My first post, transferring, and much more...

Transfer Students
1

<p>Hi everyone, </p>

<p>This would be my first post so let me get right to the point. I was reading this NYT blog and saw a link for this website so here I am. I been taking a look around and wish I had this type of resource when I was in high school, but I am satisfied with how things turned out. Well I will be completely satisfied after I complete these last two semesters at community college and transfer to one of the schools on my list. Before I mention that list here is another list of some background on me.</p>

<p>-20 years old
-Hispanic (Peruvian) minority
-First Generation Student
-Come from a low income family (My mom is the mother of 3 and makes roughly around 20k a year)
-Lived in NJ all my life and attending CC in NJ
-I am viewed as shy by a lot of people because I'm quiet, but I think its because I listen more than I talk.
-From what people say I live and go to school in a "ghetto" area, but I think it is just an urban city that is overpopulated.</p>

<p>I will throw in some high school information too.
-GPA 2.5
-Horrible SATs- I mean horrible...(I barely did any preparation, really did not care, had to work before and right after the exam, and did not get any sleep the night before)
-I took a few Honors courses and could have taken courses like: Shakespeare Honors, Calculus, Human Biology, and taken advantage of some business internships but I choose not to because of I was immature and had some personal issues in my life. Instead I failed my Algebra Honors II course. I actually was in this advance program in 8th grade but had to drop it because of other reasons. </p>

<p>During and shortly after my high school graduation I started to think about my life and what I will become from it. I never got in trouble except one time where I was sent to court for attendance, but it was just a warning. This is nothing compared to what my peers did, but that is a different story. At my high school most top students just go to state schools (not that there is nothing wrong with that) but there was the valedictorian who got accepted to Johns Hopkins University. I thought to myself why can't that be me? It's sad though the valedictorian had issues with the law and just lost everything. To me it shows that people I guess you can say of our standards just have one chance and when that chance is gone we lose it all not just education. To me I feel like I been given a second chance at community college. I have stats but this "progression" if you would like to call it that is more than just stats. </p>

<p>Community College:
-3.7 GPA (expecting to graduate with a 3.73-3.77, not sure it that makes much of difference)
-I have slightly over 60 credits but will have a lot more by the time I graduate.
-My major is Liberal Arts- Business but I will change it to Liberal Arts- General due to a change in interest of career fields.
-My course load would be 18-20 credits a semester ( I have been going to school all year includes winter and summer I and II sessions)
-Dean's list last 2 semesters (Confident I can make it 4 by grad.)
-Enrolled in the Honors program
Some courses I have taken, currently taking, and will take:
Calculus I Honors: B+
Linear Algebra: A- (The prerequisite for this course is Calculus II, but I convinced the dean to waive the prerequisite)
College Composition II Honors: A
Cultures and Values Honors: A
Introduction to Literature Honors: A
General Biology Honors: A</p>

<p>Fall semester: Calculus II, College Chemistry I, Physics I, Latin American Literature, and Contemporary Moral Issues.</p>

<p>By this time I would have 1 course to complete to graduate so the rest of the courses are up to me to fill to fulfill my financial aid.</p>

<p>Winter session: Intro to statistics and Probability
Spring: College Chemistry II, Physics II, Calculus III, Differential Equations, and Intermediate Spanish
or
College Chemistry II, Physics II, Introduction to Music Honors, Developmental Psychology Honors, Lifespan Development Honors, and Intermediate Spanish. </p>

<p>My schedule really just depends what the school is offering. I really would love to take both schedule if I can, but I cannot lol. I know its up to me but which schedule would look more rigorous or impress admissions. I love math and writing...so it is kind of a hard decision that I will need to make in the future. </p>

<p>Extracurricular activities:
-Former editor in chief of the college newspaper
-Student Government Association-Public Relations Officer
-Member of Phi Theta Kappa
-Completed emerging leadership program
-Nominated by the school for Who's Who Among College Students
-This year I am planning on volunteering at a hospital or looking at a hot line for kids who need someone to talk to.</p>

<p>This is about everything. When I first came to the community college I started out with basic reading and writing III and basic math. It's not like I didn't know this (counselor forgot to send my HS transcript) but it did help me strengthen the basic fundamentals for higher level courses. </p>

<p>Now for letters of recommendation. I know a lot of people who are willing to offer me but will only choose three people who impacted my life the most. One of them is the chairmen of the English department (my writing honors professor), the other would be the professor who helped me stay focus and on the right path, and the last one would be my honors science professor. </p>

<p>After it's all said and done here is the list of the schools I am applying to as a transfer:</p>

<p>Rutgers University New Brunswick
University of Richmond
University of Michigan Ann Arbor
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
University of Virginia
University of California Berkeley
University of California Los Angles
Cornell University
Vassar College
University of Pennsylvania
Brown University
Yale University</p>

