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

Transfer Students
21

@tdy123

Thanks for your input!
I am not familiar with how Yale’s grading curve compares to Williams; therefore, I can’t really say anything definitively. But there are rumors that HYP schools have a tendency toward grade inflation. But like I said, I don’t know.

Also, I don’t know why my optimism irks you. I have been told by premed advisers and others that I am right on track for med school. Also, say I don’t get in, I will get more research experience, maybe take some extra classes, and reapply. It isn’t the end of my career. It has been done countless of times by people in positions far far worse than I.
Also, I have no idea where you got the impression that I think the med-life was easy. I have worked internships where a lot of the times I had to work 14 hrs a day. But it didn’t matter, because I loved what I was doing.

I made this whole thread to be holistically judged on my transfer chances, not to be nitpicked about my GPA in relation to my chances to medschool. That is something entirely separate, and something I am definitely aware of.

22

I don’t think posters are being overly negative…most have correctly pointed out that all of the current schools on your list should be considered reaches…no one here can give you a percentage of admission likelihood as a transfer.

So, if you are certain you want to transfer you should add some less selective schools to the list. With your current list, it is very possible you could be shut out…if that happens will you stay at Williams?

23

So is 3.45 your Williams only GPA, or your GPA in all college courses, including an assumed four semesters worth of credits of 4.0 at a community college? If the former, then your overall college GPA is probably around 3.7, but if the latter, you Williams only GPA is probably around 3.0.

Transfer applications and medical school applications will use all college courses and grades (although recent grades may be subjectively given more weight due to up or down trends).

24

I don’t see Columbia cutting you slack for not meeting their minimum- and frankly, transferring into either Columbia and UChicago as a pre-med junior is just looking for trouble: the amount of core courses you will have to shoe-horn in is daunting. And, as another poster pointed out, your list of schools doesn’t really seem coherent Brown and UChic? Cornell & Columbia?

Also agree with others who have pointed out that if you are truly unhappy you need to cast a wider net. For example, URichmond is a good pre-med option, satisfactorily selective but with better odds than your list so far.

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@ucbalumnus
It is the former. I have an associates degree from a community college. I graduated there with a 4.0.
My Williams GPA is 3.45.

@Mwfan1921
I am honestly not completely certain about transferring.
I still have yet to request a break from Williams College. I am currently at Williams for Winter study. Spring semester doesn’t start till February, so if I decide to take a break, I will have the whole month of February to work on my applications.

The reasons why I am uncertain about transferring is because my original plan was to tough it out this semester, study abroad fall semester, and “enjoy” my last semester at Williams. However, the problem with this, I have had some days where I just feel really really lonely, and I have no where to escape. And these days can get very very very depressing. You almost forget there is an outside world other than Williams.

In the city, I love studying in public spaces and taking walks around shopping centers. Also, in a city, you are more likely to run into more like minded individuals.
Here at Williams, I have a difficult time relating to bro culture, but I also have a difficult time relating to the radical POCs, as I consider myself to be more moderate.

I do have several friends, but most are superficial. I also have one very close friend, but she isn’t the best influence, and she is extremely extremely radical.
My point is, my options are very limited here, and I often find myself feeling miserable.

I feel at a school such as Rice, I would be much happier. It is located in a large city in Texas, so I expect more diversity in terms of thinking/people. Also the best part is, it is located 2 hours away from home. So, if need be, I could easily drive home.
Also, Rice (and the other universities I am interested in) are much more well known in the South than Williams. And while Williams promises us that employers in Texas most certainly do know about Williams caliber, I can’t help but want a more well known university.

The reason why I came to Williams was because I did the Williams fly in program and I fell in love with it. It was entirely different than what I was used to in small town Texas. So, I applied ED.
This was very peculiar of me, as I had always always thought I would end up in the city. I had planned to apply to Notre Dame, UChicago, Northwestern, and Rice.
But, that didn’t happen.

There are 3 possible scenarios

  1. Stick with Williams (tough it out this semester, study abroad next fall, and enjoy my last semester) Con? My misery may worsen, and I might not well in classes. Pros? I may end up feeling better and surviving this semester, and then it is a smooth sailing. Graduate spring 2021
  2. Best case scenario, take a break from Williams this coming semester and successfully transfer Con? I will probably be 2 semesters behind schedule. Graduate spring 2022 Pros? The city life = more research opportunities, social life, more well known school. I will 8 months of time at home to study for MCAT, shadow doctors
  3. (The worst case scenario) Take a break from Williams and get rejected from all schools Con? I will have to return to Williams and finish all 3 semesters at Williams. No studying abroad. I will feel very bad watching all my peers graduating before me. Graduate spring 2022. Pros? I will have 8 months of time at home to study for MCAT, shadow doctors, perhaps get myself together
26

@ucbalumnus it is the former, 4.0 GPA from community college, and 3.45 from Williams

Hello @collegemom3717 !
I have particular reasons for each school. Overall these were schools I planned to apply to before applying ED to Williams.

27

My focus however is on Rice.
Rice is located only 2 hours from home, and it is a more science oriented school

28

How do I close a discussion?

29

You don’t- mods do

30

@bioboy222 I’m sure @WayOutWestMom will weigh in on this and will have excellent advice for you.

31

MODERATOR’S NOTE:

The mods can, but I see no reason to do so in this case. We don’t close threads because the OP does not like the answers to the question posed.

