Ivy Transfers 2009 - Stats for future applicants.

Transfer Students
1

<p>If you have transferred into an Ivy League or identical school (MIT, Standford, UChicago, etc...) please posts your stats and essay here. If you are not willing to post your essay, post your general approach. Feel free to discuss what you thought were the strong points in your application and share any advice with Ivy-hopefuls.</p>

<p>This is a revival of an earlier 2006-07 thread that I think we will all find useful. I am not exactly expecting many replies right now (Dec '08,) except from Cornell people, but I'll keep this thread alive come May.</p>

<p>Best of luck to all, and congratulations to the new transfers!</p>

2

<p>good thread, let's keep conversation/clutter to a minimum.</p>

<p>WHERE:
Cornell University</p>

<p>WHEN:
Spring 2009: Transfer as a second semester sophomore.</p>

<p>WHAT:
Economics in College of Arts and Science</p>

<p>HOW:</p>

<p>H.S.
2.74 H.S. GPA at a top California public high school
24 ACT with outstanding essay component
H.S. Varsity Lacrosse
Many, many jobs in high school-gas station, driving range, contractor</p>

<p>College:
4.00 Calif State Univ Fresno GPA. More math courses than the average math major. Tough life and physical science courses. 13 units of composition/critical thinking/literature. 4 semesters of business statistics. Misc GEs as well. 69 units total, before transferring.
Political involvement
Student body involvement
President of the Athletics club
3 great letters of rec. 2 math. 1 econ</p>

<p>Essays:
Had nothing to do with the above, to keep the application dynamic I wrote about something less mainstream than the above activities/gpa.</p>

<p>That's it! Good luck!!!</p>

3

<p>Institution applied to: Cornell University
Term: Spring 2009 (Second-semester sophomore)
Major: Mathematics (in Cornell's College of Arts and Sciences)
Current institution: San Diego City College.</p>

<p>Here are my stats, if they help.</p>

<p>General Info:
Male, Asian (biological ethnic group), Pacific Islander (cultural ethnic group), lived on Guam for 10 years, moved to San Diego about a year ago.</p>

<p>High School Stats:
GPA: 4.0+ (Don't know the conversion to 100 point grading scale, but I graduated with approx 102).
SAT I: 670 Critical reading, 740 Math, 650 Writing
Honors/ECs: Academic Challenge Bowl Team Captain, Choir Bass Singer, AP Scholar with Honor, National Honor Society, NMSC Finalist, #5 ranking out of 300+ students, other unlisted honors/ECs.</p>

<p>College: San Diego City College (Sophomore)
Credits: 37 completed (18 more this sem., 52 Cornell units to be transferred total)
GPA: 4.0
Major: Mathematics
Classes:
Calculus II (4 units)
Calculus III (4 units)
Introduction to Linear Algebra (3 units)
Introduction to Differential Equations (3 units)
Elementary Statistics (3 units)
Intermediate English/Critical Thinking and Composition (3 units)
Introduction to Literature (3 units)
History of the United States, Part I (3 units)
History of the United States, Part II (3 units)
Western Civilization, Part I (3 units)
Art History, Prehistoric-Gothic (3 units)
General Biology (4 units)
General Chemistry I Lecture/Lab (3 lecture units + 2 lab units)
Mechanics (5 units)
Electricity and Magnetism (5 units)</p>

<p>ECs: AMATYC (community college math league) Student Math Exam Team Captain, Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Mathematics Deputy Lead, NSBE (engineering organization) Treasurer, SHPE (engineering organization) member, and active member of Phi Theta Kappa (Int'l Honor Society of the Two Year College).
Other Community Service: Poll worker and volunteer at an elementary school science exhibit.
Jobs: 20 hrs as a math tutor at school, worked in retail and in a movie theatre months in the past.
Instructor Recs: One from my history professor and one from my math professor. They showed that I love learning, no matter what field, even as my major is math.
Dean Rec: Couldn't provide subjective academic or ranking info, since I'm in community college and the nature of such prevents them from doing such things.
App Essay: Answered the question, but might be too impersonal. Wrote about global warming and how I want to solve it. Those who read it said it was really good.
General Supplement Essay: Wrote about my love for math, intertwined narrative and explicit stating of goals. Those who read this one really liked it, sounded like me.
CAS Essay: Responded to Winston Churchill's quote about being "the prod" and explained three experiences demonstrating these and how I've become "the prod" as a result. Undoubtedly my weakest essay, although the most personal.
Other: I'm actually getting an AA in Math/Transfer Studies at the end of this semester, so I don't know if that'll affect me at all.</p>

4

<p>mathemagicia10, if you did so well in high school, why go to City College?</p>

5

<p>LogicWarrior, let's say I made at least one grave mistake in my life that I dearly paid for. I did so much in high school, enjoyed the moment, and forgot just one tiny detail. One...<em>tiny</em> detail. College apps. Didn't finish 'em the way I had wanted to. But along the way, I found a lot of good in attending community college. If I had come in as a freshman, I would most likely be the type to get distracted by the notion that the university is permeated with social activities. Now, I'm a year and a half older, wiser, and more mature, so I won't let that fall by the wayside.</p>

<p>That answer your question? :P</p>

6

<p>Where: Cornell University
Major: Industrial and Labor Relations
Grade: Sophomore</p>

