I was rejected.

Transfer Students
1

<p>Hi, I'm currently a HS senior attending moderately prestigious catholic high school in MA. Also, I'm an international student from Korea.</p>

<p>So... I'm just going to start the ball rolling by introducing my situation to you all...
I applied to BC, UMichigan, NYU stern, Cornell, Dartmouth, Upenn, BU and GWU...
i was denied the admission to Cornell, dartmouth and Upenn for obvious reasons and waitlisted at BC, UMichigan and NYU. </p>

<p>I got into GWU with $15,000 scholarship and will probably go there.</p>

<p>Assuming that I won't probably get into the school I was waitlisted at, I feel pretty dang disappointed at myself. I thought I had a fair shot at Umichigan or BC.... But now it's over..</p>

<p>Here are my stats</p>

<p>SAT : CR:670 M:760 W:750 (2180) I took it three times.
SAT2 : AP US (680), MATH2 (780)
TOEFL: 110
HS GPA : 3.8 (decreasing trend tho)
AP: 3 AP with 5,4,4 (11) and 5 AP (12)
EC : I founded the school Acappella group for the first time in my school, and I auditioned and made to chorus at the state level (like All-state or District) several times.
I'm a vice-president in Internationa club, and my community service was mediocre. I ran Track and field for three years, but it was nothing major. I did only one internship (translating texts from Korean to English and vice versa) and went to Harvard Summer School, took Principles of Economics and got A- on it.</p>

<p>I honestly thought I could at least get into UMichigan.. I mean.. I at least thought I had a fair shot....</p>

<p>I want to do business in the future and will probably major in finance in college. GWU has a good advantage in that it is located in the capital of the U.S. and there are many internship opportunities in the city. However, GWU is not really highly ranked in the country, and the chance that I will get a job after graduation in either U.S. or back in Korea is very vague.</p>

<p>So... I have thought about my situation for a few days after I was waitlisted at UMichigan.</p>

<p>I would like to transfer from GWU to the school that is ranked higher in business and finance, so my future job prospect doesn't necessarily have to be vague any more..... I feel really ready to challenge myself at GWU to get good GPA to a degree that I don't feel challenged enough at GWU.</p>

<p>So.. Here are my questions for those who are trying to transfer or those who already did transfer....</p>

<p>1) I got 2180 on SAT. To increase my chance, should I retake SAT to increase the score up to 2300+ in October?</p>

<p>2) How do you handle the EC's in college?</p>

<p>3) How important are high school records as to the trasfer admission
to the most selective colleges? is college GPA the most important thing?</p>

2

<p>1) Never retake the SATs in college (especially if you’ve already taken it three times) unless you’re going to a community college, which you obviously aren’t.</p>

<p>2) EC’s are still mildly important, as admissions officers are still looking for well-rounded and outgoing people–transfer or not. It’s not until grad school applications that the only EC that matters is research.</p>

<p>3) College GPA is the most important thing. But High School record, including SAT, are still VERY important–especially if transferring in as sophomore and not a junior. The only thing you’ll actually get some slack in is rigor of high school curriculum. Which likely works against you, unfortunately, as whether a school being well-regarded is a plus is very wrapped into that factor (Although lets be honest, the only ‘well-regarded’ high school that matters as any significant plus in MA is Andover).</p>

<p>And by the way, with the exception of MAYBE Dartmouth and NYU, none of the schools you were rejected from would necessarily better position you for jobs overseas because of name recognition over GW. (No, not even UPenn). I can’t speak to South Korea specifically, but I know in Hong Kong, and most of Europe, employers only typically recognize a few select names (e.g., Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and to a lesser extent Columbia and oddly NYU…). I seriously can’t imagine an employer overseas caring whether your degree was from BC, BU, or GW.</p>

<p>You should also realize that for transfer students the financial aid is often dismal, scholarships non-existent, and acceptance rates lower.</p>

<p>I know it may sound annoying or cliche, but your best bet is to align your thinking with being happy at GW. GW is a fine school, and if you plan on going into grad you’ll be just as well positioned for acceptance to an ivy if your undergrad degree is from GW or from UPenn.</p>

3

<p>I agree with everything Sony said above ^</p>

<p>With that being said, did you visit GWU and enjoy its campus, student body, its offerings? If so, stick it out there. Stay positive. College is a GREAT time of your life and unless you got into HYP, you probably would have PREFERRED to go to a better school if had the choice. </p>

<p>I’d recommend you stay at GWU and do as best as you can at your degree, then apply for a masters of finance or accounting degree at a “more prestigious” school if that’s the direction you want to go. A solid, good-but-not-graet undergrad and an elite masters program will knock the socks off of UMich undergrad and a good-but-not-great masters program. You most recent work is what matters most, and you can knock either of those degrees out in a year or 18 months.</p>

4

<p>I disagree with everything Sony said. Wharton isn’t recognized all over the world? And do retake the SAT.</p>

5

<p>Okay, Waverly. Rude.</p>

<p>The overseas prestige of a particular degree is debatable and obviously varies widely, so make up your own mind about that. But “wls”, if there’s one thing you get from this thread, and the long list of advice I gave, DO NOT take the SAT a fourth time in college. </p>

<p>DO NOT.</p>

<p>I encourage you to call the admissions office of pretty much any school–and I guarantee every school on your list–and ask whether you should take the SAT for a fourth time in college. </p>

<p>I’m not going to say it will sink your application, but it can easily hurt it. The SAT preference is an easily verifiable admissions policy, and I hope you don’t get the wrong information from these boards.</p>