If you transferred to Brown

Colleges and Universities A-Z Brown University
1

<p>…then I would very much appreciate a few moments of your time.</p>

<p>I am currently a freshman at Brandeis, and I am considering trying to transfer to Brown next year. It’s not set in stone yet, as I haven’t been at Brandeis that long, but just in case I decide Brandeis isn’t for me by spring, I’d like to plan ahead and start working on making myself into a good Brown transfer candidate for sophomore year. Before I ask you for your opinions and/or advice, you should probably know more about my background.</p>

<p>I finished high school with a 3.5 GPA. This would have been higher, but my parents were going through divorce proceedings during my freshman year and I was unable to concentrate on my studies during that time. A little over half of my classes were honors or AP. I participated in the Young Conservatives Club, JV Tennis, the Drama Club (backstage), Model UN, the Chess Club and the Debate Team, but where I shined the most was in Debate. I was the captain of my team during senior year, I was runner-up for State Champion in Student Congress, and I qualified for and competed in the National Speech and Debate Tournament (colloquially known as “Nationals”) twice. The second time I competed, I advanced to the semifinals before I got out.</p>

<p>I am declaring my double major in Political Science and Economics this week. This semester, I plan to take at least four classes and obtain at the very least a collective 3.75 GPA, hopefully closer to a 4.0. The classes are:</p>

<p>Calculus
U.S. Foreign Economic Policy (this is a sophomore-level class I received permission to take)
Introduction to Economics
University Writing Seminar (this is a required writing class for all freshman at Brandeis)</p>

<p>I also plan to participate in the following extracurriculars:</p>

<p>Brandeis Parliamentary Debate Team
Pre-Law Society
The Justice (Brandeis newspaper)
The Innocence Project (this is a group that attempts to exonerate convicted prisoners who have been proven innocent through DNA testing)</p>

<p>I am also going to run for the Class of 2013 Senator position in the Student Union.</p>

<p>I am currently receiving a generous financial aid package ($35,000 in grant money a year plus $5,000 in subsidized loans). However, my parents’ income will be increasing to over $200K/year in a few months, so I will not be applying for financial aid if I file for a transfer to Brown. If I am not mistaken, Brown is need-aware for transfers, so I sincerely hope this will help.</p>

<p>My questions for you are as follows:

  1. Is what I have planned for the first semester sufficient, or do you have concerns? Should I be taking five classes instead of four? Are there other extracurriculars I should consider?</p>

<p>2) I will be excelling in academics this year no matter what. I do not drink, I do not party, and I do not smoke cigarettes or marijuana (or do any other drugs), so I have plenty of time to devote to academics. My question is, can an exceptionally strong freshman year in college make up (at least in part) for the damage my high school GPA suffered during the divorce proceedings?</p>

<p>3) If you successfully transferred to Brown, I’d love to hear more from you about what you accomplished, what advice you may have, etc. Please post here or send me a PM with anything you feel might be helpful.</p>

<p>4) Anything other comments or advice you can offer? Something I haven’t thought of?</p>

<p>Thank you all very much for your time. I appreciate any advice or constructive criticism I receive here.</p>

2

<p>I should also mention that I received a 2140 on my SAT. 610 Math, 760 Verbal, 770 Writing. I have also taken two SAT Subject Tests - 670 on Literature, 720 on U.S. History.</p>

<p>In addition, I noticed that I mistakenly wrote that I was going to be writing for The Justice. I am actually going to be writing for the Brandeis Law Journal, which is new as of this year.</p>

<p>Also, if a previous Brown transfer replies to these posts, could he/she please inform me as to when would be a good time to file the transfer application? If I decide to transfer, I would like to do it well in advance of the March 1 deadline, but I am not sure how much of my second semester academic record they wish to review when considering me for admission. Thanks very much.</p>

3

<p>“chancing” you before we know anything about your college record is kind of pointless. You have a strong enough high school record under your belt. What you need to do is build an exemplary college transcript and application. </p>

