<p>Hi all,</p>
<p>I transferred to Harvard from Penn. Reading the posts in this forum definitely helped me with my effort, and I want to give back to the community. My roommate was also a transfer; he was admitted to Yale, Stanford, Columbia, and several other schools as well.</p>
<p>I would be happy to answer any questions regarding the process or offer my perspective wherever it might be helpful.</p>
<p>Best,
TA</p>
<p>gpa, ec’s, letters of rec, and how was your essay?</p>
<p>Hi all,</p>
<p>I’ve received quite a PMs since my initial post with numerous questions. This is a great community, and I want to take the time to address them. I also feel it useful to provide my high-level take on the transfer admissions process.</p>
<p>Before diving in, I must note that for most schools (especially the Ivies and their peers), successful transfer admits are those with a compelling academic need for transfer. Those lacking an extraordinary athletic, extracurricular, or entrepreneurial slant, or a family-linked reason for transfer to a specific area, will have to prove this need. Truth be told, transfer admission has become so competitive to the top schools that even those with these assets will want to put some serious thought into their academic need.</p>
<p>My Background/Stats
Major: Politics and Economics
GPA: 3.8+
Activities: student government, local social service organizations
Other: independent study paper on a topic in social history</p>
<p>The Transfer Process
I feel the transfer process can be broken down into a couple key steps:
<p>1. Research and Reflection
Research and reflection, or R&R, is the heart and soul of the top-school transfer admissions process. It comes in academic and extracurricular flavors.</p>
<p>ACADEMIC R&R:</p>
<p>This starts with a high-level question that most of us have considered: “What do I want to major in?” Most are content to answer “History” or “Philosophy.” A few will feel clever and answer “Sanskrit and Indian Studies” or “Icelandic Studies.”</p>
<p>Rather than staying on this high level, R&R digs deeper to a level of granularity worthy of a “rock star” transfer admit. Here is the flow, in my perspective. Note how the flow starts from a high level and gradually moves deeper:</p>
<p>A. Major – At the highest level, what do I want to study? Example: Philosophy
B. Minor – If you * had * to choose a minor, what would it be? This helps you be more specific. Example: Philosophy and Women’s Studies
C. Subfield – Within your major/minor combination, what question(s) excite you? Example: How did feminist philosophers in America conceive of power?
D. Thesis – Imagine you had to write an extended research paper on your subfield. What would you write it on? Push yourself to come up with a research question (those of you looking to transfer as a junior, this is especially critical; you will be writing your senior thesis only one year after arriving on campus!) Example: How did 18th century American feminist philosopher Mary Wollstonecraft’s notion of “empowered femininity” compare/contrast with that of 15th century philosopher Christine de Pizan?
E. Courses – What courses would you like to take? If you created your own college, what courses would you like to see? Example: Feminist Philosophy in America, Women’s Studies 10. Think: Does my college presently offer such courses?
F. Professors – Who are the absolute best minds in your specialty? Who would you love to work with if you actually were writing that thesis? Example: Nancy Cott at Harvard? Seyla Benhabib at Yale?</p>
<p>Now you say: I am a student of Philosophy and Women’s Studies, specializing in early American feminist philosophy. I am particularly interested in how feminist philosophers conceived of power. Looking towards a potential senior thesis or independent study, I would love to delve into how Wollstonecraft and de Pizan uniquely conceived of this concept, and the implications of their work for modern day feminism. I would like to work on it with Professor X, a leader in the space. And to get to this level, I’d like to take these courses. </p>
<p>This is a compelling academic case, especially if your college only has a very small Philosophy department, lacks a Women’s Studies department, has no professors like Professor X, AND/OR lacks the courses you are looking for.</p>
<p>EXTRACURRICULAR R&R:
In addition to academic research and reflection, it is wise to consider the other aspects of your college experience. These questions can be summarized as:</p>
<p>A. Extracurricular – What activities are you seeking by transferring?
