<p>Breakdown of Transfer Class
I received several PMs regarding the general breakdown of Ivy League transfer classes, particularly Harvard. My class was about 10% recruited athlete, but this is just one data point.</p>
<p>Hi transferadmit,</p>
<p>Given my stats on this thread I posted earlier: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1020210-what-my-chances-few-top-colleges.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1020210-what-my-chances-few-top-colleges.html</a></p>
<p>Can you give me some suggestions, such as which schools I should apply to and my chances?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Sure what major/minor are you interested in? Would help in narrowing down the schools.</p>
<p>You stats look good numerically, and your courses appear solid. Will come down to providing a clear compelling academic need. With the right push, the Ivies are within your reach, though my philosophy has been go where you want, no where others want you to go.</p>
<p>As someone that transferred from one top school (Rice) to another (Duke), I do believe that TransferAdmit has it spot on. Being a successful transfer student requires being able to articulate something School Y will offer that School X doesn’t. For me, Duke offered a much stronger environmental sciences program, even though Rice had top-notch academics overall. I used that approach and it worked in helping me get into Duke, which had a 9% transfer acceptance rate this year.</p>
<p>Oh yeah what do we do about the dean’s rec? I mean, does the dean really know anyone?</p>
<p>transfer admit, my biggest problem will seemingly come down to professor recs, I remember reading somewhere that TA’s can write a recommendation letter since lecture classes aren’t conducive to establishing relationships, is there any truth to this? In my microecon class I feel like my TA might be able to write a good rec for me, but I don’t really know the professor at all.</p>
<p>Thank you for all your advice and insights on transfer admission. They were immensely helpful! :)</p>
<p>I am a freshman at a college outside of the U.S. and am interested in transferring to the U.S. The one thing that’s holding me back is the professors’ recommendation letters.</p>
<p>I have read Pcristiani’s “Guide to Developing Good Relationships with Professors for Recommendation Letters”. I attend all classes and ask questions on the class website. However, I don’t participate actively in class because 1. there’s not much chance for people to participate in class 2. even if there is, I prefer to ask questions after class or on the class wesbite. All my classes are conducted in a passive manner where professors do all the talking and students just take down notes.</p>
<p>How can people like me who are not very outgoing develop close ties with professors? So far, I think none of my professors know my name (as well as the names of the majority of other students). At this rate, I think it will be nearly impossible to get any professors’ recommendation letters, let alone good, persuasive letters. </p>
<p>Also, I’m majoring in business administration. Since this is a common major, it seems to have significantly less rooms for esoteric subjects (relative to majors like philosophy and women’s studies which you brought up multiple times as a good example). Furthermore, since I’m planning to apply as a sophomore transfer, I think I will not have enough time nor energy to exhaust all resources available in my university. Frankly, my main reason for transfer does not have to do with professors who have more experience and knowledge about a certain sub-field in business administration. In this case, how would I be able to convey compelling academic needs? </p>
<p>Could you offer advice on how to deal with this tricky situation? :(</p>
<p>TransferAdmit, do you know if Harvard offers guaranteed “deferred admissions” for those who earn a certain GPA at another school and then transfer in? (a la Cornell).</p>
<p>I am also looking to transfer after my freshman year, but my situation is slightly different. I was accepted to Harvard last spring (and a few other Ivies) but ultimately chose to attend Vanderbilt as a Cornelius Vanderbilt Scholar (full tuition). At the time, however, I was experiencing intense family turmoil, and I strongly believe that this factor clouded my rational decision-making ability (Vanderbilt is closer to my home and seemed more “comfortable” then). Also, I thought that I had wanted to be an engineering major, but I have since realized that engineering is not for me. I would like to pursue an economics degree, and I don’t think anyone will disagree that Harvard has a better economics program than Vanderbilt. And finally, the intellectual atmosphere at Vanderbilt isn’t as prevalent as I would prefer (rather, most students seem to be too focused on their fraternities and sororities). Harvard’s atmosphere seems much more conducive to the kind of entrepreneurial thinking I want to be around.</p>
<p>Ideally, if I could reverse time, I would be at Harvard right now. But of course, I can’t time travel, so my next best option is to reapply for admission.</p>