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32

You are not getting the type of responses that you were hoping for. Take the advice that you have recieved and learn from it.

33

Are you sure the schools have a holistic review for transfer students? Many colleges don’t really care that much about ECs and high school grades when looking at transfer students. They have the college grades and figure those are most likely to predict future college grades.

34

Holistic review does not mean that recent college grades/GPA will be disregarded. For junior transfers, college grades/GPA will be the most important factor, holistic or not.

If your overall college GPA (including the 4.0 in your community college courses taken while in high school) is more like 3.7, that is better than 3.45, but holistic reviewers will see a downward trend, and 3.7 is still below the average transfer admit GPA that Brown posts.

35

I think the reality is that no one can tell you your chances at transferring. You have a list of highly competitive schools. IMO, the advice to have some lower ranked options is sound unless you think you can stick it out at Williams if you aren’t admitted to these schools.

Have you explored how transferring in as a junior will impact your ability to get recommendations from pre med committees?

Be aware that some of the schools on your list also have grade deflation.

Wondering why you have Notre Dame on your list since it’s also in the middle of nowhere. Cornell, also is in a very rural area but significantly larger than ND. Thinking Penn might fit what you want better in terms of location?

36

If you are a Texas resident, you may want to include some Texas public universities where you may have better transfer chances than Rice. Also, they will be closer to Texas medical schools (relatively low cost for Texas residents) so that you can get to interviews if you apply.

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37

My (poorly-informed) opinion :

-One or more of these schools (the less selective) may give you a GPA break because it is a peer school,
-while the most selective of them won’t.

What schools are most worried about is that the transfer student will succeed at their school. At my alma mater the average transfer student’s GPA dropped 1/2 point after transferring. hence the concern. But a 3.45 at my school would be a perfectly fine GPA there. The fact that you acheived that at a peer school that is just as difficult should bolster the argument that you would succeed there.
Most of the transfer students are from “worse” schools. They did very well at them, but there is a question as to how that will translate which you won’t have.

So here’s poorly-informed data point #1: MY D transferred to one of these schools from a top-30 LAC and her GPA was not much different than yours.

But now to “bolster” my other point, here’s poorly-informed data point #2:
This one is from antiquity. At one point, following two dean’s list semesters at Cornell I toured Princeton, and had an informal chat about transfer admissions. The fellow said to the effect of, “well we turn down applicants from Cornell with 3.9 GPAs, so…”

FWIW, Cornell takes relatively a lot of transfer students. Also there are three different colleges at Cornell where you can undertake a biology major: agriculture, arts & Sciences, and “biology and society” at the College of Human Ecology. They each have separate admissions.

Whether Cornell will resolve your issues with Williams I can’t say.

Also, just because they give you a GPA break, so your application is not discarded for reason of GPA. does not necessarily mean they will admit you.
It’s still a crapshoot. IMO.

38

I suppose it’s a moot point by now, but I’m a little surprised you didn’t opt for a semester/year abroad junior year as a way to cut your sense of isolation at Williams. If you had done so, by the time you returned to campus, you’d have only one year to get through. Since you’re already facing an extra semester as a transfer, is withdrawing temporarily for spring semester (perhaps working/volunteering at a hospital) and taking a semester abroad/away next fall at Williams (as a second-semester junior) out of the question?

39

@skieurope @TomSrOfBoston

Cute how you think you know my reason.
The truth is, I have already made a decision what I am going to do. That is why I wanted to close the discussion. If you had read my discussion posts, you would note that any signs of frustration I expressed was regarding my chances of medschool, which I said was irrelevant.

Many of you all have mentioned that you are not capable of chancing me, and I definitely believe that now.
I was expecting replies from students who were in a similar position as I, but instead I am just getting replies from parents who have nothing better to do.
It is a common consensus that cc is a very toxic, hostile environment, and I can definitely see that, especially with replies such as the moderator. It’s kind of sad that most of these are parents.

Also @TomSrOfBoston , from the very beginning, you haven’t given out any advice - you’ve only added snarky comments.

40

@monydad
Thanks for speaking from experience!
Yes, there is absolutely nothing wrong with a 3.45 at Williams.
It was actually the average GPA here at Williams in 2015-2016 (I am not sure what it is now).

Regarding Princeton, well, I heard they rarely rarely ever take any transfers. So that may be the reason.

@inthegarden

Yes, studying abroad was something I originally planned for. I would tough it out this semester, study abroad next fall, and return for my last semester.
It’s just that, on some days, it is unbearable being here.

So there are 3 scenarios

  1. (Best scenario) Take a break from Williams this spring and successfully transfer. Pros: I'll have 8 months to do ecs at home. I'll be at a new school in a city. Cons: I will probably graduate spring 2022
  2. (Not ideal) Tough it out this spring, study abroad next fall, and return for last sem Pros: Maybe, this sem will fly by, and then it will be a smooth sailing, I will graduate with my peers Spring 2021 Cons: It becomes more and more unbearable (very possible), and I do poorly
  3. (Worst case scenario) Take a break from Williams this spring and fail at transferring Pros: I'll have 8 months to do ecs at home. Cons: By the way classes are offered here, I will have no choice but spend my last 3 semesters on campus, and I will graduate fall 2021 (not with my peers). Very likely I will be more miserable.