<p>Hi my son is applying-- hopefully transfering to MIT for sophmore year with excellent everything but he has not as a freshman had a year of physics, semester of bio, semester of chemistry and year of math as they request. Instead he has had a year of honors chemistry at Washington U and a semester of Calc 3. ( and other various courses that were very challenging-- with great grades. </p>
<p>How should this be addressed? He is willing to go to school over the summer.</p>
<p>He is generally a chem major.. he can make himself be more specific if there are areas of MIT with more ( comparatively) needy enrollment.</p>
<p>The bio and the physics can be made up if he's accepted. It sound like he's had the math. If they accept him, they'll want him to take the courses on campus (and he should); they may not give him credit for all the courses he's taken.</p>
<p>debbieh, I sent you a PM on this subject after seeing your post on the MIT board. The reality of the situation is that MIT is not very transfer-friendly, and with no areas that are "more (comparatively) needy enrollment". Last year they apparently accepted <em>seven</em> transfer-in students. So it's a very difficult path to take, but by all means have him go for it if that's where his heart lies!</p>
<p>I'm curious why he landed at his first university back when he was a freshman admit, and what he sees as the advantages of applying to transfer to MIT now.</p>
<p>Debbieh, look at the program that he wants at MIT. Where does he fit in it? When colleges look at transfers, they look most closely at the grades at the current college, the reason for transfer, and the commitment to the program of interest. My observations have been that the most successful transfers are those kids who excell in a field and have run out of courses or are limited where they are in that direction. My neighbor transferred to NYU from a small catholic school when she pretty much ran out of art courses there, and decided she wanted to go into graphic design. In addition to maxing out at her college, she had taken courses at other colleges showing her interest and desire for more. My nephew was working with advanced research that was not available at his college, and that caught the eye of a major science research school. Those are the most compelling cases for transfer and for schools that are not transfer friendly, are nearly the only reason for transfer. You don't see many kids transferring from Williams to Amherst, or vice versa. Or from one ivy to another. There is something very attractive about students who have done all they could and reached for more, and if a school has that "more" they want to provide it for a good student. Look up MIT's record on transfers, call and ask about transfering and ask some of your questions. I really don't know specifically if MIT would take a transfer who has not taken courses that dovetail with the particular program. I know my son got a conditional acceptance from Cornell to transfer there if he got a "B" average and if he took certain courses, which were the ones required in the progam he had applied to at Cornell. Sometimes the requirements differ among the departments for transfers, and my understanding is that the departments are often involved in the admissions of transfers, whereas many time they have to take what they get for regular freshman admissions.</p>