In preparation for a transfer- Your advice, thoughts, recommendations

Transfer Students
1

<p>I will be going to a "highly ranked" school in the fall, but was rejected/waitlisted at some of my dream schools. I do not plan on going to this school just to transfer, but I want to keep my options open and if I decide I do want to transfer, I want to be prepared and have a competitive application.</p>

<p>So, I have several questions.</p>

<p>Aside from this forum, are there any good resources or sites for transfer applicants? I just don't even know where to start. </p>

<p>I am looking at trying to transfer to Harvard, Yale, Princeton (if they change policy), or Stanford. What GPA should I look to mantain in college (and does difficulty of the class matter)? </p>

<p>How important are ECs? </p>

<p>How important is the high school application compared to the college year? (my high school stats were competitive enough to merit some waitlisting, so I was on the cusp...1600, several captainships/presidencies between clubs and sports, high class rank, etc.) </p>

<p>I understand they are very competitive to get into, but I just missed acceptances, and if I take this year to improve my app, I could be very competitive, but I just need more information.</p>

<p>Basically, to all you transfer applicants, what did you wish you had done so you could be a better applicant, and any advice, information, and answers to some of my questions would be very much appreciated.</p>

2

<p>I am interested as well.</p>

3

<p>Where are you currently desertman and yalehopeful8?</p>

4

<p>....why the heck didn't you mention the school you're attending....didn't you think that would matter in order to give you accurate advice...</p>

5

<p>honestly, i went to Cornell, and if i would have known the results of all of this work, i dont know if i would have done it again</p>

<p>i got into rice, chicago, and wustl, and assuming northwestern, and i got in 3 of those as a freshman, and waitlisted at wustl</p>

<p>now for the big ones</p>

<p>rejected from brown, waitlisted at Duke, waitlisted at Colmbia, and still no decision from UPenn (assuming a rejection)</p>

<p>therefore, if you are going to a highly ranked school, i would go in there with a mindset that you will stay there, and if things aren't going ur way, put in the aps</p>

<p>it is totally different from freshman aps, ur friends won't be in the same position, and teachers are really surprised when u apporach them w. recs, and u better have good reasons, b/c if ur goin to like Dartmouth and your putting in an ap to Harvard, saying i want to go to harvard b/c its #1 in the country, ur prob gonna get rejected</p>

<p>good luck</p>

6

<p>I want to second that post, but I think my perspective was slightly different -- having applied from Dartmouth as a transfer. The process is exceedingly selective -- perhaps twice as stifling as its freshman counterpart, but it is also different as well; I think you have more opportunities to niche yourself to whatever school you are applying to.</p>

<p>In fact, I think the transfer process is much less about pure #s per se and much more about individuals.</p>

7

<p>if you want to get into those schools you are not only going to have to maintain the highest possible gpa (at least a 3.7) but as mentioned, you need to develop some sort of niche. Remember that there are a thousand kids out there in the same situation coming from top schools with top numbers. something about you has to stick out to the admissions board, so do something outside of the classroom that makes you different from everyone else.</p>

8

<p>im in a similar situation to you. and maybe im just a bit optomistic. but work your butt off. dedicate yourself to something. show your passion through activities and leadership roles. make sure all of those activities, grades, and recs. show passion on your application and try to get in. start something or anything to make you standout. and i think you can do it. just put your heart into it. if you dont get in then you dont and thats life...but you may as well try. youve got nothing to loose.</p>

<p>and yes i know thats a bit optomistic. but hey. i think its possible.
you may say im a dreamer... ; D</p>

9

<p>Thanks for the advice thus far. I plan on getting as close to a 4.0 as possible, doing activities that I enjoy and represent my passions and hopefully making myself a unique person in the possibility I want to apply as transfer.</p>

10

<p>Desertman -</p>

<p>If you were on the cusp, it means you weren't QUITE there. If you were not fully accepted as a senior, you need to present yourself as a different applicant when applying for transfer. I do strongly encourage people to wait until the end of their sophomore year in order to be the strongest applicants possible if they are trying to transfer up (i.e. to a higher school). Even bball, while at Cornell, is/was attempting to transfer up by applying to places like Dartmouth, Duke, Penn, etc. which are more selective (Cornell has the highest acceptance rate for regular admission of any Ivy).</p>

<p>Most top schools say that if you were rejected previously, you are strong advised to wait one full academic year before reapplying. If you were waitlisted, obviously this is not true but you will be putting yourself in the strongest position possible to wait.</p>

<p>So - if you are not miserable at your current institution, consider spending 3 full semesters and applying spring of your sophomore year. It gives you time to really establish yourself/standout wherever you are, will result in stronger recs as profs. will know you better, allows you to fully establish a strong academic record at your current college and overall, will give you time to make yourself a different, and presumably better/stronger applicant than you were the first time.</p>

<p>Ultimately, it depends on how much of a risk you want to take. My personal story is different - I was very strong my first three years of high school and had a TERRIBLE senior year, ending up at a low-end Top 25 LAC, but doing very well there. I'm going to Penn in the fall and since it was my goal, I'm happy. You obviously have stronger stats than I did, so you could certainly be a strong applicant next year. But if these are your "dream schools" why not do everything possible to be accepted? I think bball is a good example of the fact that waiting can be beneficial, even for very strong applicants.</p>

<p>Good luck! You sound like you'll do well!</p>

11

<p>Eek, sorry! I always double-post!</p>

<p>So okay, I went and checked catcherney's stats and he/she also applied as a junior transfer (from Dartmouth) and was accepted at Stanford, Brown, Penn and Columbia...</p>

