<p>How much higher is the admissions bar for an applicant trying to transfer in with about a year's worth of college credits?</p>
<p>For the past several years the number of transfer applicants accepted has been in the single digits, I believe, so I'd say it's probably way more difficult. But certainly not impossible, since some folks do transfer in each year! Visit the MIT Common Data Set lists for some statistics on freshman and transfer applicants, acceptances, etc. for the recent past.</p>
<p>In addition to the single-digit number of accepted transfers, it's also difficult to transfer in due to the number and caliber of classes which are "strongly suggested" for a successful transfer applicant.
[quote=<a href="http://admissions.mit.edu">http://admissions.mit.edu</a>]
Yes. We recommend that prospective transfer students take a variety of mathematics and science courses before applying. We like to see you taking full advantage of your institution's offerings in these areas. This includes one year each of college-level calculus and calculus-based physics, and one semester each of biology and chemistry. If you received advanced placement from high school courses, then you should enroll in the appropriate level for each of the disciplines mentioned above.
[/quote]
So it's not just having a year's worth of credit, it's having the right sorts of credit to transfer into a science/engineering school.</p>
<p>The admissions site mentions additionally that successful transfer applicants generally have >700 on SAT Subject Tests and a college GPA above 3.5.</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses. I see from the data list that the chances of transferring in are extremely slim.</p>
<p>Here's the problem: my 16-year-old younger brother exhausted all math/science/technology courses at his high school midway through his sophomore year. He took both AP courses and all the regular courses early on because he had been taking high school math classes throughout middle school. After finishing with the high school's offerings he began taking physics and chemistry classes at the university for fun. </p>
<p>Now however, he's faced with a dilemma: if he takes any more college courses he will have enough credit to classify him as a sophomore when he applies to college - and as you pointed out above, the chances of getting in as a sophomore transfer are dramatically worse. He has been fixated on MIT since visiting the campus on a class trip and does not want to do anything to compromise his chances of being accepted.</p>
<p>At the same time, though, there are no more classes he can take at his school, so if he can't take classes at the university he will not have any math/science classes on his schedule for next year. This would be a serious problem for him since he says those are the only ones he truly loves.</p>
<p>Could he keep taking the college classes but ask MIT not to transfer the credit when he applies, in order to qualify as a freshman applicant? Has anyone else ever had this problem?</p>
<p>When he started signing himself up for college classes two years ago no one even considered this situation.</p>
<p>Is he considered a student of that college, or a student at his HS? I think that's the important question, and it is probably a good idea for him to talk with someone in Admissions rather than speculating here on CC. Many MIT freshmen have taken college courses, either on campuses or via online methods, before they arrive at MIT, this is not completely unusual. If the student has not been a registered college student and has only been taking courses there to supplement a lacking HS curriculum -- it may not "count" as being a current college student and hence may not affect applying as a freshman. This is a question for Admissions, I think.</p>
<p>Also note, "college credits" for classes taken in HS do not automatically directly transfer in at MIT for incoming freshmen. There are requirements to document the course curriculum, sometimes to do the entire year's worth of problem sets for the equivalent MIT course, and then to take an exam during Orientation (usually the final exam from the MIT course) to qualify for outplacement. So having college credits on one's HS transcript does not automatically place a freshman out of an MIT course.</p>
<p>Mootmom is right - if a high school student takes college courses under a dual-enrollment program, it should not affect their status as a freshman applicant. There's only a problem if they take college courses as a regular college student. Definitely contact MIT admissions for the official word, but how the student is classified while they are taking the college courses has a lot more to do with it than the total number of credits, which may not matter at all. (if it does matter, your brother can always audit next year).</p>
<p>Here's what MIT says in their transfer applicant FAQs, towards the end of the page at
<a href="http://admissions.mit.edu/AdmissionsWeb/appmanager/AdmissionsWeb/Main;jsessionid=DhMTDp2VwzZs2nW731b8KLhxh13cLJND4RJJhlvJG1vvQ65c0Zjn!-1098729856!1812573580?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageAboutTransfer#q13">http://admissions.mit.edu/AdmissionsWeb/appmanager/AdmissionsWeb/Main;jsessionid=DhMTDp2VwzZs2nW731b8KLhxh13cLJND4RJJhlvJG1vvQ65c0Zjn!-1098729856!1812573580?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageAboutTransfer#q13</a> </p>
<p>"I have been attending college during my senior year in high school. Can I apply as a transfer?"</p>
<p>"No. If you are still in high school, you are considered a freshman applicant regardless of how many units of study you may have taken at the university level."</p>
<p>Haha, MaryCeleste, I see that given your brother's situation, my response was pretty much entirely useless!</p>
<p>Sorry about that. :)</p>
<p>Thank you so much. I'm not actually sure how he has been classified (he's done most of the paperwork on his own) but I'll ask him about that and show him the link. I suspect he was not enrolled as a regular student, but contacting admissions would be a good idea anyway.</p>
<p>Thanks again for all your help.</p>