Help! Extremely atypical student here.

Transfer Students
1

<p>This is essentially a chance thread. I really need advice because my student profile is just... so all over the place. First, my stats. I'll try and make this neat:</p>

<p>Age: 20
Gender: Male
URM Status: Hispanic (Peruvian)</p>

<p>High School
Went to two high schools. Before enrolling at the second school I took time off, ultimately resulting in a year-long break in my education. (At the time I was contemplating dropping out altogether.) Ended up graduating from the second school a semester and a half late.</p>

<p>GPA: 1.66 <a href="%5Bb%5D!%5B/b%5D">color=red</a>[/color]
SAT: N/A
ACT: 30 Composite
-----English 35
-----Reading 35
-----Mathematics 27
-----Science 23
EC's: None</p>

<p>College:
Attending a community college. Currently a sophomore.</p>

<p>GPA: 3.899
EC's:[ul]
[<em>]President of a community service-based student organization, which I founded. The club organizes volunteer projects in service of local museums and historical societies. In two semesters we have organized 100 hours of well-attended volunteer projects ranging from historical reenactments to exhibit installation. I have attended every volunteer event.
[</em>]Regular docent at a local museum. Have been doing it for a year and a half, about 4 hours every week. I've committed 300 volunteer hours in this role.
[<em>]Curatorial intern at an anthropological museum last summer. Worked 25 hours per week.
[</em>]Worked 25 hours a week at the traveling exhibit "Titanic: The Artifact Exhibit" as an Artifacts Specialist (glorified docent). Exhibit was an extremely professional product, incorporating great museum theory and design; it often saw 500+ visitors a day, owing also to the fact that it was located in a world-class casino. I was paid 12.50 an hour and even got tips on a fairly regular basis because people liked me so much :)
[<em>]Conducted an independent research project on the convoluted relationship of a town in my area to the Civil War. Project required sophisticated investigation of scarce local historical resources.
[</em>] GSA member. I attend organizational meetings and some functions.
[/ul]
Additionally, I'm part of my college's Honors Program and a member of Phi Beta Kappa.</p>

<p>I hope it's obvious that I'm NOT the same person I was in high school. When I was younger I associated high school with a lot of negative things. At the time I was struggling with my sexuality and at my first school, a Catholic institution, I was bullied a lot. High school became for me a self-imposed prison, as I locked away my personality and kept myself isolated from everyone else for fear of being targeted further. Every moment at school was an emotionally exhausting exercise in "hiding." Eventually, I just a became a shell of a person. People stopped making fun of me, but only because there was nobody "in there" to make fun of. I rarely spoke and associated with virtually no one. When I finally transferred to a more open school, I had already inculcated in myself a deep phobia of social interaction; I stayed in the closet and things did not get better. I skipped school habitually, had suicidal thoughts, etc. Yikes!!! It was so, so bad. But after graduation I just had this epiphany and was sick and tired of who I had become. I graduated in January and in the months leading up to college I came out and made peace with my new identity. Everything was uphill from there.</p>

<p>Sorry if that was TMI! I just feel a lot will hinge on my explanation (which CommonApp demands, if you've ever switched schools or graduated late) of the disparity between my high school and college careers and that to effectively chance me you guys should receive the same insight into my transformation from a paranoid, depressed kid into a confident student leader. Thanks for listening.</p>

<p>The schools I'm applying to are Brown, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, Penn, and UConn. My only safety is UConn, and the reason for that is I have guaranteed admission there and it's a decent school that would offer me a solid education for a ridiculously low price. The only way I'd pass up a deal like that would be to attend a school like the others mentioned above.</p>

<p>The schools I'm applying to offer a lot for an aspiring curator, besides amazing undergraduate history programs. All of them have renowned museums directly on campus with internship and volunteer openings. Northwestern and Johns Hopkins, in particular, have fully fleshed-out graduate Museum Studies programs! Though I couldn't be enrolled in those programs, it suggests the universities have many resources for those interested in museum theory, and it's probable that undergraduates would have some access to them, too.</p>

<p>But I have this sinking feeling that I have no hope of getting into these schools!!! Even in college, my grades aren't spectacular. Never got below an A- but I have too many of those. Also, my ACT! I took it in June 2009 right before college. Scored low in Math and especially Science... Since starting college, I've received an A in Pre-Calc, an A- in Calc I, and an A in Biology I. Does that then mitigate those ACT scores in the eyes of admissions?</p>

<p>What do you guys think, overall? I hope my extracurricular life and unique reasons for transferring will be enough to carry me. Also, both my recommenders are writing that I'm one of the best writers/students they've come across. But I'm still really not sure, to the point that I feel like it'd be better just to save the 400 bucks haha. </p>

<p>Thanks for any input. REALLY appreciated. :)</p>

2

<p>What schools are you considering at Cornell and UPenn? If you’re applying to ILR, HumanEC, or CALS, you might have a shot. At UPenn, you’ll have a shot at anything but Wharton.</p>

<p>Brown is a reach if you are not applying for financial aid, and a high reach if you are. </p>

<p>Johns Hopkins, with its 9% acceptance rate, is also a high reach.</p>

<p>Northwestern is definitely your best shot. It’s probably a low reach/match for you.</p>

3

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<p>For Cornell and UPenn, I’m applying to their respective CAS’s.</p>

<p>Also, I probably won’t be applying for financial aid at Brown.</p>

<p>Thanks for the fast reply. Having “a shot” at Cornell and UPenn and a match at Northwestern is good enough for me!!! At least things are within the realm of possibility.</p>

