<p>As a junior transfer applicant, my GPA would be 3.5+ with heavy courseload (would have been closer to 3.7 if not sick for most of one semester)
SAT: 1480
SATII: 710, 720, 740</p>
<p>ECs: not Harvard material, but strong -a few campus leadership positions with community-service focus.</p>
<p>Strong essays, strong recs (got me accepted to Swarthmore once before).</p>
<p>I am interested in Africana studies, Ecology, and Environmental Studies. I am looking for a liberal-arts colleges, or SMALL-medium universities where there is emphasis on professor-student relationship and de-emphasis on competition between students for grades or opportunities. A pretty, non-crowded, not-too-noisy campus are also very important to me. So what are some reach and match schools you would suggest for me?</p>
<p>You're telling me 80 people looked at this, and none of them could bother to respond? You don't have to be an expert, I just want to expand my list of realistic transfer schools...</p>
<p>if you can get over the "big" part i'd say Cornell. Granted, i'm biased towards the school, but they have what you want to study. I wanted a small school too. But, Cornell isn't "huge and impersonal." The campus is well spread out, so it never feels crowded. This is my first semester on campus, and i've already had lunch with two of my professors. </p>
<p>For the time being, this is the best i can do. If you're up for something a little different from your requirements, look at Cornell. Also, tell me if any other school you looked at that not only has an africana studies major, but also an africana library:</p>
<p>What about Smith-Amherst-Mount Holyoke--any of those would give you access to the 5 college community. Similarly, Bryn Mawr-Haverford -Swarthmore. Don't know how good they are in your specific area. Amherst and Swarthmore are among the very strongest academically. But apparently, you didn't like Swarthmore?</p>
<p>I did like Swarthmore -very much in fact. I chose a different school on a last-minute impulse and my parents' influence, later regretted the decision, and wound up not transferring anywhere. So if Swarthmore would accept me again, I'd be happy to go.</p>
<p>MOre suggestions plz, awesome people? More schools obviously within my reach but possibly a little better than Smith would be quite sweet. I am afraid the Swarthmore thing was lucky and won't happen again:(</p>
<p>Small and pretty campuses: Colby, Bowdoin, Bates, Williams, Amherst, Dartmouth. I'd think you'd at least be in the running at all of them, though the competition is strong at the latter three. If you look down on Smith, I'm not certain what type of safety you are expecting.</p>
<p>If you're near the top academically at Smith, why not dedicate yourself to graduating near the top of your class with strong prof recommendations and then apply to the best graduate schools in your field.</p>
<p>Doesn't Smith also participate in the 12 college exchange that would let you spend a semester (or year?) at Dartmouth or Wesleyan or Williams?</p>
<p>pyewacket: I'm interested in transferring for some other reasons too -resources, etc. And anyway, my high school was more challenging and had more academically capable students than Smith, so now college feels like a little of a downer. Maybe it's poor reasoning from the getting-recommendations-for-grad-school perspective, but I feel like I'd learn more at a college where there were somewhat more people on my level and professors coupld ask more of students... My hope is if I transfer somewhere I can still do well (e.g. Bowdoin), two years won't be too few to get good grad school recommendations.</p>
<p>I feel like I'd learn more at a college where there were somewhat more people on my level and professors coupld ask more of students</p>
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<p>You would, and IMHO, viewing college cynically as just a machine to get you into the best possible grad school is a good way to miss out on the best times of your life. So definitely give schools like Swarthmore another shot. Be aware, though, that a 3.5 is going to make things tough for you. Have you taken any classes at Amherst? Do you find the student body stronger there?</p>
<p>escape, i dont get it, u were at CHICAGO, it doesn't get much better, Chicago is a 9.5, a 10 being Harvard academic and prestige. Smith is probably a 5. I know u left b/c it wasn't that great of a fit, but I mean it was better than nothing. Idk....</p>
<p>I know bball: the fact is I was very, VERY unhappy there to the point where I just didn't feel motivated to work hard, and I had to make a tough choice. I don't know where you come up with your 10-pt system, or how you'd begin to go about proving it... college in part is what you make of it. I certainly know people who came out of Chicago and worked a job they could have worked from the local state U. Out of curiosity though, where would you put Wesleyan U Bowdoin or Reed on your 10-pt scale?</p>
<p>Hanna: taking classes at Amherst is difficult, b/c the bus ride is 1hr15min each way. Do you mean a 3.5 will make it tough for me to transfer? The problem is that I had mono in the spring semester last year. Every other semester I will have GPA 3.6+ with 21 credit hours... does that make a difference?</p>
<p>Hanna,
you said: << viewing college cynically as just a machine to get you into the best possible grad school is a good way to miss out on the best times of your life.>>
I agree with you. I wasn't advocating cynicism--if transferring to Swarthmore works out for OP , good for her, but I get the impression she is suffering somewhat from a "grass is greener" syndrome... Smith may not be the best fit for her, but if transferring doesn't work out, I imagine she could still find enough worthwhile endeavours at Smith to make it more than a waste of her time. ( Somehow, I find it hard to imagine Bowdoin would be all that much "better") I only meant to imply that grad school is another chance to find your intellectual peers and top experts in your field, so all is not lost if undergrad leaves something to be desired.</p>
<p>Ever think that graduate schools may be put off by the fact you may transfer two times as an undergraduate? Seriously, most grad schools, as with undergrad and looking for students that can complete their degree at x school...if you can't figure out what you want as an undergraduate, what says to the graduate school that you will actually complete the degree there and not transfer out after x semesters or x months...something to seriously think about before transferring yet again...</p>
<p>I think twice is okay, more than twice is a problem, as long as you can justify the second time. In my particular case, I have some good reasosn for transferring to my target school. As long as you can keep your GPA up or show and increasing trend, I think if you transfer twice it's okay. I'm not on a graduate school admissions board, so I don't know for sure.</p>