Looking to transfer OUT of Cal

Transfer Students
1

<p>I'm a current UC Berkeley student, just finished my first semester. I am content with the school, but I'm not in love with it. </p>

<p>I only pulled a 3.636 this semester and took the minimum units. </p>

<p>Some of the schools I am KIND of looking to transfer to, like Stanford, don't require an exact set of courses to have been taken, and the one I REALLY want to (Cornell- Agriculture and Life Science) seems to require a focus within a major and also all the prerequisite classes. I will make the prereq for a Bio or Environmental Science major no problem, but I have also been planning to double major in Anthropology at Cal, which I don't think will fly at Cornell's Agriculture school. My impression is that students can double major at Cornell if they want to, but only within a certain college? I got rejected from A & S for fall '07, but I want to try my luck at A & LS, and it is much more science specific...</p>

<p>I already signed up for spring, and I went heavier on the Anthro, LIGHT on the sciences. Will this reflect badly on me (esp. for Cornell)? I'm taking Biological anthropology, Social anthropology, Rhetoric, and second semester Calculus. Social anthropology fulfills a Berkeley requirement, as does Rhetoric, so obviously (as I don't really 100% expect to get into my transfers) I'm not going to drop them. Biological anthropology is geared towards my anthropology major.</p>

<p>I'm a bit confused as to what I should do. Will a counselor at Cal help me out with transfer goals?? It seems like they get more grad school request... should I just stick with my Bio/Anthro double major plans and apply to all the schools anyways (thus wasting MANY units if I do get into Cornell), or would it be better for me to try to switch to Bio/Environmental Science double major? </p>

<p>At this point most ES classes are filled and the waitlists are full also. I think I could definately pull a 4.0 with the classes I'm taking this semester (I'm actually a LOT better with humanities type courses than science), but all the concerns I listed above are still there. How bad would it look if I took those two Anthro courses this semester, and then abandoned the Anthro major plan for ES as soon as the semester's over? I ask, because it is very hard for me to change my schedule right now, but I will try.</p>

<p>Also: I don't have ANY extracurricular at the moment, but I've been applying for jobs and internships and I plan to apply to URAP, which is the apprenticeship program in which I will work (for no pay) on whatever a professor's researching. I plan to apply to my ES professor's open apprenticeship and hope to god I get in, because that would be some major brownie points for recommendations. What other activities should I try to get in on? I wouldn't mind doing one volunteer type of thing and one apprenticeship/internship in lieau of a paying job if it REALLY helps. Is it necessary for me to be active in some kind of club? </p>

<p>So last few questions (SO SORRY FOR WRITING THIS ESSAY OF A QUESTION!):
1) I'm looking at Northwestern, Emory, Cornell, Brown, Columbia, Stanford. My brother (who goes to Pomona) tells me that its not worth it to go to NW or Emory because they aren't much more prestigious than Cal. What do you guys think?</p>

<p>2) Will transferring from Cal (as opposed to a CC or less prestigious university) help my chances if I can keep my grades up?</p>

<p>3) LEMME GIVE YOU A RUN DOWN OF MY GRADES AND WHAT I EXPECT TO TAKE NEXT TWO SEMESTERS AND UH... CHANCE ME/SUGGEST SCHOOLS PLEASE?</p>

<p>***High school:
GPA: 4.4
Rank: 5/500
SAT I: W: 800 M: 680 R: 780 [2260]
SAT II Bio: 750
SAT II Am. History: 800
Extracurriculars: many (BUT DO TRANSFER SCHOOLS CARE ABOUT HS EC?)</p>

<p>***College:
GPA: 3.636 in first semester
Courses:
General Chemistry B
Calculus A
Env Sci A
Math Adjunct P
Bio Seminar P</p>

<p>Planned for next semester: 2 Anthro courses, rhetoric, calc II. I really anticipate a 4.0 this semester.</p>

<p>Planned courses for the next few semesters & summer: typical sciences courses (2 O-Chem courses, 2 physics, 2 bio, etc. etc.) and either some coureses required by ANthro or Env Sci.</p>

<p>Extra Curriculars: ZERO, but hoping to get either 1 internship and 1 job, or 1 volunteer and 1 apprenticeship, etc. EIther way hope to have two of those type of things going on at once. No clubs.</p>

<p>Recommendations: I will suck up the the rhetoric teacher (as it is a small 20-30 person class) and I will try to get into some ES class and suck up to the ES prof. from URAP I mentioned earlier... if I go the Anthro route I know my Bio seminar professor REALLY liked me and I would end up in his class Fall or spring '08 and he would write me an awesome rec (he's also a world reknowned paleontologist).</p>

<p>So... I know this post was incredibly long. Thanks for anyone that bothered to read all of it. What are your overall thoughts, what should I do to improve, what schools do you think I should shoot for, and what the heck should I do about this Anthro or Enviro Sci double major crap? </p>

<p>THANKS.</p>

2

<p>Let me start off by saying that I think Cal is a fantastic school, but I am not biased. I think that Cornell and Cal are quite similar in many ways; so if you do not "love" Berkeley, you may not "love" cornell. In addition, Cornell is really cold from what im sure you are used to. Can you stand the weather?</p>

<p>Cornell also has TAs, just like Berkeley, and some classes can range up to 300 students.</p>

<p>Now, on your chances: You have fantastic chances at whatever school you apply to. Coming from berkeley will definately help you, as peer institutions recognize Berkeley around the country.</p>

<p>ECs are really not that important as a transfer; just mention some HS ones.</p>

3

<p>Crap!!! One thing I forgot to mention...It just occured to me.</p>

<p>I let go of my 2nd semester of senior year a bit. I was short-sighted and I just never anticipated needing to keep my grades up for a transfer.</p>