<p>My intended major would be philosophy, but my career goal is to become a psychiatrist. So after there is medical school. I know my list is a bit long, but my current counselor told me I can get up to 10 fee waivers. I know half my list is a long shot, but I'm willing to try my best. One of the professors who will write my letter of recommendation is an alumni from Vassar College and the other professor is from Yale University. Hopefully, that will help me out just a little. I have a feeling the essay I am going to write is going to be what I have been searching in my life: "self." There is a lot more about me but its late and I lost track of time. My questions are: Even though admissions is a tricky situation and there is no formula for acceptance, what are my chances for each school? What can I do to better my chances? Is it wise that I retake the SATs? Can winning any scholarships make me a more competitive applicant? Any comments and advice would be greatly appreciated. Sorry that the post is long and if there are typos or anything that doesn't make sense its because its late and I'm sleepy.</p>

<p>Thank you.</p>

2

<p>I’d throw Georgetown in the mix. Also, why do you want to major in philosophy when your ultimate goal is psychiatry? Don’t answer that question here, but be prepared to have an answer for that when you write your essays.</p>

3

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>I think you have a very colored background which would make you a very good candidate for most of these schools. I’m not sure about the public schools you listed, but you have decent chances for each of the four ivies except Yale. Yale accepts very few community college transfers out of their 20 accepted out of 800 applicants pool. Most are from four year universities. I would however suggest that you look at Stanford. They are very open to CC students and you may have a good chance. </p>

<p>The most important factor would then be your essays; you need to write a very fluid piece that says why the school is perfect for you and how you would be an asset to the community there.</p>

<p>Get your GPA up as high as possible. Essays are key. Recommendations are also key. I think you should retake the SAT and aim for at least a 2100; it can easily be done through lots of practice with the college board’s blue book. Winning a scholarship will add to your list of honors and thus make you more competitive. </p>

<p>I would be careful with listing this honor: “-Nominated by the school for Who’s Who Among College Students.”
Who’s who is generally seen as a gimmick for those naive enough to pay the money to get their name into a self-selecting scrapbook. </p>

<p>Good luck</p>

4

<p>I’d say given your background you could have a good shot. SOME colleges really like the kind of turnaround you’ve experienced (or so I’ve heard). I’d say you have a VERY good chance at: Rutgers, Umich, and Urichmond. Your chances decrease a little for: UNC, UCLA, UVA, and Vassar. And I’d say reaches for the rest. Applying to these powerhouse state schools may make it difficult as you are out of state and the UC’s and UVA are notorious for being ridiculous out of state. I’d say just keep working and you will get in to at least two schools on your list.</p>

5

<p>Retake the SAT and/or take the ACT. You might find that you prefer the ACT.</p>

<p>You might want to consider rethinking your list of schools, because you have a lot of financial and statistical reaches. The fact that you need financial aid is going to work against you in non need blind schools (Brown is not need blind; there may be others on your list). Also, state schools are not known for their generous financial aid for out of state students. To compound matters, UC schools and the state of California are having terrible budget problems. Vassar is tricky because there are very few spots available. </p>

<p>Have you investigated Vanderbilt, Elon, Rice, and Davidson? Also, have you seen this list: [Phi</a> Theta Kappa - Scholarship Listing](<a href=“http://www.ptk.org/schol/newscholdir/list.php?]Phi”>http://www.ptk.org/schol/newscholdir/list.php?)</p>

6

<p>I’m wondering how you’re going to complete the pre med requirements in 2 years while being a philosophy major. </p>

<p>That said, several schools on your list require SATs and you will have to have scores in range for those schools for a fighting chance.</p>

<p>Also, you mentioned financial aid. I’m wondering if your list reflects your ability to pay. UCLA, UCB and Michigan cost almost $50K per year and have little to no money for OOS students and Richmond is not a school that meets need.</p>

<p>Bottom line is that this list has huge reaches for anyone, schools that don’t meet need and expensive OOS public schools. If aid is needed, it’s not a good list for a transfer that does not want to go to Rutgers.</p>

7

<p>Thanks for all the replies.</p>

<p>I thought about the Medical school prerequisites. The community college I go to has this nursing program and it has it’s own science lab. I seen many local 4year college students go here to do their science courses (pre med requirements) because the cost per credit is inexpensive. By the time I graduate from CC I will have completed Chemistry I and II and Physics I and II and Calculus I and II. Than I would need to complete Organic Chemistry I and II and Biology I and II to where ever I transfer. I would pick these as my electives with my philosophy major. With that being said I contacted some medical schools and they said it is fine to complete the prerequisites at a community college. I know I would need to do well on the MCAT so that there is no doubt when my application is reviewed. </p>

