I’m currently a running start student at Bellevue College and I’m trying to get into UW as an international business major in 2021. I have a 3.9 total GPA (4.0 at BC), but no special honors and distinctions and my extracurriculars are average. I haven’t taken the SAT/ACT because of COVID.
I want to complete all the general requirements for business at BC, but I’m not sure if it would be better to take classes during summer and apply as a freshman to UW, or take classes during fall and apply as a transfer student.
Am I more likely to get admitted as a freshman or as a transfer applicant? What are my chances of getting in at all? If I don’t get in, how does UW Bothell compare to schools like WWU or WSU?
Are you receiving your high school diploma through your high school or through Bellevue College?
If you are getting it through high school, then I recommend applying to UW as a freshmen and if you receive admission (which you will be notified before summer quarter), then take summer quarter classes in finishing your business AA.
If you do not get admission, take those classes in the fall and apply as a transfer.
There is no one right answer here – it really depends on whether your personal application will be stronger as a freshman or a transfer. Are your best grades, extra-curriculars, and awards from your high school? Apply as a freshman. Didn’t take things seriously enough until you got to Running Start? Apply as a transfer.
WSU will give you a bigger group of alumni to network with in business, but Bothell’s reputation keeps growing. I’m not familiar with Western’s business program, but overall it’s a good school, Bellingham’s a nice town, and Western is definitely popular with kids who can’t get their first choice major at UW Seattle.
If you are applying for the autumn quarter of the year you graduate from high school, apply as a freshman. (You are considered a freshman applicant in this circumstance; once you enroll as a student, your college credit may qualify you for sophomore or junior standing.)
If you start or continue college after leaving high school, apply as a transfer applicant using the transfer application.