<p>there’s no need to turn it in before march 1st</p>

4

<p>Also, you don’t know how well you will do in your classes. 4 is fine, (equiv 16 credits) because that is the standard at Brown. Your SAT’s don’t matter as much. </p>

<p>As for what you haven’t thought of, there’s tons of application tricks of the trade. You also haven’t thought of remembering to enjoy your freshman year</p>

5

<p>I am glad to hear that four classes is sufficient…this was something that had me seriously worried. You are right in saying that I don’t know for sure how well I will do in my classes; I only meant to emphasize that I will be spending a considerable amount of time on my studies this year (more than the average college student), and so my grades will hopefully reflect this.</p>

<p>Also, I should probably clarify that I’m not asking to be “chanced” just yet…I’d just like some input from Brown transfers on whether or not they think what I have planned is sufficient for a strong transfer candidacy. If not, I’d like to know what might work better.</p>

6

<p>You’ve barely even started school, maybe you should, you know, give it a shot first? I mean, by October/November I was already all about transferring, and I was told by parents and counselors and all that not to worry yet, to still give it a chance. So it seems weird that you’d reject your current school immediately after starting. </p>

<p>Your grades and scores and all are fine, just keep up the good work. If you still want to transfer by winter break, start working on applications and essays. There’s legitimately no reason to turn the application in early, so I’d suggest working on it until the last minute, fine-tuning and all that. </p>

<p>Honestly, I was out every weekend night partying in one way or another and still managed to pull off straight A’s (in upper level classes), work for the newspaper and a literary magazine and take a bunch of classes. So if you really want to stay straight-edge, go for it, all I’m saying is that you shouldn’t worry that if you stray a bit you’ll fall into a cesspool of mediocrity or anything like that. Freshman year is about trying new things, so don’t be too afraid of sacrificing some time you might spend studying or doing academic activities to try something that just sounds like fun. </p>

<p>Definitely the best thing you could do right now is relax and enjoy the beginning of your freshman year. Worry about transferring if you still feel the same way in December.</p>

<p>Why are you already so into transferring, if you don’t mind me asking?</p>

7

<p>I’m still undecided as to whether or not I’ll actually try to transfer for sophomore year, since I get that I’ve only just started here. My main reason for thinking about transferring this early is that there seems to be an almost apathetic stance towards academics at Brandeis. The attitude is along the lines of “only do what you’re comfortable with.” While I understand that there are many undergraduates who arrive undecided, I am not one of them - I’ve had my eye on a specific career for most of my life. I understand that I’ll encounter this attitude at any liberal arts school, but I can’t help but feel that an Ivy League school would provide me with the more rigorous academic atmosphere I’m looking for. Brown in particular caught my eye due to its lack of distribution requirements. I think that would be very helpful to someone like myself who’d rather get a head start on building a law school resume than have to take at least one class in each separate school at his university.</p>

<p>And on the subject of partying…it’s not (just) that I’m wary of becoming a mediocre student. While I respect other opinions on the subject, it’s just not really something I personally enjoy.</p>

<p>Sorry if that was a bit more long-winded than you were expecting, but it’s better to be too specific than not specific enough.</p>

8

<p>Nah, not too long at all. And no worries, parties and such aren’t everyone’s scene, you just seem like you kind of have blinders on, totally focused on succeeding in school and it’s good to keep an open mind and check other things out. Not necessarily crazy parties, but maybe just a weird activity that wouldn’t do much for your resume, but might be fun. </p>

<p>A sort of apathetic attitude towards academics was probably the main thing that led me to transfer as well. I honestly enjoy school and classes, so it was annoying to listen to all these other kids ***** and talk about how it didn’t matter if they went to class or failed or whatever as long as their parents kept paying and they could still go out and party. I’m hoping this will be less of a problem at Brown, where there aren’t all those general requirements that shove people who don’t care about the subject into a class and where the students are more interested in academics to begin with. </p>

<p>Good luck! Don’t worry too much and try to make the best of things!</p>