How to be a competitive transfer

Transfer Students
1

<p>So it seems that I'm going to end up at Ohio State's Honors College next year, unless by some sort of miracle I get into Cornell on Tuesday. But regardless, how can I make myself as competitive as possible to transfer in my junior year of college? Lets say MIT and Stanford, I understand that those schools are next to impossible to transfer into but what types of things do I need to do to have a standing chance.</p>

<p>My planned major is Chemical Engineering or Computer Science and I assume I'm going to need be at or very close to a 4.0 for my GPA(I know its very hard to do so, but just play along with it). Should I start doing research as early as possible, and how heavily should I stress EC's (join clubs, intermural sports, volunteer, ect.)? </p>

<p>As far as my HS stats:</p>

<p>GPA: 4.20 W
Class Rank: 25/333
ACT: 32 C , 31E, 33M, 32 R, 31 S
SAT II: Math2-800, Chem-790
EC's- Lacked here, no real passion for much played football for 2 years and that's pretty much it.</p>

<p>BTW MIT and Stanford are not the only schools I want to take a chance of transferring to.</p>

2

<p>It’s all about GPA and professor recommendations.</p>

3

<p>You didn’t get into Carnegie Mellon with those stats?</p>

4

<p>I didnt apply, probably should have though</p>

5

<p>College GPA is usually the most important</p>

6

<p>Try to bring up your ACT score (or try SAT) before you begin college, some colleges will not allow you to retake after you start.</p>

7

<p>If you’re applying as a transfer for sophomore year, are HS stats that important? Do you really need to retake a 28+ if you have, say, a 4.0 college GPA?</p>

8

<p>Yes…</p>

9

<p>lol, don’t listen to her; most colleges look down on retaking the SATs in college</p>

10

<p>Write about how sports greatly influences your life. That approach will be sure to differ from the rest.</p>

11

<p>Well that might be a good idea, I did have a heat stroke from football back in Freshman year. But I wrote about that for my Common App essay but I guess it did not work</p>

12

<p>^ I was kidding. The sports route is by far the most overplayed tactic.</p>

13

<p>Wait, why Tuesday?</p>

<p>OH, I see, you’re a freshman applicant.</p>

14

<p>Don’t retake SAT’s. Most colleges won’t give your improvement much credit, since you are hopefully smarter now that you’re in college. Moreover, SATs should predict college grades, and they will already have your college grades. Anyway, a 32 is a pretty good ACT score.</p>

<p>College GPA, recommendations, and essay are the most important parts of your app. That being said, the essay might be the hardest. It’s hard to be creative and to ‘stand out’ on your transfer application, but you do need to clearly articulate your reasons for wanting to transfer without trashing your current school.</p>

<p>In general, a 3.7+ GPA is considered great for transfers, so don’t worry if you don’t get a 4.0. However, Stanford and MIT are top notch schools, so study as hard as you possibly can.</p>

<p>Get involved in student groups. Don’t join 83475623845 of them, join a few and stick to them, so that by the time you apply sophomore year, you’d have some sort of a leadership role.</p>

<p>I don’t know much about research, since I’m as far away from science as you can get (Music =P), but yeah, I think that would help as well.</p>

<p>Don’t stress over your HS stats - they are great - and give your school a good shot. You might love it. Remember, its all about fit.</p>

<p>Best of luck, and I really hope to see you at Cornell next year!</p>

<p>Edit: One last thing! Most colleges take a lot more sophomore transfers than junior transfers. Why wait two years?</p>