I will be attending UMASS Amherst this fall and participating in the honors program (Commonwealth College). However, I am already planning on transferring. After extensive research and reading, I have fell in love with Duke University. There is nothing i want more than to be able attend Duke. I have a strong high school record and am planning on continuing with that success in the fall. I had a 3.95 GPA in high school with a 1390 SAT score. I have a tentative schedule set up for the first semester, which includes 7 courses (the maximum courseload) in the honors college. I am taking the most rigorous courseload possible with a maximum courseload and honors courses. I am also already looking into some extracirriculars for the fall (several clubs). I would just really like to know what else i can do in order to better my chances for admission to Duke as a transfer. I know there will be essays involved in the application also. Other than attaining a 4.0 GPA, I want to put my heart and soul into this next year in order to gain admission to Duke for fall 2006. If anyone has any info or recommendations on how to most effectively go about achieving my goal i would greatly appreciate it.
<p>I'm kind of confused. If you're outstanding enough academically to attend an institution like Duke, why did you choose UMASS in the first place? I'm discouraged by the fact that you want to transfer before you even begin attending! Didn't you do any research before you started applying?</p>
<p>I'm not trying to be mean, but this post made me kind of sad. :(</p>
<p>well, its more of a financial thing, my parents were in some trouble this year so its not like i wanted to attend umass. i was accepted to notre dame and uva but couldn't attend because the financial aid packages weren't sufficient. Also, admittedly i did start researching schools late. So that combination puts me at umass for my first year. So you can probably see why i am not too excited about going to umass, im not trying to be arrogant, but i want something better</p>
<p>I would take the SAT again aiming for at least the average for freshman admits which is about 1460.</p>
<p>suze, is 1460 a fact or is that your best guess? Just curious.</p>
<p>thanks for the advice. i heard that a lot more of the focus was put on college work though.</p>