<p>I'm from Ames, IA (where ISU is) and I really hate it here. I'm currently an international, so I didn't get any scholarships or FA. I was busy getting owned by college courses and doing sports when I should have worked my butt off on scholarship applications. So my college application process was a huge screwup for me.</p>
<p>I want to go to MIT or some private school that offers lots of aid. Based on my circumstances, I will become a permanent resident resident by my sophomore year in college. I know my chances are pretty much non-existent in that I might not even bother wasting money on the transfer applications. But I keep thinking that Iowa is boring and I want to go somewhere else far far away.</p>
<p>Is there a way I can see other applicants' profiles and their transfer admission statuses for different colleges? Also suggest some colleges I can think about?</p>
<p>btw, applying to MIT is a complete afterthought. I don't want to be stuck with cerebral maniacs or rich legacy kids. I'm not even going to consider Stanford.</p>
<p>What is your GPA? I don’t think all people at MIT are cerebral maniacs; some of them are really nice and some of them are crappy, arrogant, or superficial (I don’t go there but I know a lot of people there - I am from MA). Besides, it is ridiculously difficult to transfer there; they only took 16 last year. You need to be from a peer school (Caltech, Harvard, Stanford) or have a 3.9+ and something special to get in. </p>
<p>What do you dislike at Iowa State? Maybe if you know what you dislike that would help you choose where you want to transfer. </p>
<p>If you are an international and not a permanent resident/US Citizen, you won’t get need based grants or loans or in state tuition anywhere. If you are a US Citizen/permanent resident, you can try Cornell, USC, Penn, Columbia, WUSTL, Emory, and other schools that meet all need. Most of these schools need at least a 3.6 and some additional experience that distinguishes you.</p>
<p>I don’t hate ISU. I’ve been here for 9 years, and frankly I’m desperate to go somewhere else. That’s it.</p>
<p>Also, I heard that MIT transfers accept mostly people from community colleges. Which is interesting. but I don’t even know if it’s true</p>
<p>I can definitely get 3.6 plus if I ace all my courses from here. My college GPA is kinda in the toilet right now, but will get better as I’m already retaking them.</p>
<p>what do you mean by something special? Research and internships or national/international awards/competitions or leukemia</p>
<p>[quot]what do you mean by something special? Research and internships or national/international awards/competitions or leukemia[/quot]</p>
<p>Maybe not leukemia but the rest qualify as something that could help you get into MIT. You are competing for 15 spot among 300 qualified geniuses.</p>
<p>I entirely get it that you are ready to be out of Ames. I was there for three very long, very cold winters back in the '80s. But, you have to come up with a plan. Here are my suggestions:</p>
<p>1) Focus on your coursework so that you can raise your GPA.</p>
<p>2) Lurk around your department so that you can find out about any work/research/internship opportunities that you qualify for.</p>
<p>3) Keep your fingers crossed about that green card.</p>
<p>Permanent residence will mean that you qualify for aid determined by FAFSA, and you won’t be considered “international” by most colleges and universities. Better grades will open up your transfer-to options (but frankly, in engineering/tech ISU is nothing to sneer at if you are stuck there until graduation, you will receive a decent preparation in your field). Work/research/internship opportunities will make you a better transfer candidate, and position you better for the workforce and graduate school.</p>
<p>I get it. I need good GPA, I need research/work experience in my field. I need good ECs. I got another question. My standardized tests were less than mediocre for big schools. My SAT IIs were alright (740 and 800). So I’m wondering if I should retake the SAT and that 740 and send Those scores, even though they were taken after I graduated HS. Btw, as far as I know, college board lets me send only the scores that I want sent.</p>
<p>I’m still brainstorming for something special. My life is quite bland, and many other transfers will have higher stats than me. but I still want to get out of Iowa, lol. Yea happymom, the last Iowa winter was ranked the 5th coldest Iowa winter of all time. It snowed in April, as I recall, and just thinking about California or Florida p155ed me off.</p>
<p>Don’t waste your time re-taking the SAT or ACT. Few universities worth transferring to will look at a score from an exam taken after you began college. The whole point of those exams is to predict how well you will do in your first year of college and it is common knowledge that they don’t even predict that very well. Since you already have survived your first year of college, that question is moot.</p>
<p>Worry about the things that would make you a good transfer candidate (mostly your grades), and about finding someplace either more interesting than Ames, or at least warmer than Ames instead of the SAT/ACT.</p>
<p>i forgot to mention something… and this drastically changes my circumstances.</p>
<p>I got a F, D- and D+ in Com Sci and two college math classes (respectively) during my senior year of HS. The college math classes were diff eq and theoretical linear algebra. I also ended up with a C+ in AP gov. I’m retaking the 3 college classes and I WILL get A’s for them. And when I do, the A’s will replace the D’s and F in my GPA, but the Ds and F WILL STILL show up on my college transcript. My broad and simple explanation is that various factors contributed to the lack of motivation. Nevertheless, I strongly disagree that these grades reflect my nature. (It’s hard to explain)</p>
<p>Also… can I contact an admission officer and ask about my situation? I know it will seem a little unorthodox, but I’m tired of different people’s perspectives. I want the perspective that actually matters.</p>
<p>Yes, you would be smart to contact the transfer admissions officers at the schools you are interested in. Sometimes they can give you a clear indication of your chances there, sometimes they can’t. It will become clear very quickly whether they can help you now or not.</p>
<p>Fix your grades, continue to earn good grades, and life will improve. An upward trend is good.</p>
<p>back to possible school choices. I’m not necessarily looking for Ivy leagues or top 20. I just want to transfer to a university that’s better than ISU, has a better engineering program (even though ours is pretty strong, it would feel like a downgrade otherwise), has a better population, and doesn’t have a lot of drinking, Friday night street fests, etc. (I’m saving that for grad school…<em>I actually have no idea</em>)</p>
<p>but probably the most important factor is money, which I don’t have and my parents are more or less unable to provide. <em>fingers crossed on that stupid green card and possible federal aid and more scholarship opportunities</em></p>
<p>You know I might just not transfer… this is just too freakin complicated. But I still have more than enough time to decide. What do you think?</p>