<p>Okay so long story short, I applied to 4 schools: Brandeis, Tufts, Occidental, and Baruch. Got into Baruch but rejected from the other three. I'm an international student; Egyptian of Hispanic origins. I went to high school in Saudi Arabia, got a 3.53 GPA and a 1740 SATs. A bunch of EC. I currently attend American International College in Springfield, MA- it was the most affordable out of my other acceptances at Clark U, UMiami, and Trinity U. I did pretty well first semester; had a 3.86 GPA. I'm an Econ major. I was a member in the International students club and a player in the soccer team. Next semester [ Spring 2011] was even better, a member of the students activity committee and a 4.0 GPA. Now I have a cumulative of 3.93 GPA. I'm now an Econ and Political Science double major. By the way, I do seek financial aid, but I have an EFC of $20k. </p>
<p>I know that my SATs were bad, but I don't want to start a lecture about how I think consistency of performance in high school and college should be weighed more than an 8-12 fill-the-right-bubble test.</p>
<p>Anyways, I really want your help about what to do to transfer to a good school. I believe I'm a really good student at not-the-best school. I want a school that would help further enrich my experience and my intellectual skills. Not boasting, by the way.</p>
<p>SO I have two questions that I need help with :</p>
<p>1) What went wrong with those schools?
2) What do you think should be the next step and my chances for Junior transfer?</p>
<p>I’d appreciate some help guys!</p>
<p>I mean. I don’t think very many schools care what you think about the SAT’s. 1740 is pretty low, and I would imagine that SAT scores are more heavily weighted for prospective sophomore transfers than for prospective junior transfers. Continue working hard at your current school, but be aware that 1740 may be prohibitively low, I guess. There are some schools (NYU? I think) that do no consider or do not require SAT’s. Maybe only apply to those.</p>
<p>Honestly, though, I would recommend studying hard and re-taking the SAT’s.</p>
<p>Could have been many intangibles, your essay, the level of competition in the applicant pool, etc. </p>
<p>Nothing went ‘wrong’, what happened was pretty predictable. This is another case of trying to ‘transfer up’ as a soph with HS stats (gpa & test scores) that would not have been competitive as a fr applicant. The transfer decisions were made based on 1 semester at college, your 4 yr HS record (gpa & course rigor) and test scores. So what you did in college was weighted less than what you did in HS, that will reverse as a jr transfer applicant.</p>
<p>You also need to keep in mind that Intl applicants often have a tougher time getting into selective colleges and an even harder time with FA. I’m not that familiar with the details of individual schools, but it is something you should be aware of when applying.</p>
<p>Safetosay: I know schools don’t care about what I think about the SATs, that’s why I started the sentence with- “I know my SATs are bad”. A declarative statement that states how I, and many top schools, think of my SATs. However, I wouldn’t say it’s “pretty/prohibitively low” considering that the average score is 1500-1550 and that I’m not even a native speaker. It’s only bad because I’m an A student who’s seeking admission to a top school. Same score wouldn’t be bad or pretty low for a B student who wants to get in his state school, for example. I’m really hoping it won’t matter by the time I apply as a prospective junior. A test taken early in 2009 as a high school junior shouldn’t be weighed that heavily for someone seeking transfer Fall 2012 as a college junior- I guess. Re-taking the SATs is definitely not a choice for me, it’s like taking an elementary test in school and getting an A, does it matter? It was designed for elementary students not for me. SATs are behind me, college is ahead of me. I’m gonna try and work for another straight A’s semester and then hopefully apply. Thanks for your response, I really do appreciate it.</p>
<p>Entomom: The supermod, thanks for replying! From what you’re saying, I can infer that I have a better chance as a jr applicant than a soph, right? Now HS stats behind us, a 3.93 college GPA should place me somewhere in the competitive applicant pool as jr, shouldn’t it? Considering other intangibles are pretty good; essays,recs,etc.</p>
<p>Intl students do have a hard time getting into selective colleges esp if requesting aid, but sometimes it’s an advantage to be an Intl if a school wants to add diversity to its campus. Also, I know many Intl students whose efc is or around 0. I have 20k as efc which should help me when compared to other Intl students, I believe.</p>
<p>Yes, if you keep up your great college gpa, get involved, get to know profs/TAs, etc., you should be in much better shape as a jr transfer applicant. Just remember to apply to colleges in a range of selectivity unless you would be OK staying at your current school.</p>
<p>You would know more than me about how Intl applications & FA work, just be sure to do your homework. Utilize the Intl Students forum and the individual college subforums to try to get an idea of how schools deal with FA & Intl. transfers.</p>
<p>I agree that your focus should be on your college grades, not retaking SATs. Keep up the good work!</p>
<p>I’ll sure put that in mind, I’ll include some safeties and matches next time. Thanks a lot for your help entomom, I really do appreciate it !</p>