Looking to Transfer to Mount Holyoke for Fall 2019

Colleges and Universities A-Z Mount Holyoke College
1

I’ve posted before but it kind of fizzled out but this fall I’ll be commuting to a state university as a Freshman. I decided to do this because I lamented not applying to more than Smith (which rejected me) because I realized that’s something I wanted out of my higher education - an all women environment. My friend mentioned I would have loved Mount Holyoke and I did. I could have gone to other schools but decided to commute to a middle of the road state school to save money, kick butt this year, and hopefully transfer out. Here are some basic High School stats:

96 GPA (Weighted)
27 out of 268
4 APs (History, Govt, Lang and Lit)
Drum Major (Four years of band)
NHS
Tri-M
Drama Club Historian
One year of Debate (Third best Novice Debate Team)

i shot myself in the foot senior year a bit by taking three bands to get drum major and only one AP, two other regular classes and a study

Currently:
Working Part time averaging 10 - 15 hours a week
Interning with a representative in the state house
Doing a musical with a local theater group
Accepted invitation to the honors college at my current school

I plan to:
Run for class council
Help organize college activities on campus (They have a special club for it)
get involved with service work organizations
Do wind ensembles on campus
Shoot for a 4.0

My biggest questions are; is being in my first year going to hurt me? I know typically people do two years and transfer but I just don’t want to be where I am long term. It’s a nice school but doesn’t fit me. I know I made the right choice going this year but they don’t really offer a great poli sci course and I feel like there’s things I like and I won’t mope and be miserable this year but I know I’ll thrive elsewhere and be truly happy elsewhere

Second; should I reach out to the director of admissions and ask what i can do to prepare for the application? I talked with someone who used to work in admissions and she said letting them know your interested is key. How soon is too soon and what are the best ways to go about this?

Third; Anything else you recommend to help bump my application?

Thank you too anyone who gives advice! Best of luck to you all in applying, college, and beyond!

2

Two years and transfer are usually from a community college. Lots of people transfer after their freshman year from other colleges and universities once they realize they want something different in a school.

Definitely reach out. This is a good time to do it. By fall, admissions is swamped. If you can do an in-person, that’s best, but email works too.

3

Being in your first year won’t hurt you.

Reach out to the admissions officer for your region. They will be one of the people who read your application and can fight for you on your behalf. 100% get an interview. I am a current rising sophomore and pretty much everyone who I’ve talked to had an interview. Then at the interview you can talk about things that you weren’t able to put on your application or essay. I would say to reach out now! A year in advance is great because they’ll start to read applications in the winter 2018/Jan 2019. The Admissions Office is open throughout the summer!

Also, I want to make you aware of our trans inclusive admission policy. We accept students who identify as trans male, trans female, gender non-binary, and cisgender, so we like to refer to our school as a “historically women’s college” instead of a “women’s college” because we do have students who identify as trans male on campus. Saying that you want to be in an environment with people who have been historically denied a higher education as a result of gender might go farther than saying you want to be in a women’s environment.

Good luck!