<p>I'd suggest you check out some of the stats from both people who've failed to be accepted/those who have succeeded since it'll give you a good idea of sophomore v. junior transfer, etc.</p>

<p>Again, goooodluck!</p>

12

<p>Read some of my other posts, I had good college stats but nothing spectacular and I'm transferring to Harvard next year. I second what's been said about passion. I love politics and I (in my essays), my recommendors, and my interviewer I'm sure, got through to the admissions committee that I really do believe good governance (in this day and age, a Democratic administration and Congress) is deeply moral and selfless, and that's why I want to be a campaign manager/political consultant. I backed this up in my application by becoming a co-Pres of College Democrats as a freshman and interning for Senator Leahy. To add another demention, I wrote one of my Harvard essays about the Bahagavad Gita and Memorial Church in Harvard Yard. And my Why Harvard essay was really, really good. I wrote about John Kerry's speech at the Democratic National Convetion and how it was a turning point in my life in making me realize I wanted to work in or with government, and also in framing my values. I said that Harvard shared those values I'd claimed as mine that night, and the rest of the essay was framed around quotes from that speech. Thus, after one year at the University of Vermont with a 3.73, with a 3.4 high school GPA with no AP classes, a 2100 on the SAT and having been rejected from NYU, BC, USC, Vanderbilt as a senior in high school, I was accepted into Harvard, Georgetown, Barnard, Wellesley, NYU and WashU-St.Louis.
It can absolutely be done with passion. Good luck good luck good luck, and if you have any questions about Harvard or any of the other schools specifically, I'd be happy to try and answer them!</p>

13

<p>Your essays sound amazing! Also, congrats!</p>

<p>(yeah wow, talk to him/her)</p>

14

<p>I definitely second all that has been said.</p>

<p>I just got into Stanford coming from a no-name liberal arts college. Keep a solid gpa (mine was ~3.85), but more importantly be able to let your passions bleed out onto your application. </p>

<p>I am avid about scientific research and thus in my time as an undergraduate I worked hard to gain amazing research experiences at absolutely the best schools in the country (Stanford Med, SLAC, Duke Med, Harvard Med this summer, Princeton Plasma Physics next summer), have a patent pending, and have published in 5 separate scientific journals or conference proceedings, my results were presented at an international conference & a national conference. Never once did I do any of this for the sake of "trying to look good" etc. Finding your niche is key. Do what interests you, and do it well. The rest will find a way of happening for you. </p>

<p>I also can't emphasize enough the essays. I poured my entire personality into my essays and showed the committee my quirky side as well as my driven side. These schools can accept all the students who are machines with perfect numbers -- but they WANT the kids who have other dimensions, a personality, a presence, a sense of humor, and genuine willingness to help others. Try to convey what makes you unique in your writing and do it in a clear and and easy-to-read tone. </p>

<p>I also think a demonstrated need is to transfer is crucial. I for example, come from a LAC where engineering/applied sciences/interdisciplinary courses are not offered, and undergraduate research opportunties are practically non-existent. I mentioned how the resources at Stanford (or wherever you apply) are exactly what I am looking for -- it worked.</p>

<p>I finished off the application with a picture of me, and a computerized milk mustache, with the quote "Got Jacobian?" (but my real name obviously)</p>

15

<p>I just got into Columbia from Drexel (ranked not even in the top 100). My HS stats were enough to get me in the first time, but this time I had research AT Columbia under my belt, and a near perfect GPA at College. Also very good essays.</p>

<p>Jacobian: BRING YOUR OWN AIR CONDITIONER TO PPPL. My boyfriend was there last summer and housing is horrendous. It is hot as hell and the rooms are small. Bring MANY fans and preferrably one that blows cold air.</p>

16

<p>Are there any sites that shows stats of accepted transfer students? This is the only site I can find related to transfer applicants. Is 3.7 a good enough GPA to shot for?</p>

17

<p>I applied to most schools iwth a perfect 4.0 GPA, but after they asked for FALL semester grades, I ended up getting a 3.76 (a B in physics and a C in organic). Nonetheless I got into UC berkeley and Northwestern and didn't really apply to anything else substantial. </p>

<p>My hooks were: cancer research and winning the undergrad business competition (starting my own company and winning $2000 in start up dollars).</p>

<p>My best recommendation is taht if you go to a lower ranked university, try to be a big fish in a small pond. At my school, students are not really pro-active in terms of applying to jobs and scholarships so I've been pretty lucky in getting my internships, scholarship dollars and recommendations. Like for many scholarships here, only 1 or 2 students apply. And the same goes for research and jobs...its not too difficult to distinguish yourself from the rest of the student body if you put some effort in it.</p>

18

<p>What do people recommend you do if you don't hate the school you are at, but know that you would like another school better? Should you just stick it out, or send in some transfer apps and then see what schools you get into, then decide? Is it taken that people who send in transfer applications are automatically going to leave their current school?</p>

19

<p>Well for me, I don't hate my school But I wanted to have options jsut in case I found something better. You have nothing to lose by sending a transfer app (other than time and maybe $50). Therse nothing that says you have to leave your school if you got in.</p>

20

<p>ummm....i have a general wondering....You know when we apply for transfer admissions, we have to go to the proffs for reccs...so i was wondering dont the teachers kind of hate us for bailing out on the college and if suppose you fail to transfer wont it tarnish your image with the present proffs....</p>