<p>As for the SATs I have been practicing all summer and its going pretty good. I’m confident I can do well on them this time. But I am not sure I can get 2100+ I used a pretty cool website ( I think it was miteach.■■■■■■■■■■■■■)that really helped me out. In addition with the Official SAT study guide and the McGraw Hill study guide for the vocabulary section. I think I have until December/January to continue to study. </p>

<p>Money is always a problem, but I thought of a plan recently. I planned to live in a small studio for 6months to 1 year where ever I go to school and become a resident eventually. I would most likely keep living there so I become an in state resident. I know different schools have different policies so I would need to check that out. How will I pay for this? I would pick up a part time job and the difference will be paid by my family. This can include my mom, brother, or aunt, uncle, and cousin. I spoke to them about it and they are willing to help, but of course I would need to pay them back one day. If I need to I would take out a student loan. I would be the third to graduate from college from my entire family (cousins/aunt/uncle) </p>

<p>As for the scholarships, I glanced at the link you sent me. I saw it before and I need to speak to the adviser of the phi theta kappa chapter at my school about it in detail. I also need to speak to the president of the school on what I can do to be nominated by the school for the USA Today academic team for community colleges. </p>

<p>It’s funny that this post mentioned schools like Georgetown and Davidson. The reason being is I’m a big basketball fan and last 2-3 years I been keeping up with Davidson and Stephen Curry. Sucks that they didn’t make the NCAA tournament in his final year. Georgetown is where Patrick Ewing played and I am a die hard NY Knicks fan for about the last 15 years…I know they are bad but I’m loyal. Maybe this is a sign? Someone told me to apply as a transfer to Stanford before. I think my first response was isn’t the transfer rate like 1 percent?-Come to find out I was wrong its more like 2%. However, 6 or more years ago the Valedictorian of the CC I go to transferred to Stanford. And one of my professors told me he had 2 students who transferred to Columbia University in his 20 year career. I will look into the schools mentioned.</p>

<p>I probably won’t put the “Who’s Who Among College Students” in my application. And yes I do remember they wanted me to pay a fee for some book. I didn’t do it though…I thought it was wrong.</p>

<p>It’s not that I do not think Rutgers is good or somewhere I don’t want to go to. I just been speaking to some of my professors and they tell me everyone goes to Rutgers and sometimes students can reach for more without knowing it. I would enjoy my education anywhere I go. I just don’t want to have any regrets of not applying to somewhere where I had a chance of getting into. </p>

<p>If there are any more comments or advice I would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks for the insight…I will keep you all posted.</p>

8

<p>

</p>

<p>It’s the recommendation that counts, where the prof went to college is immaterial.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>You are one of many who have thought of this “plan” to avoid OOS tuition. Unfortunately, it won’t work. Not only do you have to live in the state for a year before entering, you also have to show that you were financially independent. For CA, that includes not being claimed as a dependent on taxes by a parent for 2 years and showing that you had an income enough to support yourself (no help from others):</p>

<p>[University</a> of California - Admissions](<a href=“http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/ca_residency.html]University”>http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/ca_residency.html)</p>

<p>“To be considered a California resident for purposes of fees, an out-of-state student must have lived in California for more than one year preceding the residence determination date, relinquish residence in other states, show an intent to establish residency in California and demonstrate financial independence. Unmarried undergraduates from other states qualify as financially independent if they were not claimed by their parents or others as dependents for tax purposes for two preceding tax years and if their annual income is sufficient to meet their needs.”</p>

<p>Also:</p>

<p>“Physical presence within the state solely for educational purposes does not constitute the establishment of California residence under state law, regardless of the length of your stay.”</p>

<p>More specifically:</p>

<p>[Legal</a> Residence Information - Office Of The Registrar](<a href=“http://registrar.berkeley.edu/Default.aspx?PageID=legalinfo.html]Legal”>http://registrar.berkeley.edu/Default.aspx?PageID=legalinfo.html)</p>

<p>“Financial Independence Requirement If your parents are not residents of California for tuition purposes or if you were not previously enrolled in a regular session at any University of California campus prior to Fall 1993, you will be required to be financially independent in order to be a resident for tuition purposes. If you are an adult student and your parents are not California residents, you must demonstrate financial independence, along with physical presence and intent, when seeking resident classification for tuition purposes. You are considered “financially independent” if one or more of the following applies: (1) you are at least 24 years of age by December 31 of the year you request residence classification; (2) you are a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces; (3) you are a ward of the court or both of your parents are deceased; (4) you have legal dependents other than a spouse or a registered domestic partner; (5) you are married, a registered domestic partner, a graduate academic student, or a graduate professional student and you were not/will not be claimed as an income tax deduction by any individual other than your spouse or domestic partner for the tax year preceding the term for which you are requesting resident classification; or (6) you are a single undergraduate student who was not claimed as an income tax deduction by your parents or any other individual for the two tax years immediately preceding the term for which you are requesting resident classification, and you can demonstrate self-sufficiency for those years and the current year.”</p>

