  • Before coming to Williams I graduated from community college during high school with a perfect 4.0 GPA (highest honors).
  • My highschool GPA was a 4.23, ACT 32
  • At Williams I have a chair position in a science diversity club. I am also part of Gospel Choir, and I have tutored at a local Correctional Facility.

I am at a good academic standing here at Williams.

I am Pre-Med, so I would like to major in biology. However, I also love psychology, so I may major in that. I want to play my cards correctly; therefore, I wouldn’t mind majoring in psychology if it means I have a higher chance of being admitted to another school.

The schools I am interested in transferring to include the following:

Columbia University (they require a minimum 3.5 GPA, will my Williams courses excuse my slightly lower GPA?)

Brown
Cornell
Northwestern
Notre Dame
UChicago
John Hopkins
Rice

The reason why I want to transfer out of here is because the isolation here is seriously real, and I am dreadfully miserable here. I know myself, so I know I would be much happier at a larger university, especially within a city.
However, I’m not sure how such a reason would come off to adcoms, so I am willing to tailor a reason that makes sense for the school I am applying to. Many of these schools, such as Rice, offer research opportunities that are much better than here at Williams.

I would love if you could chance me or give me advice.
Thank you so much!

2

With a 3.0-3.3 science GPA and 3.45 overall GPA, medical school admission will be more difficult then usual (and usual is very difficult in that most medical school applicants get no admissions). Given the odds, be sure that you choose a major that you will be satisfied with graduating with in the event you do not go to medical school.

3

Hi ucbalumnus, thank you for your response!

There is some grade deflation here at Williams College, especially in the science departments. So, my science GPA is actually decent for Williams, and it has been rising since freshman year.

This was taken straight from the Williams website.
“A Williams student with a B+ science GPA, an MCAT score of 510 or better, clear motivation and a reasonable set of extracurricular activities stands a very good (80%+) chance of admission in a given year. Nationwide, fewer than 50% of applicants are admitted in a given year.”

Nonetheless, I am asking about transferring into another undergraduate instituion, not a medical school. :slight_smile:

4

https://www.brown.edu/admission/undergraduate/apply/transfer-applicants/admission-process indicates that Brown transfer admits’ average college GPA ranged from 3.87-3.89 in recent years.

5

I’ve seen that, so I am aware of that disparity.
However, many of these transfer students, I can imagine, are coming from state schools or community colleges - institutions less demanding than Williams College.

I easily got my associates degree from community college with a perfect 4.0 GPA (and I don’t mean to sound arrogant, I just want to highlight the differences between such institutions).

So that is why I hope I have a chance of being admitted. But I am well aware of the overall difficulty of transferring.

I know Rice for example, requires a minimum 3.2 GPA. They do say successful applicants tend to have at least a 3.5 GPA, but they do go on to say they consider the school’s competitiveness.

6

Add a few more schools on your list that are safeties. People go to med school from many institutions. I recently met a practicing doctor who did his undergrad at Siena College. I didn’t even know that was possible.

I get the isolation at Williams - it is very, very real. I go there once a year for an activity of my son’s and each visit we both agree it’s a great school but…

Good luck.

7

Isolation is a real issue at small LACs in small winter towns, specially if you are not white, NE native, Christian, athlete.

All of the names mentioned on your list are highly selective colleges but you may have some chance. Apply and find out.

8

All of your potential transfer schools are reaches, and some are so very dissimilar to each other that it seems you might be overly concerned with prestige.

If you are certain you want to transfer, you will have to balance out this list with some more likely schools, otherwise you risk being shut out in transfer admissions.

Your future med school chances hinge on getting your sGPA higher…consider going somewhere that is less competitive in terms of the student body, grading curves, etc. but that still has excellent pre-health advising and plentiful access to patient facing ECs and research opportunities. Make sure to have a back-up plan (choose your major wisely) should med school not work out.

Other options to consider: U Richmond, U Miami, Pitt, Bucknell, Lafayette, U Rochester.

Good luck.

1 Like
9

I forgot to ask…will you be applying for financial aid? What is your EFC?

If you do need financial aid, check to see whether the schools on your list are need blind or need aware for transfers, and if the meet full need.

