<p>Hello, I'm a first semester freshman at a less-known liberal arts school in my hometown. I'm hating my experience there however. 1) I want to go somewhere new and more urban. 2) I want to go somewhere more liberal and open. 3) I want to go somewhere more challenging. I'd rather struggle taking harder classes but learn from my classmates rather than be bored here. This semester I'm taking introductory classes, but I'm in the honors program and I've joined a variety of clubs and student government. What else can I do to increase my chances?</p>
<p>I have a few questions. I definitely know I want to leave next year so I want to apply to colleges that I know I will get into and some that are a maybe.</p>
<p>What sort of classes should I take next semester to get transferred?
How hard is it to get into a better liberal arts school (ranked teens-twenties)?
What can I do to make my application look better since my stats from high school are not the greatest?</p>
<p>not enough info to recommend a school for you but can list foundational classes typically done between grades 8-14</p>
<p>Math:
1 year of algebra
1 year of precalc
1 year of calc
Geometry and Statistics</p>
<p>English:
1 year of English Comp
and ideally another year of Writing+Lit
+1 ‘Critical Thinking’ in Philosophy, English, History or Lit (*honors if available)</p>
<p>1 year of Gen Chem
1 year of Gen Physics
1 year of Biology
1 year of US History
1 year of Poli Sci
1 year of Western Art/Art History
1 year of Foreign Art/Art History
1 year of Comp Sci
1 year of Econ
1 year of Psyche
1 year of PE, Health, and Nutrition
1 year of Foreign Language</p>
<p>plus major and prereqs.</p>
<p>good fundamental and highly transferable “Intro to…” classes to look out for and take</p>
<p>Intro to:
Philosophy: Knowledge and Reality
General Psyche
Business</p>
<p>plus: (‘Intro to…’)
Environmental Studies
Poli Sci I: US Gov/American Institutions
Film(American or World Cinema)/TV/media Studies
Speech Communication
Early or Late Western Civ</p>
<p>Physical: (counts as fundamental I: ‘Intro to…’)
Geology/Earth Science
Meteorology/Weather/Climate
Geography
Anthropology
Astronomy
Oceanography
Marine Biology</p>
<p>I guess my main concern right now is what activities/groups should I join or do in order to make my application look better?</p>
<p>In high school I took rigorous courses, I got an IB diploma. My GPA ended up being 3.5 and my ACT score is not stellar either. I have a lot of volunteer and extracurriculars from high school though.</p>
<p>The schools I’m looking to apply to are Reed, Whitman, Grinnell and Macalester. I got into Macalester first time but didn’t go.</p>
<p>Oh, I’m also an URM. Does that help being a transfer?</p>
<p>Does anyone have any sort of statistics for Transfer students at the institutions I mentioned above? Would be soooo helpful. And kind of ease my anxiety right now.</p>
<p>You should not worry about joining organizations or starting in activities as a way of improving your transfer chances. Do what interests you - either something new or continuing with interests you have already been pursuing.</p>
<p>As to what courses to take, no advice possible without knowing what major you are planning. However, if you haven’t read the sticky thread Transfer Admissions 101… you will see there that the best advice on course selection is to see what your target school(s) recommend/require for first year students with your intended major. Come as close to that as you can in course selection.</p>
<p>Don’t be anxious. Make the most of your time where you are. Don’t worry about transfer until end of this term (other than following advice in the TA 101 thread). If you still want to transfer after holiday break (and be aware that MANY freshmen who are unhappy at this point in the year do a complete reversal by semester break), you can focus on the transfer process then.</p>
<p>According to the common data set for 2009 - 2010 for Whitman, 118 transfer students applied and 64 of them were admitted. URM’s get a substantial boost as freshmen applicants, so I would assume that’s true for transfer students as well. No data on grades or scores for transfers.</p>