The day to ask for my prof recs is coming soon, but I’m still quite stuck with how I should politely and effectively ask for recs from them. I’m pretty sure they won’t write in a way that says that I’m their best student, but it would be more detailed and convincing than the average, generic one.
The thing I’m more concerned is how I should phrase my request. I’m currently a frosh at Northwestern, and I am planning on applying to HY, S, Columbia and Penn. 3.93 GPA, modest ECs, excellent HS record, international, full pay. Not sure how these work in my chances (final round WL for Penn and first time applicant to S, btw). I’m not even sure which of the reason below is my (main) reason to transfer:
Prestige. Yes prestige, I know Northwestern is on the same league with Penn etc but in my home country its prestige is behind the ones I plan to transfer to by a factor of let’s say 200 ranks. My parents (and myself) are still not happy with this, and the inferiority complex has been hitting over me.
2 or 1.5) Career opportunities - the Northwestern career listings basically have 0 support for my home country. There are like 10 listings. My friend at Penn had 200+. Except for BBs and large consulting firms basically I don’t see too much optimism in career possibilities (and yet in my home country, the former two recruit largely on personal connections, which I do not have). The NU alumni network is also much more weaker than the schools I’m applying for transfer to. Every student at NU from the country I came from found their internships/jobs from family/Greek connections, since no one I spoke to was of any help when I asked about whether the school/the alumni could help in that. I’m now resorting to cold emailing to find jobs for Summer.
Financial reasons - this is what I was thinking of telling my professors and it is to some extent true. While I’m going to be full pay anyway, my high school offers scholarship (up to 20% of sticker price) for the schools I listed and the other Ivies. But not Northwestern. I’m not sure how to phrase it well to my professors/advisors or whether this would be convincing/complicated tho…they might think ‘aren’t these schools as expensive as us’. But indeed my parents would very want me to get the HS-sponsored scholarship too, they are literally paying off everything they have for my tuition now with a much larger variance in expected return compared to these schools I want to transfer to.
Fit - I have not been liking Northwestern so far. I feel that either the people are not very smart/not very academically motivated, or they are very exclusive (huge racial dominance in professional groups/frats). The housing system is a scam too. And it is way too Greek for me. I feel very left out not going Greek. I had wanted to be part of the music community more but my parents cannot afford a 5th year for me to do dual degree so I am not in the music school too. I find it hard to find a community to belong to, and the thought of sophomores moving off campus tells me how loosely bonded of a campus this could be if you’re not Greek. I also don’t really see myself being happy here for the next 3 years.
Academic reasons - These schools ask for defined academic needs and I know they take people base on this. I’m not trying to fabricate/fake it but I do have academic reasons too. First of all, the interdisciplinary opportunities at Northwestern are limited for me compared to those schools (design your own major/combined majors etc - I particularly like how math and econ combine well at Yale and Penn, not so much for Northwestern [they are exclusive for incoming freshmen, as in the MMSS program which I won’t qualify for no matter what courses I take now]. Also, I have a distinct affection for music, and H, Y, S in particular have excellent music programs too. Northwestern, with its music school, is too separated apart for me to effectively combine studies in music into my arts/sci curriculum (they have a ‘music concentration’ but the curriculum content is not what I am looking for in the ‘study of music’ that I want).
I wholeheartedly appreciate if you took time to read up to this spot. I’m still very very baffled with my dilemmas. So…would anyone be kind enough to give some advice on how I should ask for my recommendations, or even so, should I transfer at all? Thankssssssssssss :’)
Also, it is really a tremendous cost to come to the states to study for me, and I always feel the pressure to pay back to my parents, that’s why I will not be considering schools out of this league. In the worst case, if money really becomes an alarming concern, I will transfer back to my home country (where I basically got into/can get into any program of my choice).
In other words #1-4 are valid reasons for wanting to transfer BUT they are not sufficient enough to be accepted. My advice is craft your essays around #5 and tell your teachers that is your reason for transfer.
