<p>Dear all,
I'm entering Brandeis in Fall 2006 and am planning to transfer for personal reasons. If everything works out, I would like to transfer to another college by Fall 2007. At the moment, I'm not sure where I would be appying to, but I believe it would be to another school that's as competitve as Brandeis (it may end up being a school that's more competitive but, far from the HYP level). My first question is about my SATs. 1950. SAT II, not good. Would it be a smart idea to retake my SAT in October? I don't think my score is that good, but would it be worth the effort to do so? How much weight do the SAT scores have when applying as a transfer? Second question is about next year's course selection. I'm planning to take Organic Chemistry my first year, but according to many sources, the course is extremely difficult for first year students. Would it be better to take an intro chem course and get a higher grade instead of struggling in Orgo? I'm kind of new and confused about the whole transfer scene. What do colleges look for in the transfer applications? My HS GPA is pretty decent, but it went downhill during my Spring term. Would this have a big impact on my application? Also, I heard that transferring is harder than applying as a senior. Is this true? Please enlighten me. Thank you very much!</p>
<p>Please help...
<em>bump</em></p>
<p>Help please...
Bump again...</p>
<p>Lots of questions there, zyclone, but here are a few thoughts.</p>
<p>For the most highly selective schools, the better your SAT is the better off you are. I'm not a fan of standardized testing, but if you want to try and improve your scores, it might be worthwhile.</p>
<p>Whether transferring is harder than applying as a Senior depends on the school. You can get an idea of transfer acceptance rates (vs. freshman rates) on either USN&WR Premium online edition or collegeboard.com. Those stats tell part of the story. The other part is how strong your app is as a transfer vs what it was as a freshman app. Hard to say whether a weak spring term as hs sr. will have much of an impact. Depends on how "downhill" and why. Your first semester college GPA will be very important. If you are going to transfer, you want to work hard and develop relationships with one or two profs, as college recommendations will be important. Schools will not be interested in your hs recs anymore.</p>
<p>Now, on to more important things. Why are you already focused on transfer before you've even tried Brandeis? Maybe it will be everything you want. I hope you will go into it with a positive attitude. As to OChem vs. Intro Chem - what was your reason for planning OChem as a freshman? what Chem did you have in hs? What is your intended major?</p>