Is the ACT score that important to transfer to Ivies as an international student?

Transfer Students
1

Hi!
I did my freshman year at the University of Geneva, Switzerland, before dropping out at the beginning of my sophomore year due to academic and personal reasons (which are explained in my Common App essay, “Why transfer”).
I think my stats are acceptable for Ivies, but I have a problem with the ACT. Indeed, I am supposed to fly to the US to take it in a few days (we haven’t booked the flights yet), but my score is never above 28 every time I practice (I started practicing 3 weeks ago, and it’s not my langage…).

According to my stats below, do you think I have a chance to get in (please be honest, because I dont want to lose my time and money flying abroad to take the exam if my profile is not competitive enough

My stats:
*GPA : we don’t have that here, but my average score during freshman year of college was 5 out of 6.
*I was in the first 5% of my class during freshman year of college
*I was the first of my class throughout high school, and I got prizes for that
*Scored 8.00 at the IELTS (100 at the TOEFL)
*Did the French Baccalaureate, mention Très bien
*I speak French, English and German

Activities:

*Won 3rd place at nationals in Gymnastics in September 2017, from 1st to 5th places at state championships
*I have been doing rhythmics gymnastics and dance since 2004
*Rhythmics gymnastics camps abroads in Cyprus, Miami, Los Angeles, Paris, Chicago with Russians, Ukrainians and Americans
*I created my own rhythmic gymnastics club for children in my village, since my university did not allow me to open one for students (the introduction of my essay, a small dialog)
*Summer courses at the University of Oxford in 2017, where I got an Award for my History course
*Wrote, shot and edited several socially-engaged films that were projected in front of a hundred people
*Coach seniors to prepare them for the French Baccalaureate and Swiss Maturité

However, I practice my ACT subjects every day and, as a French-speaking student, I cannot do better than 28 (sometimes even 25, which is terrible!!!)

If I do not have a chance to get in, I won’t take the ACT test. If you think I can get in with a 28 composite (hoping I could get a better score), I will fly to the US to take the examination on the 10th of February (because the next ACT test date in my country is in April, which is after the application deadline).

Therefore, I need your help: with my stats and my ACT composite (in practice tests), is it worth it to go abroad to take the exam if I only apply to Ivy leagues?

Thank you very much.

2

I think that your chance at an Ivy League or equivalent school is a long shot.

I am wondering why you want to transfer, and why you think that an Ivy League school would be a better fit compared to where you were before dropping out.

3

@DadTwoGirls Thank you for your honesty.
Academic reasons: Following an academic major and an artistic minor would enable me to thrive in my studies. In Geneva, my program is theory-oriented, not flexible, and therefore not appropriate for the academic goals I am aiming for.
Non-academic reasons: there’s no campus (the buildings are scattered all over the city), with only a few extracurricular associations, so the sense of community is almost nonexistent. Therefore, I wanted to offer introductory courses of rhythmic gymnastics to students: it seemed a great way for them to bond with others while discovering a new sport. However, my school did not validate this project. I need a place where academia co-exists with leadership, opportunities and a strong sense of community between students.
Because the US schools are really expensive, we agreed with my parents that we would pay (my parents would pay around 20’000 a year, I would pay the rest) only if the school “is worth it”, so well-known in my country. Therefore, Ivy leagues and Stanford are my reach schools. I got offers from University College London and King’s, so I’m looking for really good schools in the US :slight_smile: Universities in the UK are my backup plan.

4

There is no one area more important to another to get into highly selective schools. I have no idea if a 28 would preclude your acceptance but realize the difficulty in transferring in to any of those schools.

5

Most elite schools in the USA are even more selective for transfers than for freshman admissions as well as being more selective for international students than for Americans.

For specific guidance about how the ACT is weighted in transfer admissions, you should contact the individual colleges you are applying to. A 25 to 28 will not help your case if the test is required for transfers.

The odds are long in the best of circumstances. If you fly to the USA, use the time to visit campuses and talk to admissions counselors, and perhaps visit some backup schools. Don’t just take the test and fly out.

6

Need to know the scores of your practice ACTs by section.

An ACT score of 28 is very low for Ivy League schools; however, you are an exceptional applicant. Nevertheless, consider taking the SAT rather than the ACT.

7

Are you applying as a transfer student or as a new student ? I ask because if you qualify as a transfer student applicant, then there may be no standardized test ( ACT or SAT) required.

Also, to bolster your application, why not take multiple SAT subject tests in which you are almost certain to get the highest score of 5. Language tests such as Spanish, French & German are three that might help your application.

8

@Publisher Thank you for your answer.
I actually don’t have the choice, the test dates in my country are respectively in March for the SAT and in April for the ACT, and the deadline to apply to Ivies is in March… So I can only take the ACT on the 10th February in the US…
Actually, it always varies: it went from 27 to 31 in Math, was between 27 and 28 for the English and Reading parts and between 24 and 27 for Sciences. Because it’s not my langage, I lose a lot of time translating the Maths and Science questions…

What should I do?