<p>HS:
94 = A (Unweighted, grading scale out of 100)
Ranked in Top 10% of class
Some AP's and Honors courses
Did not have to submit SAT's
National Honor Society
Varsity Tennis - Co-captain
Varsity Bowling
Varsity Track
Model UN
NYS Scholar Athlete
Honor Roll for every semester
Curriculum mainly focused in business
Had the highest cumulative grade in business courses among my entire class</p>

<p>College:
Attended SUNY Institute of Technology in Utica, NY
Majored in Finance
3.9 GPA
President's List (Above Dean's List)
Took more credits than normal
Environmental Action Club - Treasurer
Accounting Club
Tennis Club - Vice President
Focused on business and economic courses</p>

<p>Work:
Employed part-time at American Eagle Outfitters
Did a summer internship at Smith Barney</p>

<p>Application:
Did great in interview, had interesting conversations after
Excellent recommendations from two favorite professors
Essays emphasized on how well I would fit into ILR program at Cornell
Also emphasized why I wanted to attend Cornell</p>

<p>I hope that helps...</p>

7

<p>It seems Cornell is the most transfer-friendly Ivy?</p>

8

<p>wow!!! nice to hear from all these guys!! do u guys mind posting ur essay?? it will be very helpful for prospective transfer students like me.</p>

9

<p>It would seem so, 2e4L. All the other Ivies only accept transfers during fall or don't even accept transfers at all.</p>

<p>Umanga, I'll PM you the essays, but I honestly believe mine may have lacked somewhere. Nevertheless, look out for 'em.</p>

10

<p>2e4l, Cornell is also twice as big as many of the ivies, so naturally transferring will be more frequent.</p>

<p>Accepted to Cornell University as a second semester sophomore
School of Industrial and Labor Relations</p>

<p>HS
GPA: 3.7 (or so) UW
SATs: 680 M, 670 CR, 700 W
SAT IIs: God Awful..
Ranked: 14/124
Hardest schedule possible (school didn't offer many APs)
Varsity Cross Country for 3 yrs (Captain for 2)
Varsity Hockey for 3 yrs (Captain for 1)
Varsity Spring Track for 3 years (Captain for 2)
Did pretty much every EC in my school
A bunch of leadership awards/positions
National Honors Society (President)
Latin NHS (President 3 yrs)
A ton of community service hours
Other unlisted ECs</p>

<p>College:
University of Maryland for 2 semesters (30 credits)
Major: Business, GPA:3.5
Bergen Community College 1 semester (12 credits)
Major: Undecided, GPA: 4.0
Worked 40-50 hrs/week in the summer for past 2 years
Worked 30 hrs/week during school year this semester
Additionally worked about 10-15 hrs/week coaching XC at my HS
Interned with NJ Federal Bankruptcy Judge over the summer
A few volunteer ECs</p>

<p>-Interview: went very well, mainly because I spent 6+ months talking back and forth with the transfer counselor. I showed as strong an interest as one could possibly show, which I think turned out to be one of my greatest qualities.
-Essays: One was very good and the first line quoted the last line of my rejection letter from Cornell which I received senior year of HS, the other was also good but not quite the same. Both showed my clear interest and knowledge of the ILR program rather than applying simply because I want a Cornell degree.
-Recs: 2 from college professors, both of which were very good. 1 from my HS principal which was amazing.</p>

<p>Nothing too special about my numbers, I think my constant contact with someone in the admissions office, as well as my essays, were what really did it for me.</p>

11

<p>Oh, I forgot to mention that I was the Assistant Coach for my high school's varsity tennis team while I was in college. Oops! I can be pretty forgetful. I spent about 15 hours per week doing that...</p>

<p>Hopefully I can get into either Cornell's varsity tennis team or club :D. Both of them have tryouts though!</p>

12

<p>Is anybody transferring to Cornell Engineering? Is it as easy to get into as CAS?</p>

13

<p>CAS is NOT easy to get into.</p>

<p>Generally, while Cornell Engineering has higher acceptance rates (at least for freshmen) than CAS, the school looks for a much more specific kind of applicant: heavy (and brilliant) on math and science courses, with ECs in engineering-related courses, etc. I don't know much about engineering, but I know it's similar to MIT in that respect, where without a 750+ on SAT math, you don't have much of a shot. YOu need to have a very engineering oriented and passionate application.</p>

14

<p>Cornell CAS is very difficult to get into...Engineering has one of the highest acceptance rates at Cornell, but that stat is misleading too, because Cornell has a top engineering program and it's very fit based...most people who apply are smart and qualified, and passionate about engineering, so it's not easy to get into. good luck</p>

15

<p>CAS stands for what?</p>

16

<p>CAS = College and Arts of Sciences</p>

<p>College</a> of Arts and Sciences at Cornell University</p>

17

<p>Thank you, star, for pretty much repeating (and reinforcing) my point word for word =)</p>

18

<p>Are there anyone who were accepted to the Biology program at Cornell (Agriculture & Life Sciences, or CAS)?!</p>

<p>well, im so sorry to ask you guys about this, but i don't know how to post my new topic. Could you guys tell me how to do this, please?! i looked for it and i couldn't find it.</p>

19

<p>bump bump bump, need more stats</p>

20

<p>bump, i'd like to know if there are more out there!</p>