B. Future Goals/Career – Where can your new college take you?
C. Social/Other – What other opportunities are you seeking?</p>
<p>Once you have done a thorough R&R across both academic and extracurricular pieces, you are now ready to move on to #2: choosing your match school. I will write more in the coming days, but welcome any comments first.</p>
<p>I would encourage those who appreciate this offer, as I do, to post online rather than PM. Then the whole community can benefit.</p>
<p>Wow, I’m looking to transfer next year and this is extremely helpful! I don’t have any specific questions right now, but I look forward to reading what is posted next. TransferAdmit, thank you so much for deciding to start this thread. I’m sure a lot of people, including myself, will greatly appreciate it.</p>
<p>I’d also like to thank TransferAdmit for his/her helpfulness and willingness to answer questions. </p>
<p>Would you mind sharing a general idea of how you spun your “Why Transfer” essay? …Given that your majors (econ and polisci) are pretty common fields, and not necessarily significantly better at Harvard than at Penn–at least from a broad standpoint.</p>
<p>I want to echo the "thank you"s for coming back to help us out!</p>
<p>My impression from reading posts here is that you have to fit the mold of a one-in-a-million genius to make it into Harvard. From your experience with your classmates, is this true? I’m hoping it’s possible for someone like me to get admission.</p>
<p>Hello,
I noticed that you transferred from Penn - I’ve heard from some that it is very hard to transfer to Harvard etc when you are already at a top school. I was wondering if you could share a bit about what reasons you gave for wanting to transfer from Penn to Harvard? The reason I ask is because I’m in a similar position (wanting to transfer from a top Ivy League school to a different one), and while I feel I have valid reasons for wanting to transfer, I’m not sure how the admissions office would view them…so any insight into what sorts of reasons you gave would be helpful for understanding what admissions officers consider valid reasons.
Thanks for your help.</p>
<p>The Big Picture
Sure, I be would happy to address these questions. In answering them, I will draw upon what I wrote in my first post, which again I consider the “heart and soul” of your transfer process. That is, Researching and Reflecting (R&R) critically on your academic and extracurricular goals.</p>
<p>Where Most Transfer Applicants Stumble
Most transfer applicants stumble because they can’t clearly communicate these goals, or communicate them at a sufficient level of depth. They will say they want to transfer to Columbia to study History but fail to go a level deeper and say: South American history; with a focus on Peru; with Professor X in the History Dept. who has done great research in this field; to answer the research question Y; taking courses A, B, and C along the way.</p>
<p>Most transfer applicants are also overly concerned with what I call the “End Game” – getting into Stanford, popping that bottle of champagne, buying that sweatshirt, redeeming that high school rejection/missed opportunity. These things are all great, but before you get to this point you need to put in the legwork and be genuinely passionate enough to have a compelling academic need. I estimate that at least half the applicant pool at the Ivies for transfer applicants does not go deep enough in proving this need. This provides a prime opportunity for you to distinguish yourself from the pack.</p>
<p>The Transfer Process VS. High School Admissions
The transfer admissions process is distinctly different than the high school admissions process. In the high school process, your challenge is to demonstrate raw overall potential, which is highly subjective. In the transfer process, you are truly an adult; you have thought about your academic interests and are a true student, even researcher, in the field. Your challenge is to prove your deep thought, your disciplinary desires/focus, your promise/potential IN THIS FIELD, and why Harvard/Yale/Ivy would be the best platform for your continued growth.</p>
<p>Getting into Harvard/Ivies and Other Top Schools
BostonCrmPie and friends, you do not have to fit the mold of a “one-in-a-million genius” to make it into Harvard and similar schools. Your question can be boiled down to, “How can I prove I have a strong academic need for transfer to Harvard, and how can I back up that academic need with clear evidence of my extraordinary potential in this area?”</p>
<p>As I established in my initial post, your job will be to prove and back up this compelling academic need. To the extent you do your research, clearly articulate your need, and show that your target school has superior offerings in this area, you will be competitive. </p>