Thank you very much.

9

Also, why are you limiting yourself to Ivy League schools ? What do you want to study ? Do you have professional career goals that require a graduate degree ?

10

@Publisher I got offers from University College London and King’s College London (still waiting for responses from LSE, Durham, McGill and USC), so I’m looking for American schools that are better (to have more possibilities) and that offer opportunities that were inexistent at my previous university. Moreover, because it’s really expensive to study in the US, my parents and I agreed to pay only if I attend a school that is well-known in my country/Europe.
I would like to major in History, with a minor in Theatre. I would like to attend a graduate school indeed, maybe Yale for theatre or somewhere else for a more academic subject.

11

Northwestern University outside of Chicago, Illinois (located on the shores of Lake Michigan in the upscale suburb of Evanston) has an outstanding theatre program. Northwestern students can take up to 3 majors or one major & two minors.

If you compare admissions criteria, Northwestern University would most likely fall into the middle of the 8 Ivy League schools. (At one time, Northwestern University was asked to join the Ivy League but declined due in large part to the distance from the other 8 Ivies).

Chicago is an amazing city. If you visit, Northwestern also has a Chicago campus for its law school & medical school in a gorgeous, upscale location.

Consider applying to SESP (School of Education & Social Policy) as it is in a category by itself if you are interested in education & social policy.

12

@Publisher so what you do think?
Thanks!

13

@Publisher
If I go to the US to take the test, it will actually be in Chicago, so I can visit the northwestern campus :slight_smile:
I apply as a transfer applicant and the ACT is required by Ivies (I don’t know about northwestern).
The problem is that it’s not know here, so I don’t know if it’s worth the cost… especially for theatre.
Thank you.
Do you think I should take the test, or the ivies really care about the ACT?

14

For your information, there are roughly 3,500 four year colleges and universities in the United States.

US News & World Report rates & ranks the 311 National Universities (this group contains all of the famous schools including the 8 Ivy League schools, Stanford, MIT, Northwestern, Univ. of Chicago, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Vanderbilt & Notre Dame). Also, most business schools are part of a university, as opposed to a college.

US News also rates & ranks the top 233 Liberal Arts Colleges (LACs).

15

One factor, an important factor, in rating & evaluating colleges & universities is the size of the endowment. The wealthiest colleges & universities in the US tend to be the most highly ranked & the most difficult in which to gain admission. Harvard is by far the wealthiest university in the US, followed by Yale, Princeton, Stanford, MIT, Northwestern, Columbia & Michigan. In terms of sheer wealth, Northwestern ranks behind 3 Ivies & ahead of 5 Ivies.

I only mention Northwestern University because of your interest in theatre & in a prominent university. The admission rate is below 9% (recently reported as closer to 8% this year). I have no connection to the school other than my son attended & another relative completed a graduate degree MBA there.

16

US News also ranks “Best Global Universities”.

In this ranking, Harvard is #1, Oxford #5, Cambridge #7, University of Chicago #14, University College of London #22, Northwestern University #24, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology #25, McGill University #49, London School of Economics #244.

I believe that the rankings are among 1,000 universities world-.wide.

As French is your first language, you might be most comfortable at McGill University in Montreal.

17

Harvard accepts 12 transfer students per year…and they get roughly 1300 transfer applications.

18

@Amelie24 :

I tried to do a direct comparison between an academic area of study at your current school versus Northwestern University. For example, “material science” is an academic discipline at both Geneva & NU. Northwestern is ranked #7 in the world, whereas the University of Geneva is not ranked in the top 200 of the world.

Are you aware that your current university has a partnership with the University of Michigan whereby you can study for one year at Michigan before returning back to Geneva ?

This may be an option as a typical applicant to Northwestern University or to the University of Chicago would stand almost no chance of admission with an ACT score of 28.

Quite often wealthy international students enroll in NYU (New York University), although I am not sure that one can minor in theatre there as the Tisch School may only offer courses to theatre or film majors–although I am not sure.

19

Truthfully, I think that you would have difficulty at almost all Ivy League schools, Northwestern & Univ. of Chicago.

Your most reasonable options are University of Michigan for one year, McGill University, NYU or Brown University.

Brown is an Ivy League school but you won’t have the same academic pressure as at the other schools to which I referred. Brown is popular in large part because students can take courses on a non-graded pass/fail basis.

20

@Publisher Thank you very much for all the information you provided me.
The university of Geneva has indeed many partnerships, but my faculty (Social Sciences) didn’t have any with UMichigan :slight_smile:
I just saw my psychologist, he thinks that even though I have almost 0% chance to get in, I need to fly to the US and take the test in order to avoid potential regrets in the future. Therefore, I will take the exam, even if it might be useless for my application (but hopefully useful for myself).

Thank you again, I will keep you updated if you’re interested!