General, Uninformed Transfer Questions

Transfer Students
1

<p>Please excuse my ignorance. There is a lack of internet literature on transfer admissions.</p>

<p>1) Do all colleges require the high school transcript, or does it depend on the school? If the latter, do most?</p>

<p>2) Will retaking the SAT in my Freshman year and improving my score help my chances? (i.e. raising my composite to a 2320 from a 2270)</p>

<p>3) Will the fact that I'm transferring for personal reasons (wanting to be closer to home since my mother is sick/my parents are having a legal dispute over a [probable] divorce) be noted on the application? If so, will it be looked down upon, since I'd only be applying to the school for conveniece, not for love of the school, even if it's both?</p>

<p>4) Do I list college and/or high school extracurricular activities?</p>

<p>5) If I apply during my Freshman year, how will they see my college transcript? Will only my first semester grades count, or should I just wait a year?</p>

<p>6) I assume recommendation policies depend on the school, but do most colleges want recs from my high school teachers or college teachers?</p>

<p>7) Will the fact that I'm applying from a highly regarded school help (Middlebury)?</p>

<p>Thanks so much. I'd appreciate any help. I actually love my current school, but I need to have easier access to New York (see 3). But ultimately, I don't think it's worth going to a worse school in the city that I could get into (like NYU, Fordham, or Sarah Lawrence or something) just for this reason. My parents wouldn't want this either. Anyway, thanks again.</p>

<p>-Robert</p>

2

<p>1) Do all colleges require the high school transcript, or does it depend on the school? If the latter, do most?</p>

<p>Every school I've every come across has asked for it. So...yes</p>

<p>2) Will retaking the SAT in my Freshman year and improving my score help my chances? (i.e. raising my composite to a 2320 from a 2270)</p>

<p>Not to familiar with the SAT, but yeah of course it should. Out of 2400, 2270 (assuming you got that) is still a spectacular score. Raising it will only make it better for you. I say if you have the time and money, go for it. </p>

<p>3) Will the fact that I'm transferring for personal reasons (wanting to be closer to home since my mother is sick/my parents are having a legal dispute over a [probable] divorce) be noted on the application? If so, will it be looked down upon, since I'd only be applying to the school for convenience, not for love of the school, even if it's both?</p>

<p>Don't let them know you're applying to the school for convenience. In fact let them know there are some personal problems going on in your life, but don't mention anything about logistics and geography.</p>

<p>4) Do I list college and/or high school extracurricular activities?</p>

<p>If they ask for an activity calendar and what not, yeah. If they don't ask for it, don't waste your time. </p>

<p>5) If I apply during my Freshman year, how will they see my college transcript? Will only my first semester grades count, or should I just wait a year?</p>

<p>A majority of colleges I've come across only let you apply for the Fall semester. So just wait it out instead of transferring with 15 hours. Keep in mind most of these schools have prerequisites and minimum (and maximum) transferable hours. </p>

<p>6) I assume recommendation policies depend on the school, but do most colleges want recs from my high school teachers or college teachers?</p>

<p>Some both, some one or the other. Usually the high school teachers one comes from your personal counselor. The college teachers one is from a teacher you've come to known and what not. </p>

<p>7) Will the fact that I'm applying from a highly regarded school help (Middlebury)?</p>

<p>Though schools continue to say they don't care where you come from, I believe they actually do. Never heard of your school, but it can do you some justice.</p>

3

<p>1) Almost all, except the UCs.
2) I can't see how a 50 point jump will do that much for your chances.
3) No, it is not looked down upon. Just be sure to have more than that reason in your essays.
4) You should mention at least one thing you're passionate about somewhere in your application. I hope you have an EC you're passionate about..
5) They see your first semester when you apply, review your app, get your second semester grades, then send you their decision-if you're applying for fall.
6) College Profs, academic advisors, and a letter of good academic standing from the dean-is what I have been hearing around here.
7) YES, great school by the way, wicked cold though.</p>

<p>Overall, I can't see the whole package here, but if you got into Middlebury, you have a shot at Brown. I would suggest Columbia too, since you seem to want to be near that area. </p>

<p>Best of luck!</p>

4

<p>
[quote]
1) Do all colleges require the high school transcript, or does it depend on the school? If the latter, do most?</p>

<p>2) Will retaking the SAT in my Freshman year and improving my score help my chances? (i.e. raising my composite to a 2320 from a 2270)</p>

<p>3) Will the fact that I'm transferring for personal reasons (wanting to be closer to home since my mother is sick/my parents are having a legal dispute over a [probable] divorce) be noted on the application? If so, will it be looked down upon, since I'd only be applying to the school for conveniece, not for love of the school, even if it's both?</p>

<p>4) Do I list college and/or high school extracurricular activities?</p>

<p>5) If I apply during my Freshman year, how will they see my college transcript? Will only my first semester grades count, or should I just wait a year?</p>

<p>6) I assume recommendation policies depend on the school, but do most colleges want recs from my high school teachers or college teachers?</p>