<p>The key is to be specific. It is easier to be perceived as an attractive candidate if you say, “I am a student of early feminist philosophy with a focus on Wollstonecraft” than if you just say “I would like to study philosophy; I love philosophy.” You would be amazed at the proportion of ‘Why Transfer’ essays that fit the latter model, rather than the former. </p>
<p>Demystifying the Notion of the Genius
In terms of my classmates and the other Harvard/Ivy transfers I know, most are very accomplished and very interesting people. Would I say they are geniuses? No, not necessarily.</p>
<p>First, I fundamentally have a problem with the notion of the “one-in-a-million” genius. There are many types of genius, or intelligence: academic, oral/speaking, social, musical, athletic/physical, etc. In America we tend to present a caricature of The Genius as the absent-minded egghead reading Rousseau in his dimly lit Harvard dorm. This is not the case at all.</p>
<p>Second, I’d like to list a couple of characteristics that I noticed across my classmates, and across successful top school transfers in general:
<p>More than happy to clarify anything here</p>
<p>Ivy to Ivy Transfers
When I speak with potential transfers, I hear time and again that transferring from one Ivy to another “must be incredibly difficult.” Now, transferring Ivy to Ivy is difficult, just as getting into an Ivy out of high school is difficult. But let me let you in on a surprising fact: in my year, Penn accounted for most of the transfers to Harvard (less than 25% of the transfers, but still the most in absolute terms). Ivies accounted for well over 50% of the transfers. Given these statistics, it might be an advantage to come from an Ivy.</p>
<p>Differentiating Yourself as an Ivy to Ivy Transfer
I often hear the question, “How can I transfer to Yale/Ivy/top school when I’m already at a top school? Won’t this be extremely difficult?” The answer is yes, of course it will be difficult, but perhaps not as difficult as you imagine – if you put in the proper legwork.</p>
<p>What do I mean by that? Well, the top schools are much more different than you might think. Taking a big step back, what differentiates a school ACADEMICALLY? At the core, it is its
A. curriculum (comprised of its departments and course offerings)
B. professors (who can have vastly different research interests)</p>
<p>As a student at Penn, what subject are you interested in? Let’s say you are interested (to keep using the same example) in Philosophy and Women’s Studies. You notice that Penn doesn’t have as many offerings in this area than Harvard/Yale/Ivy. You notice that Professor X at Yale is the leader in the field, and you have always wanted to work with her. In fact, given your independent study on topic Y and your anticipated senior thesis that will push Topic Y forward even more, you feel you have a compelling academic need to move to Yale. In addition, you have exhausted most of the course offerings at Penn in this area. This, not to be repetitive, is a compelling academic need.</p>
<p>On the extracurricular side, maybe you have started a unique club or interest group that is currently not at Yale. You think you can bring it to Yale and extend it successfully. You want to be, let’s say, a Professor of Philosophy/Women’s Studies and Yale has the best track record (I’m just throwing things out here) of creating professors in this field.</p>
<p>When it comes down to it, colleges are stronger in certain areas than in others. Think of yourself as a graduate student more than a college student. Most college students don’t think of doing independent research or of their senior thesis topic until their senior year. If you want to be the “brilliant” kid, the “rock star” transfer admit, push yourself several steps further and actually look at the professors in your departments. I can assure you that, given an specific subfield, all colleges are not created equal; that is in one subfield the professors at Penn will be more highly regarded, and in another the Yale professors will be. Any good graduate applicant knows this (for example, University of Pittsburgh has one of the best Philosophy departments in the nation at the graduate level).</p>
<p>The Why Transfer Essay
I will write a more extended version of this in the coming days, but for now I would encourage each of you to do a thorough R&R before thinking about the essay. The Why Transfer essay should basically clearly and simply communicate the results of your R&R, with perhaps a subtle personal spin. </p>
<p>A mistake many transfers make is trying to make the essay overly dramatic (e.g., incredible international journey, being held up by a robber, etc.). As you might imagine, some of these get quite unnecessary/silly at best; at worst, they border on the dishonest and superficial. </p>
<p>Remember though: this is not the high school admissions process. Your job is simply to prove a compelling academic need for transfer in the most powerful way, not to awe the admissions committee with some subjective sense of raw overall potential. Focused potential is key, so be focused with your approach, honest about what you want to study, and honest about who you are.</p>
