Freshman at a SUNY
4.0 College GPA
91/100 Unweighted high school gpa(not top 10%, took 12 APs, slight upward trend)
1580 SAT, 4 SAT IIs 750+
Good letters of recommendation
Founder of a political club in college
Founder of LGBTQ organization in high school
President/board member of various clubs in high school
All-County violinist and won many awards in violin, first chair violinist in School orchestra
I think my only weakness is my high school GPA; I got a few Cs and countless Bs, and I don’t think it is good enough for any of these schools, which is why I’m so worried about applying for transfer. Judging from previous posters on CC who got into these schools as a transfer, they had near a 4.0 unweighted in high school, were at least top 5% of their class, and had the credentials to get in as a high school senior.
For sophomore level transfer, high school credentials will still be significant. For junior level transfer, you will have more college record, reducing the significance of your high school record.
Should I still apply for transfer this year?
Why do you want to transfer?
Competition is fierce, there can be fewer openings at top colleges with good freshman to soph retention, and you need a darned good reason to want the transfer, to make them want you. And the record. You have to know that for tippy tops, that’s a lot more than founding a college club and a few high school ECs. And at this point, as ucb pointed out, those colleges will see the C grades and “countless Bs.” They may not find you sufficiently prepared.
Learn more about what it really takes to get into a tippy top. Same advice we give hs seniors.
The curriculum for my major is not as in depth as I want, also the available extracurriculars are not that impressive.
I understand my high school GPA isn’t amazing, but I did take 12 APs, and I’m wondering if my test scores, ECs, and college GPA could offset it.
It’s holistic, not just scores, and you said a slew of B grades and the C’s. (You have to understand they review a vast number of kids for 1st year, with NO grades lower than A. And lots of the right sorts of ECs. That’s the nature of how competitive it is. And not only for an admit. It raises the bar in actual classes and adcoms know that.)
And if any of those B/C are in courses related to your major, that’s an issue. You never told us AP scores. But adcoms aren’t looking for who has the “most AP.” As far as more course depth, you could get that at many colleges. You don’t need a tippy top. Adcoms know that, too.
Get a better read on what matters to these colleges, from what they say, and what holistic is. Also, look into their curriculum requirements. Some of those are quite different than the others. And the dearth of activities where you are now doesn’t preclude involvement in what there is.
I got 5s on all the APs I took, but from what you’re saying, I shouldn’t apply at all I guess.
I always say, you should know your targets, more than rep or “has my major.” Look deeper than that and you should be able to self-assess. You have a bit of time. If you’re set on leaving SUNY, look into other schools with depth in your major. But know there are many that are not generous with transfer fin aid.
What’s the point of founding clubs only to leave them a semester later? This will be something admission officers are wondering about too