<p>7) Will the fact that I'm applying from a highly regarded school help (Middlebury)?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>1) Every school probably will need one
2) Yes and no. Some schools say that you should take it, but honestly, a school over 2200 is really just... not worth the money to take in my opinion.
3) Look, a lot of people that transfer, especially on CC, are for reasons that don't necessary pertain to the school and liking it, but rather the name. Figure out a way to not say it's personal problems and find out quarks about your transfer school that you like.
4) I would list both, starting with most important ones, college first, then high school. I'd give them a healthy mix of both, unless you've done some impressive things in college that can fill up the ECs
5) Depends on the school. If you apply your freshmen year, a lot of what counts is your HS GPA, but your college GPA won't be ignored. Some schools take the first semester and base your admit on that, if you're borderline, then sometimes they wait for second semester.
6) Probably college professors have more weight than HS teachers
7) Very much so. Middlebury's name will be a great help.</p>

5

<p>You haven't even started your first year at Middlebury and you're already set on transferring? You're doing both yourself and Middlebury a disservice by starting there is the fall. Middlebury is greatly overenrolled. They even sent letters to some students asking them if they might consider taking a gap year and starting in fall 08. If you really have no intention of giving Midd a chance, contact Middlebury and tell them you would like to defer. Spend the next year doing something interesting (travel, learn to cook, take classes abroad). Retake your SATs and reapply to colleges close to NYC this fall.</p>

<p>Colleges track freshmen retention rate and graduation rate--you're hurting both yourself and Middlebury by enrolling with no intention to graduate.</p>

6

<p>i'm not allowed to defer a year and then reapply.</p>

<p>and i love middlebury. i want to graduate and would have every intention to if it were more feasible. also, this thread is somewhat theoretical--i just wanted the answers to the questions so i could analyze my situation better, should things get worse at home. </p>

<p>thanks so much for all the responses.</p>

7

<p>Well to answer question #7, the Middlebury name will certainly help you. I believe the majority of people who transfer out of Midd transfer either to an Ivy or their flagship state university. In recent years, transfers into Midd have come from Harvard, Williams, Colby, etc.</p>

8

<p>Some (I think most) will NOT accept hs teacher recommendations. Make sure you have two good college prof recs.</p>

<p>I can't imagine there will be much value in changing a 2270 to a 2320. But if you give us your M and CR scores, we could respond better.</p>

9

<p>Sorry but IMO I think NYU is a LOT better than a small LAC like Middlebury. Plus you have NYC to yourself - think about it. It would be a great transfer option for you.</p>

10

<p>1) Most colleges do. If a school does not, it is usually a public school.
2) A 50 point increase is not really worth it IMO. A 2270 is already a very, very good score.
3) Such reasons are important though you should also focus on what the school has to offer that makes it THE school you want to attend in the area (i.e. why Harvard and not Boston College).
4) Both
5) You will send in a midterm at least. If your HS record is good, it doesn't really matter whether you wait more than a year.
6) College.
7) Yes, if you maintain a good GPA there. A lower GPA will usually hurt regardless of the school of origin.</p>

11

<p>
[quote]
Sorry but IMO I think NYU is a LOT better than a small LAC like Middlebury.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Yes, NYU is a better option if you crave big city life and don't care about things like having a nice campus or an intimate learning environment.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Plus you have NYC to yourself - think about it.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Yes, to yourself and 20,000 other undergrads, not to mention 8 million strangers.</p>

12

<p>
[quote]
Sorry but IMO I think NYU is a LOT better than a small LAC like Middlebury. Plus you have NYC to yourself - think about it. It would be a great transfer option for you.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I personally like NYU better than Middlebury, but I couldn't make this claim, unless it was for NYU Stern and possibly it's film / arts dept</p>

13

<p>i wasn't knocking nyu. a bunch of my friends go there.</p>

<p>it isnt "worse" if you want a city and all, and it's perfectly rational to pick it over a top LAC if you dislike isolation, but i meant worse based on the fact that its significantly easier to get into, that its score ranges are lower, and that its ranked relatively lower if you swatch the lac and university tables. also, taken from the people i know who go there, nyu is chock full of ta's, the classes are too big, and the good seminars are hard to get into. i took a class in its so-called best philosophy department in the country and i had a grad student teacher who was terrible and barely spoke english. i don't think this really compares with a school that has this to its name (from the Princeton Review):</p>

<h1>7 Best Overall Academic Experience for Undergraduates</h1>

<p>#1 Professors Get High Marks
#7 School Runs Like Butter
#14 The Toughest to Get Into
#12 Best Campus Food
#8 Best Quality of Life</p>

<p>i'm not knocking nyu, and it is by certain means a far superior school, but i just meant it was worse based on these objective and well-reasoned subjective rankings. of course, the flaws i mentioned are dramatized to an extent, as are the positive aspects of middlebury seen by the stupid princeton review, but they do reflect undeniable drawbacks and qualities of the respective schools.</p>

14

<p>NYU is a really good school, but I do think it would be a slight step down from Middlebury. If you want NYC, you should be headed to Columbia.</p>