<p>Considering my previous admission, how should I approach my transfer application? How much will my previous acceptance weigh? Also, how can one exhaust the resources of a particular department if he or she has only been there for under two semester? I’m involved with several ECs, and my GPA is decent (~3.8), but I don’t think I’ve been here long enough to do anything “extraordinary.”</p>
<p>Thanks so much.</p>
<p>Hi TransferAdmit, </p>
<p>Thank you for starting this post. I just started to check into Harvard transfer. One question in the Supplement asked “What alternatives to transfering to Harvard are you considering?” Do you know what kind of alternatives this question refers to?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Hi TransferAdmit, I’m an international student at Grand Valley State University in MI (yeah I know you may not know about this school). What I mean is, I’m not originally from an Ivy like you, and I do not possess a perfect score and GPA, either (which is unusual for me, but can somehow be understood given that I’m an int’l and just came here 6 months ago)</p>
<p>So, my SAT 1 is only 1830 (verbal: 530, Math: 670, writing: 630). These may not look attractive (I know), but trust me I put much effort on the test. I’m an Int’l, only took it once a year ago and I actually boost my score up 200 pts on this new one. Now, as I come here, I have little time to practice and study SAT, because transportation costs me a lot of time, and I have a lot of classwork, too. Also, I never received any kind of tutoring; I studied everything myself. Anyway, I know it’s a waste of time reasoning this way cuz they just look at the final score, right?
And my GPA, too. Mine after the first semester is only 3.438 (totally unacceptable). I should have had a very good GPA if it hadn’t been for my Sociology class ( ended up with a C). But it doesn’t mean my academic ability is bad; it’s just that that course presents things about American society that I never knew before, and the professor didn’t really teach much cuz she assumed that every single American (of course not me) in that class already knew everything.
So that’s basically my situation. Those stats don’t look very beautiful, but I believe I have
the capability to do well in the Ivy.</p>
<p>So, my questions are:
1/ Should I try to explain to them why I got a bad grade in a class( just one, cuz others are fine)? If yes, how can I do so? (integrating into essays or providing a supplement explaining why)
And I know deadline is March 1, but if possible, can I show them most recent updates on my transcript everyday before the admissions decision? cuz I believe my 2nd-semester transcript will be much better (can be even perfect 4.0) Will that help at all?</p>
<p>2/ bout the transfer essay: there’s a common app essay that is required to be general, so it cannot go specifically to a professor X in a school Y… The prompt is: “Please provide a statement (250 words minimum) that addresses your reasons for transferring and the objectives you hope to achieve.”
I’m gonna say: first, academic need (great Economics program…) but should I go any more specific? should I compare the Ivy to my current col?
second, to get possible aid for on-campus housing. Don’t worry, I won’t make this point plain that way. I will do like this: cuz I currently live so far away from school (I share house w/ my cousin to save money), I feel I’m missing chances to devote to the student body/community better -> if i have a chance to live on-campus at a low cost thanks to aid, I can serve the community better. Basically here I will highlight my passion in commitment to the communiity. But as such, I also have a quest: should I link this passion to my academic passion? (like serving the community by being an excellent contributive leader-> also helps in the Eco/Biz field)</p>
<p>3/ Bout the Short essays, do you suggest any tips to how to write them, in what style…? Actually, the questions for some short essays are very straightforward, like “Briefly, please indicate the most influential factors in your original decision to attend your present college, such as location, cost, size of student body, only option, special program offered, Early Decision plan, etc” or “What alternatives to transferring to Harvard are you considering?”. So, should I write creatively?</p>
<p>I have so many questions but for present I just hope you can help me with those above. And plz hurry, too; the deadline is approaching. Thanks so much in advance!</p>
<p>Oh, and I also want to ask: I kinda have a special spiritual side (I talk to guardian angels everyday, and that works, but plz don’t comment on that). So, should I mention this in the essay? I just think this is a personal distinct, but do u think I should change it into some kind of a call from within -> proof of a strong self-conscious and vocation)?</p>
<p>The OP has not posted for 3 months, people are better of posting their own thread to ask a question. Closing this thread.</p>