<p>HI,</p>
<p>2 questions:</p>
<p>1) Is it better go in as undeclared or with a major? Because currently I’m undecided about a major.</p>
<p>2) What class should I register for my next semester at my current school to maximize my transfer chances?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Awesome!!!Thanks so much!!!</p>
<p>Hi Itohang,</p>
<p>I would need to have a bit more context here. Are you currently at an Ivy / Top 50 school? Are you a sophomore? How are your grades / SAT? What are your goal schools (Harvard / Brown / etc)? </p>
<p>1) Depending on your school, you don’t formally declare your major until junior or late sophomore year. The major you list in your application is not binding. I have friends who thought they were transferring to study Philosophy but who loved the History class they took and switched to History. </p>
<p>Now, assuming you are a sophomore, it is OK to be undeclared. Even if you are “undeclared” as you say, I would still push you to articulate a clear, compelling academic need. Though you might not have settled on a major/minor combination, I’m sure you have a good general idea of what you want to study - History vs. Philosophy and, within these, the key questions you are interested in exploring.</p>
<p>2) I don’t know of any one class that “maximizes your transfer chances.” I also don’t know what your interests are. I think once you have thought of the general fields you are interested in, you should take classes in these areas and do the best you can in them. You should exhaust your current school’s offerings in this area, or do an independent study if the course is not offered</p>
<p>Hey,</p>
<p>I’m currently a freshman at UT Austin and I would really like to transfer to UChicago or Tufts for their International Studies/PoliSci program. I’m doing pretty well in all of my classes right now, and if all goes well, I’ll end the semester with a 3.7+. But the problem is, my classes are mostly elective and intro classes. I’m involved in several ec’s (both leadership and volunteer orgs), but I haven’t done anything monumental yet. The major events I’m working on in these orgs won’t take place until next semester. </p>
<p>My question is, should I apply to transfer for next year? Or should I wait until next year when I’ve done more, taken more classes, and gotten to know profs better?</p>
<p>I realize I was probably a bit unclear. My fear is that I don’t think I’ve exhausted all the resources available yet, like you said we should.</p>
<p>Hi Owl,</p>
<p>Exhausting Resources - What Does It Mean?
There is no “right” answer here, and I can see you being successful as either a sophomore or a junior transfer. As a sophomore transfer, you need not exhaust all the resources; you just need to show that at your current rapid pace of learning these resources will soon be exhausted and, on top of that, Tufts/UChicago has a better platform for your specific interests.</p>
<p>A Solution: Be Targeted; “International Studies” is Way Too Broad!
From my perspective, it is easier to prove you are rapidly exhausting available resources if you are more targeted in what you want to study: for example, it could take years to exhaust your schools resources in History (en bloc), but how many courses on, say, Peruvian history does it have? I would push you to be more specific about what you want to study. You say international studies, but the world is obviously a very big place! Tell me what region you are interested in and let’s think through this.</p>
<p>Sophomore Vs. Junior Transfer
You might have a better shot at transferring as a junior to top schools for the very reasons you mentioned: you will have established yourself in the field, made a compelling case that you have taken / are taking advantage of everything your school has to offer in this area, and have built a more impressive (presumably) extracurricular track record with accompanying leadership/etc positions. You will also be able to (presumably, again) build stronger relationships with professors; their recommendations will be critical.</p>
<p>My advice would be to apply to one school this year (probably Tufts, which tends to be less competitive for transfer than Chicago) and Chicago next year. See what happens.</p>
<p>thanks for offering your time and thoughts.</p>
<p>would you be able to give us an idea about how your roommate got accepted to all of the hardest schools to transfer to? his/her academic reasons, stats, ecs?</p>
<p>cheers</p>
<p>Hi TransferAdmit,</p>
<p>I’m a community college graduate who’s dream school is Brown. I am currently on a gap year to pursue some professional and personal goals that I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to accomplish had I transferred this fall. Would Brown (or any top school) look down upon my gap year?</p>