<p>I recently finished my freshman year at a Public Ivy and after a year of questioning and anxiety I came to the conclusion that I want to be back on the East Coast. But only under the condition that I'm only going to apply to schools that are of more credibility i.e Ivy League and private institutions.(there are numerous reasons why I want to) However I didn't do so well my second semester so my college GPA is on the lowest of the spectrum in terms of transferring to these universities. And to add fuel to this raging fire, I graduated HS with a 3.41 GPA with a 1800 composite SAT score. </p>
<p>My question is; should I retake the courses that I didn't do so well during my first year and boost my GPA as well as retake the SAT or should I take a year off? </p>
<p>I am very determined to transfer colleges and I need all the advice I can get!</p>
<p>To be honest, if your first year college GPA is low and your high school stats are not any where near impressive, your chances of transferring into a top 15 school on the east coast is incredibly low.</p>
<p>What about ECs, essay, and good recommendations from professors, would that benefit me in any sort of way? Such as compensating for the weak GPAs?</p>
<p>Low GPA is disqualifying. Based on your posting history, you probably go to UIUC. Successful transfers (much more difficult than undergraduate admission) have 3.9+ GPA to top private school.</p>
<p>lamp: the typical transfer acceptee is the person who, as a senior, rec’d accepts from the topmost tier schools. For one reason or another, they declined them and now wish to transfer. Basically, as HS seniors, they already were coveted. Now you see places like H & Y with 700-800 applicants (many like I describe) for 14-20 slots.</p>
<p>^True to an extent: I was waitlisted at Brown and Swarthmore as a freshman, but got into both as a transfer even though my GPA had gone down from HS to college. So you don’t have to have gotten in first time, to be accepted but granted, I had a composite 2370 SAT and 3.75 college GPA, which is much different from yours.</p>
<p>I consider someone WLed on par with accepted students for that college. WL vs. acceptance is generally based on non-academic factors that makes a school choose one applicant over another in composing their fr class.</p>
<p>We all agree that while most transfers to highly selective colleges were qualified as fr applicants, there are exceptions. However, the OP needs to be realistic and recognize that their situation is not likely to be one of those exceptions. Your HS stats were far from competitive to any of the colleges you’re looking at (ie. ca. 3.8+, 2100+) and your first year college record has headed in the wrong direction. You only have 1 more semester to show improvement before your jr transfer application is due.</p>
<p>Sure ECs and LORs matter–but only AFTER demonstrating that you are academically qualified.</p>
<p>I always wonder about those students not getting the grades they want at their current college but who are positive that they want to transfer ‘up’ to a more selective school. What do you think will happen to your grades at a school with an average higher caliber student body?</p>