I am a student of OSU fisher, and I plan to transfer schools in the fall.
My choices are Cornell, Vanderbilt, UVA, UNC, Umich, Emory
My SAT is not high (about 1400). So I do not plan to submit it.
My high school GPA is not high, about 3.4-3.5 (based on 4.0)
My College Gpa is 3.912. I have finished 58 credit points ( have 10 points from ap). It includes an honor course. ( I am an honor student)
I am from china. So I need to submit the TOEFL grade. It is now 100. (reading 30, listening 25, speaking 21, writing 24). I plan to increase the grade to 105+ before the deadline for the application.
recommendation letter: I have one from my Internship employer. A not very well-known finance-related company. One from my Professor of Macroeconomics Honor course. One from a professor of UPenn Worton.
Major： Econ. Cornell may be for business school.
I want to know what should I do to maximize my competitiveness in the remaining one or two months. I feel very uneasy now because I was rejected by NYU economy in my spring application.
In fact, someone once told me that he thought my resume (about activities) was too general, more like the accumulation of activities. He felt that I should delete the unimportant activities and highlight the activities I felt important. What do you think of this proposal?
I also participated in and completed a half marathon in sports, and experienced long-distance hiking in the Gobi desert. Do you think I should reflect it in my application?
First of all, OSU is a very good university. Business might be an area where your alma mater matters more than in some other areas, but you can do well with a degree from your current university. Your very good grades will also help. A bachelor’s degree from OSU with a 3.9 GPA plus some work experience plus strong references will also help you quite a bit if you are looking to apply to top MBA programs at some point in the future.
Given that you have 58 university credits completed, your high school grades and SAT score become much less important. You have shown that you can do well at a very good university. 3.9 at OSU is much stronger than 3.5 in high school. Good job.
If you have three semesters at Ohio State, then this suggests that your English is fine. When did you get 100 on the TOEFL? 100 should be fine, but your success at university in the US is probably stronger evidence of your ability to study in the US with English as the language of instruction.
It sounds like you have an internship. This is important in general, and is particularly important for a business student.
I agree with focusing on the ECs that are the most meaningful to you. The point in ECs is not to have the longest list. The point is to show commitment to do well in a few areas, and show that you can excel. Also if you are in leadership positions remember that “leadership” means making the activity better for everyone who participates.
I think that you are doing very well. I think that you can go ahead and apply to the highly ranked schools that you have in mind. Be aware that you are going to do well whether you transfer or stay where you are. Also, keep up the great work with your strong grades and continue to excel in your internship.
1 Like
Thank you very much for your reply, which means a lot to me. But I have another question. Is TOEFL score a very important part of the application? Should I spend a lot of time reaching the TOEFL level of 110 (my current score of 100 just meets the minimum / recommended requirements of all schools I want to apply for.) In fact, some people told me that I need a TOEFL score of 110 to be more likely to be admitted. However, someone told me that after the TOEFL score met the requirements, higher scores did not have a significant impact.
Are you a full pay student?
1 Like
yes, I do not need and fin aid.
I honestly don’t know. It is likely that your guidance counselor at your current university could give you good advice. You might want to discuss with him or her your reasons for considering transferring. If you have this discussion, remember that OSU Fisher is very good, and you are not certain to be able to get into anywhere that is stronger by enough to be worth making the change. Thus be polite and reasonable and do not burn any bridges (which is always a good idea).
Also, admissions at other universities might be able to advise you. You might want to ask them if you even need to submit a TOEFL score given that you are a current student at Ohio State.
By the way, there are at least three universities that are “OSU”. I figured this was Ohio State due to the “Fisher” in your first post (and the college of business). Oregon State University for example has a very good DVM program, and there is also Oklahoma State University (home of Cowboys Football).
1 Like
