I am looking to transfer at some ivies this is pretty much my first year in college. I know my high school resume still holds a great importance but so does the first year.
SO far for GPA I have a 3.3 first semester for reasons i did explain
Second semester my class choice are much better so hoping for a 4.0
Shadow experience with doctor, witness surgeries
joined the per-med club
lead part in a graduate level psychology research for the second year.
Volunteering
Maybe high school varsity soccer team manager.
This is my first semester. I also live in Alaska so there is not much else to do. there aren’t any known organization i can take part in.
What were your high school stats? Since it’s only been your first year, I think your high school stats will matter more to Ivies than one semester of college. Ivies also consider ACT and SAT scores so, are those up to par?
Also, although you say you have reasons, a 3.3 is pretty low for Ivy transfer consideration. If you’re planning on transferring as a sophomore, consider transferring in the spring of 2016 instead of this fall. That way, colleges can see your second semester grades (in which you hope to get a 4.0), so it will balance out the 3.3.
High school didn’t go so well too. Graduated with a 3.7 won most of my awards my senior year. Couple of leadership positions, descent a extracurricular activities one of the best one is that i was able to have a lead role in graduate school level research. It was quite a lot of work frankly. I started high school right after i had arrived from a french speaking country so my English needed lots of improvement. So my SAT scores are in the 1600 range. I am retaking it this January. I have studied a lot, i am still studying at this moment, i hope to get a perfect score or close. I understand that it takes more than a semester to prove that you are worth more. But I feel like there is less of a chance to get accepted as a sophomore because you wont have enough time to make the most out of your new college. My essays are very convincing, in fact all i think i am messing are stats. But i hope that their “holistic” views pass that point.
Being from a French speaking country natively is a very interesting fact that you can share on your apps.
Unfortunately, a jump from a 1600 SAT score to a 2400 (or close) is extremely difficult to accomplish, even with major studying. Have you considered the ACT which is more achievement based?
Well, most colleges only take sophomore, junior, or senior transfers anyway so you still have a bit of time to wait. And actually, applying as a second semester sophomore or a junior will likely increase your chances of getting accepted since you will have more college coursework on your transcript. The general rule is, the more college coursework, the less you high school grades and scores matter.
What you say makes sense, the more time i spend in college the less importance will my high school coursework matter. But if i come from a bad college where the coursework does not fit the school main core curriculum, that will also decrease my chances since they probably will not want me to start over. And plus I have a life long project that I have to get started on. I doubt that once i start I will be able to leave. I can send you some of the essays that i wrote, they are very good in my opinion.
Other colleges don’t really acknowledge ‘bad colleges’ as being the problem since your GPA is based on the work you put in and the resources you used. And you can’t really ‘start over’ but rather just greatly improve.
And I’d be happy to read your essays
Well i am still working on them so they are very rough, pm me your email.