BTW, while breaking in to IB is all about networking (so I can see how personal connections may help), getting in to MC isn’t. I’d be shocked if MBB hiring practices aren’t the same the whole world 'round (in fact, I’m close to 100% certain that they are).
The only reason to transfer that you listed that I felt convinced was true was prestige, which BTW is a perfectly good reason to transfer; for better of for worse, I think we all need some kind of external validation to tell us how great we are, and a prestigious university certainly does do that.
I’m only telling you this because it’s also the reason that professors will probably hate to hear most, especially coming from what is viewed as a peer university. I think you need to make your academic need more clear; Northwestern basically equals or betters all the schools you listed in Economics, and the MMSS is actually available to sophomores. Considering the schools you’re applying to, you’re going to be fighting an uphill battle to prove that your decision to transfer isn’t only for prestige, and showing that northwestern doesn’t academically align with your goals is the best way to do that.
@roonayy10@bomerr Would you say academics is much more of a valid reason over finances? I want to do music too and Northwestern doesn’t really satisfy me in this aspect as well.
The 2nd first options, prestige and career opportunities, makes you come of unlikeable. Financial reasons kinda makes you look cheap. Read the Yale quote, Fit is not a reason to be accepted.
Academic reasons are really the only good reason for transfer.
An important question you need to ask yourself is why you got rejected from those universities as a freshman and how will your transfer application be better.
I think that professors would be more sympathetic to financial reasons/changing financial circumstances, however.
Remember, the OP isn’t asking about what to put on his apps, but how to approach profs for recs. NU tends to be pretty proud of its music school, and being on the quarter system, students can take 48 classes (or more) by graduation, meaning that there are plenty of slots to fit in music classes. Saying that NU can’t satisfy his interests in music doesn’t pass the smell test (plus, they would wonder why he came to NU if NU really couldn’t meet his musical desires; did he not research the academic offerings beforehand?)
Worrying about appearing cheap is teenagerish. Profs aren’t girls you’re looking to woo on a date.
@PurpleTitan
The things he tells the professor may end up being written down in the letter of rec.
Also IRL most people don’t think like that. Academic goals change. If OP says the course selection doesn’t allow him to dual major then people will just believe it.
In that case I’ll probably stick with course offerings/academic limitations majorly, but I’ll probably still mention the financial part. After all I’m not faking it, it’s just that my source of aid (if I transfer successfully) would be coming externally…and hmm @bomerr I’m not sure if I got your point but do you mean my profs might state in their recs that ‘this applicant is just applying coz he needs money’?
@bomerr, I’m going to hazard a guess that I’m the only working adult here who knows NU well, and while the OP can write what he wants, I can tell you which arguments would garner sympathy from me:
The financial aspect (much sympathy)
The fit aspect (some sympathy)
The prestige argument obviously wouldn’t (in my case, it’s because I know that NU places roughly as well in the OP’s home country as non-Wharton Penn and Columbia). And if I consider the OP’s transfer targets to be peers, saying that they are better would not go over well.
I would be skeptical about the double major claim as well because I know that many NU students cite the flexibility of the quarter system allowing for ease in picking up multiple majors as a strength of NU’s.
BTW, if the prof writes anything about finances, it will be “this student would get an outside scholarship to elsewhere, but not NU”. Key difference from “needs money”.
Admissions process isn’t about what you personally believe, it’s about the system in place. “Your sympathy” sounds really disconnected from the real world IMO.
@bomerr, I’m saying if I was in the shoes of an NU faculty member.
I have to say that this is not the first time where someone tries to explain how adults involved in the process would think (in the previous case, it was someone who would be even more authoritative) and you preferred to believe your own preconceptions rather than what that person said.
@PurpleTitan
Are you living on planet Earth? Most professors have better things to do than evaluate someone’s reasons for transfer, not like it’s even their business. The biggest question a professor will have is ‘how much of a hassle will it be to write a letter of recommendation?’