<p>Any more opinions?</p>

4

<p>Don’t sell yourself short - 3.899 is essentially spectacular. There really aren’t that many people who make it through college with a 4.0. It’s not like high school.</p>

5

<p>Dude, I seriously advise you against Cornell CAS. It’s because they have almost all of their seats reserved for local CC with articulation agreement. Last semester I knew at least 6 guys (including me, 2 friends and 3 guys on this forum) applied to Cornell CAS with a 4.0 GPA and decent ECs and got rejected :(. We (I assume over 200) were fighting over 6-8 seats (those haven’t been filled by students with Guranteed Transfer) in CAS. The only guy I know who transferred succesfully to CAS last year had a 3.9 something at a top 4-year univ, impressive research projects at Stanford and 6 letters of recs from well-respected professors.</p>

<p>I agree with transfer2010 that “ILR, HumanEC, or CALS, you might have a shot”</p>

<p>Also, I don’t think Northwestern is a reach for you. Because they take only 10% of their transfers from community college (90% from other 4-yr colleges)</p>

<p>Again, I would like to stress that I think you are doing great. But I have to give you negative reponses because I think you want my honesty. Trust me, I was in the same seat with you. Man, you are on par (or might be even slightly better) than those CC students who got in Cornell CAS with articulation agreements. But this is how tbe system works. Sometimes the odds are gainst us :(</p>

6

<p>^Cornell CAS actually doesn’t have guaranteed transfers or articulation agreements with community colleges. It’s just really, really though to get in, especially as a spring transfer.</p>

7

<p>Maybe I missed it but how many credits?</p>

8

<p>No, I appreciate the honesty. I’m applying for Fall admission, so maybe that changes things? Also, among the Ivies I’m applying to, I was especially hopeful about Cornell because it seems they’ve accepted plenty of kids with lower GPAs than mine. But that’s just something I’ve noticed from reading the threads on here. Maybe that’s actually a really rare occurrence.</p>

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<p>My bad. Didn’t include them. I’ve completed 52 credits so far and am taking 12 credits this semester. So 64 credits total but I don’t think all of them will transfer. (Took a few classes with “weird” names and such.)</p>

9

<p>Maybe it’s different outside of CA, but here my understanding is that you don’t need to send in h.s. transcripts as a jr. level transfer.</p>

<p>Apart from that, consider using that story in your essay, I think. That you made it out and increased your GPA by THAT much. It shows personal strength.</p>

10

<p>I think you sound like a fascinating candidate. If I were an adcom (I’m not), I’d be thinking that you’ve clearly found your niche. You have built up a history doing something unusual, and it’s clear you are passionate about it. You’ve also done well academically in the meantime and from my POV, that really mitigates the rocky start. </p>

<p>In your essays I hope you’ll be able to focus most of your attention on the interesting person that you are now. Although you may have to mention something of your high school troubles, you shouldn’t make that the main point. What you went through was heart-wrenching, but what you are now is impressive - and you’d much rather have your adcom’s respect than their sympathy.</p>

11

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<p>Unfortunately, I do have to submit my high school transcript. The schools ask for them directly. (Except for UConn.)</p>

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<p>Definitely agree. I intend to address “in-depth” what I experienced in my response to the “Why did you take time off/graduate late” question, but just for a single paragraph or so. My main Transfer essay will incorporate only who I am today. That does include, I believe, an aptitude to facing personal challenges. So I might just quickly mention my GPA increase and how that’s a product of my, uh, strong will? Something like that…</p>

<p>Thanks for all the comments so far. Again, really appreciate it.</p>

<p>I just discovered another school I might be interested in. Washington University has a Museum Studies program! That probably translates into some curatorial opportunities for undergraduates. What do you guys think of my chances at WUSTL?</p>

12

<p>Wow we have a lot of similarities…
We’re both 20 year old, Hispanic, community college transfer applicants.
We have identical college GPAs and didn’t have the best HS records.
I personally suffered from depression during my sophomore year of HS stemming from a broken family which brought me down to being a 3.3 cumulative GPA student when I really should have been in the 3.6-3.7 range, but I rarely mention it and didn’t bother to reference it my applications.
I think your transfer chances are better than mine. Unlike me, you didn’t shy away from taking challenging courses outside of your major (e.g. Calculus, Biology I) and you excelled in both courses. The one challenging course I took outside of my major, I got a B- in.
And on top of that, you have a compelling story which explains your abyssmal HS record and you have attractive extracurriculars/research experience.</p>

<p>I’m no expert on admissions… just a fellow student… but I wouldn’t be surprised if you got into Penn and Northwestern assuming you took courses that will fulfill their 1st and 2nd year requirements… which it seems like you did. I think the ad coms would have to be impressed by your story. </p>

<p>Maybe you should also apply to Notre Dame. I would think it’d be the prestigious school you have the best chance of transferring into.</p>

13

<p>I hope you’re right about Northwestern and UPenn, DreamingBig. Good luck to both of us! But I think I’ll avoid Notre Dame… I just couldn’t go to a Catholic school again, though I’m probably being unfair.</p>

<p>Any more have thoughts on my chances?</p>

14

<p>You’ll have no chance if you claim Phi Beta Kappa membership. Not at a 2-year school. Not anywhere as a sophomore. Can’t happen. The people who will read your application will know.</p>

15

<p>Oh, I made a mistake. I meant Phi THETA Kappa, of course. Sorry!!!</p>

<p>What do you think of my chances now?</p>