Does it matter which courses you've taken when applying to super competitive schools?

Transfer Students
1

<p>I'm aiming for Stanford or Yale as a junior transfer. </p>

<p>I know the rigor of AP classes are weighed heavily during freshman admissions, but when applying as a transfer, is there an unwritten rule about how many units you should be taking per semester or which courses you should be completing? </p>

<p>I'm a premed humanities major. I've finished my general education and lower division major courses, but I haven't finished any science courses but bio and chem.</p>

<p>I never took Calculus in high school, but I'll be enrolled in Calc during the spring after my application has been sent. Will not taking Calc hurt me, especially since I'm premed? I've finished Stats, however.</p>

2

<p>Each school is different, so you should check with your target colleges/departments for what they recommend and require for transfers. Some prefer you don’t take certain courses until after you get there, others aren’t as important so you can take them at your CC.</p>

<p>If they don’t have transfer guidance, look at the degree planning requirements and know that you might not have everything transfer, so even though you’ve completed a lot of the gen ed stuff, you might have to retake some courses in residence. Look at the pre-med requirements at each as well to determine all of the math classes they will require so you can plan accordingly - Calc I and II are usually easier at a community college, but the sequences differ from school to school (some have a 2 semester track, others have 3). While I don’t think it will hurt you to not have it done beforehand, it all boils down to if they require it for transfers, but there should be a place on your application to note which classes you are taking now and will be taking in the next semester before you transfer, so they will be able to see it will be done before you transfer in.</p>

3

<p>Uhh… If you’re just aiming for Stanford and Yale, I’d say you’re in a lot of trouble, especially as a Junior transfer.</p>

4

<p>I got an email from Yale saying, “there is no specific math requirement that transfer applicants need to have fulfilled before they apply to Yale. You should take whichever math course is appropriate for you.”</p>

<p>I mean, I’ve done lots of lab research and even published a paper to back up why I’m premed, but as far as coursework goes, is it detrimental that I haven’t taken calculus?</p>

<p>btw I’m at a community college, and the UC schools require that I complete my general ed and lower division major classes before I transfer, so that was my priority…</p>

5

<p>Neither S or Y have specific required coursework for transfers, nor are they likely to hold the fact that you haven’t had calc against you. That said, what might hurt you with not having taken calc or other high level coursework is that you will be competing for very limited spots with other applicants who have.</p>

<p>Y says:</p>

<p>[Who</a> Makes a Good Transfer Student? | Transfer & Other Programs | Office of Undergraduate Admissions](<a href=“http://www.yale.edu/admit/other/transfer/good.html]Who”>http://www.yale.edu/admit/other/transfer/good.html)</p>

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<p>but also:</p>

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<p>While they say this on their website, to my knowledge, Y has accepted 1-2 transfers from CCs in the past 3 years.</p>

6

<p>Also, although I only graduated from high school in '08, I’ll have 73 semester units completed by February, and 17 of those units are honors courses. Does that count as “high level coursework”?</p>

7

<p>Its a lot easier to get As in most classes compared to high level math and physics classes.</p>