9

<p>The letters of recommendation I am choosing are from the people who impacted me the most in my college life. It just so happens that two of them have alumni affiliation, so that is the reason why I mentioned it. I did not go into detail about the letters of recommendation since it was almost 4am and tried to wrap up everything in my first post. I believe each letter of recommendation I will receive will show a different side of me that my transcript doesn’t. I’m confident I choose the right people.</p>

<p>That sucks about the financial aspect of higher education. I will have to apply for scholarships and hope I receive any additional help. I will do more research and contact more people regarding this issue. I believe I saw something related to information on scholarship opportunities on this forum. Either way I will still prefer to live off campus, but I know some schools also have policies regarding this too. Before I forget I should have figured California had financial problems. I read this good article in the New York Times “Priority Test: Health Care or Prisons?” that touched on this issue. I’m glad that I got various opinions and suggestions with my situation. Now I need to go back to the drawing board and figure something out. I’m already having financial headaches and I haven’t even transfer yet…</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

10

<p>I wasn’t questioning your LORs, but rather your assumption that the alumni associations would matter.</p>

<p>I just noticed this from your OP:</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>I’m not sure if colleges count number of credits or actual years, but be aware that many of the top privates will not accept transfers with more than 2 years of college work. For instance Y says:</p>

<p>[Who</a> is Eligible to Transfer? | Transfer Students | Office of Undergraduate Admissions](<a href=“http://www.yale.edu/admit/other/transfer/who.html]Who”>http://www.yale.edu/admit/other/transfer/who.html)</p>

<p>“If you have received a bachelor’s degree (or the equivalent) or if by the end of the current academic year you will have completed more than two full years toward the degree, you are not eligible to transfer to Yale, nor may you apply through the freshman admission process. (You may not voluntarily relinquish credits in order to qualify for consideration.)”</p>

11

<p>Scholarships are few and far between for transfer students which is why we were asking what you can afford.</p>

<p>You need to build a list of schools you can afford or where you have a chance of getting aid.</p>

12

<p>Oh I didn’t think you were questioning the recommendations. I just wanted to clarify. </p>

<p>I remember seeing that link before. I started off with basic reading,writing, and math courses and progressed to higher level courses. I figured that Linear Algebra, Calculus II, and some honors courses would make me a more competitive applicant. I wonder if courses like college algebra, principles of management, accounting I and II, intro to computers and precalculus would transfer? I know that only 60 credits will transfer and I completed only 2 philosophy courses ( my intended major when i transfer) plus the requirements for graduation at my school for Liberal Arts-General. By spring semester I would need 2 courses to graduate. The thing is I cannot afford to go to school for only 2 courses + fees ($900) when financial aid requires me to take 12+ credits. </p>

<p>I took a few honors courses and I just wanted to get a feeling of what type of major I would pursue when I transfer. I hope this doesn’t affect me, but it looks like it does… How should I go about handling this situation?</p>

<p>Lastly, the maximum in debt by graduation I would be okay with is less than 20,000. I want to stay away from taking out loans when I don’t need to for my associates. I will research some more to build a list of schools that are friendly with financial aid and also were I can be considered a competitive applicant. </p>

<p>Thanks</p>

13

<p>

</p>

<p>First, go to the websites of the schools you’re interested in and see what their policies are for the maximum number of credits/years you can have to be considered eligible for transfer status. Second, if there is any doubt (as in the Y example), call them, explain your situation and find out if you qualify as a transfer applicant.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Therein lies the admissions/FA conundrum. As a general rule, the schools that are the most friendly with FA are those with large endowments (thus the ability to be generous), and those are the same schools that are the most selective and difficult to gain admission to.</p>

14

<p>dude you got into emory! thats sick dude! your story is a remarkable tale of hope and second chances(sorry, I copied this from reviews about charlie st.cloud). but seriously dude, congrats on winning big time! could you tell me your fin.aid package as I am looking to transfer there with some FA…if you feel uncomfortable posing them here you can pm me =)…and again congrats!</p>

15

<p>congrats NJ.Rome =)</p>

16

<p>I don’t know too much, but I would think attending Rutgers University New Brunswick for the low tuition would be best…and then attend med school at the best school you get into. It’s my understanding that tuition for med/grad school is the same for residents and non-residents. but again, you’d benefit from the low tuition for your undergrad @ Rutgers.</p>