10

Your imagination is working overtime.

11

I agree with others that if you really want to be able to transfer, then you need to apply to a few schools that are easier to get accepted to. Also, if you really want to get accepted to medical school you are going to need to pull up your grades in science classes.

There is grade deflation in premed science classes at any “top 200” school in North America. Part of the point is to separate the “very strong” students from the “truly exceptional students”.

Attending a school that you find depressing is not a good way to get strong grades, and is also not a good way to live a life. As such your reason for transferring seems legitimate to me.

1 Like
12

Hi everyone thank you all for your responses! :slight_smile:

There seems to be a legitimate concern about my science grades. While they aren’t optimal, they are OK, and won’t necessarily hurt my chances at being admitted into med school.

I know a 3.45 sounds scary low, but it is actually very normal for a Williams student (see the paragraph below taken from the Williams website). A student with a 3.3 science GPA has an 80+ of being admitted into med school.

I’ve met Williams students with GPA’s as low as 3.2 get into decent med schools.
On top of that, I plan on taking a gap year after graduation to do more research.
I’ve also been studying for the MCAT and am on track of getting a 513+.
I also have co authorship on a paper and acknowledgement on another.
I am well on track on getting into med school; my premed adviser feels the same way.

“A Williams student with a B+ science GPA, an MCAT score of 510 or better, clear motivation and a reasonable set of extracurricular activities stands a very good (80%+) chance of admission in a given year. Nationwide, fewer than 50% of applicants are admitted in a given year.”

13

As for the question of prestige, that is definitely a factor, but it is not a major reason. I more looking for quality, size, location, and transfer rates. If I was overly concerned with prestige, I would stay here at Williams.

As for why prestige is even a factor? Well, I worked really really hard in high school, and it is only natural that I would want some recognition.
But as I mentioned, I am more concerned with quality and size.

I notice many of you are only looking at numbers, but I would like if you could use your intuition and look at me holistically :slight_smile:

Going a little meta here: I haven’t been on CC for many years, but it is saddening to see there still exists an underlying tone of sarcasm and effort to quickly tear others down.
Most of the replies have been very informative, but comments such as the one made by TomSrOfBoston don’t contribute to the conversation.

When I was applying to Williams, many people did not believe I would get in because of my ACT score (32). But being here, I’ve met a fair amount of students with ACTs as low as 28!! Basically, I’m just trying to say, numbers don’t only matter.

14

But if you leave Williams, you will be applying to med schools with the Williams gpa but not the application coming from Williams. Who will explain that the 3.4 is ‘normal’ or average?

You asked if you can transfer and sure, you can but there are going to be issues that will follow and you’ll have to explain.

1 Like
15

@bioboy222 - Sorry you are unhappy at Williams. No one here can say whether or not you will get in to these schools. Good luck to you. If you need financial aid, be sure you know whether you will receive any given your extra semester.

16

Hi twoinanddone !

I actually don’t know how each school calculates transfer GPAs, but if I remember correctly, Rice does not factor other courses into their GPA. So I suspect that may be similar in other schools.

I also know that when applying to med school, they require a college transcript for each college attended.

Therefore, I will be required to send a transcript for my community college, Williams College, and my transfer school (if I get into one).

17

@Happy4u thank you! I will keep that in mind.

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@bioboy222 wrote:

@WayOutWestMom

19

@bioboy222 I think you’re being a bit over confident about the potential impact of your pre-med classes GPA on med school admissions.

Take a look at: https://www.aamc.org/system/files/2019-11/2019_FACTS_Table_A-23.pdf

Son’s pre-med house mates at Yale with 3.7-3.8 science GPAs were far less sanguine over their chances than you appear to be right up until they actually had acceptances in hand.

Additionally, if you think the long years of med school, internship and residency are going to be nothing but sunshine and daffodils, you’re going to have some big surprises coming.

My advice would be tough it out at Williams for another three semesters, really make an effort to get your GPA up, and get on with your life.

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20

I wouldn’t recommend Bucknell for this student. It’s very isolated (rural/tiny town) and has a dominant white, Greek party- culture. Out of the fire, into the frying pan.

Case Western or Pitt?

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