<p>These were my grades:</p>

<p>AP Physics- C
AP Stats- B (or was it A? I can't remember)
AP Gov- B
AP English- A
AP Calc- A
AP Psych- A</p>

<p>So yeah I got a glaring C in physics. How much does that hurt me? :(</p>

4

<p>Yeah I know Cornell has some pretty big class sizes as well :( I don't know if they get up to Berkeley level though... my Chem class this semester was roughly 850.</p>

<p>I don't mean to sound snobby AT ALL, but I do really think there is a difference in the people that go to public and private schools. That's sort of what I'm getting at...Not that Cal kids are inferior. I definately know that I'm no where NEAR the cream of the crop at Cal. I'm middle of the pack. But there are definately many moments when I see kids and I wonder how the hell they graduated HS, let alone got into Cal. I think that the range of acceptance standards is just really wide and kind of turns me off.</p>

<p>I just really never anticipated I would end up at Cal even though I screwed up my junior year with way too many B's. (I spent a few weeks crying last Spring) and the truth is, I really do feel like I'm missing out on the whole "private school experience" that most of my friends and family have. </p>

<p>All in all, I think getting 2 years of a public school and 2 or more years of a private school isn't a bad way to round out college. It really wouldn't kill me to stay at Cal (it IS a great school), but I'd really like to go to private school, any that will take me... I kind of harp on Cornell because I figure, aside for NW and Emory, its my best shot. I would die and go to heaven if I could get into Stanford (and be close to a lot of my Cal friends) but I take it as a VERY VERY VERY long shot.</p>

<p>As for weather.. yeah I even find Berkeley weather pretty harsh (I'm from So Cal), but I figure that shouldn't really stand in the way of my decision. </p>

<p>Oh and thanks for the EC advice. Cal is REALLY such a big place and getting super involved in a club is a bit intimidating... :) I'm just gonna go for the internship/job/volunteer/apprenticeship direction and see what else comes my way I guess!</p>

5

<p>Stanford is pretty much impossible. I know a guy with a 4.0 (or near it; don't quite remember) from Northwestern didn't get in as transfer. Luckily, staying at Northwestern turns out to be better for him as he became part of a NU team that finished 3-rd nationally in an academic competition and got into both the MMSS and Kellogg undergrad programs.</p>

<p>As for your other choices, I may be biased but I think you should definitely keep Northwestern. It's a lot more transfer friendly than Brown/Columbia. Its SAT/ACT are even a bit higher than Cornell. So you won't see a wider range there than Cornell. </p>

<p>ECs may not be as important but I heard recs from profs are. So try to not only do well but also get to know your profs.</p>

6

<p>Have you visited emory and cornell? Maybe you should. Emory has smaller classes than cornell, so you will like it there more, i think. However, people say that the south's lifestyle is really slow (meaning, not as fast paced as LA/SF or NYC). It really comes down to preference because i think you will get into most that you will apply.</p>

7

<p>gc07, i dont think you're at all wrong when you say there's a discernible difference between those people who go to public schools and those who go to private, ESPECIALLY when referring to the UC system. I, like you, am a freshman at Cal and have noticed the same things that you have noticed. I too have met some people who definitely do not deserve to go to a school as esteemed as Cal. And I definitely agree when you say Cal is a really big place and getting involved is a bit intimidating. PM me if you want to talk some more, because I'm in a similar position as you and I'm looking to transfer to Columbia.</p>

8

<p>I am a freshmen at Cal too. I was accepted to Cornell as a high school student but o man it was sooooo cold when I visited so I didn't go. Besides, Cal also gave me a wonderful financial aid package (basically full ride) so I made up my mind and go to Cal.</p>

<p>However, I totally understand what you mean by there are a lot of Cal students who really aren't all that bright and didn't do much in high school. It kind of sucks because I often doubt how MYSELF is like when I look at some of my Cal peers. </p>

<p>I am kind of thinking about transferring too. My stats are lower than yours though. My SAT score is about 2100 and I got C's in my senior year in high school. I got such a low SAT score mainly because I was really bad at English (I just moved to US after finishing 10th grade in another country). But anyways, I am thinking about transferring not because I don't think Cal is not prestigious enough for me or anything (in fact, I really love Cal so far...I love the professors, grad students, my lab...etc etc). I am a MCB major but I really enjoy art. I really want to double major in art and take more classes in graphic design and such. However, Cal has quite a small art department and doesn't really offer any class at all in graphic design. Now I am kind of looking at Yale b/c of its great art department. I know it's almost impossible to transfer into Yale but anyways.. I don't think I will be super upset or anything if I am rejected. </p>

<p>Here's my brief stats</p>

<p>SAT: about 2100, math = either 800 or 790 and writing, reading = 600 something</p>

<p>SAT II: Bio 780; Math II: 760; US History: roughly 700-730...don't rememebr; Chinese: 800</p>

<p>high school GPA: about 4.3 -4.4 weighted; 3.9 non weighted
barely top 10% (my school is really competitive though) </p>

<p>GPA at Cal: 3.9 (man I got an A- in one of the classes I took)
I took 3 classes for LG and 2 others(seminar + independent research) P/NP. I had 17 units in total. </p>

<p>I had a couple of awards in science research in high school. For the first semester at Cal I did some research in a lab and joined a club (and am on the board)...not very much basically.</p>

<p>Anyways, I am not thinking about soph transfer but junior transfer cause I don't think my high school record is all that shining. Please PM me to talk about transferring. Hope all you guys eventually get into places where you want to go.</p>