<p>But whybthat school? What about it? Certain program, size, etc?</p>
<p>It’s a cliche, but Northwestern was just always my dream school. I can’t really explain it beyond that. I do like Evanston</p>
<p>My suggestion would be to look for other schools with similar qualities (near large cities, solid reputation) and add those to your possible transfer list. You may have to wait until after your sophomore year to actually transfer into one of your “choice” schools to build up your application. Good luck; hope you get into BC or like.</p>
<p>Thanks. I’ll keep this thread updated with the comings of the process because we all know how interesting it all is. This will be some NYT Bestseller material</p>
<p>A little update: Since my birthday was on Thursday, I visited my girlfriend at BC over the long weekend (especially long since I don’t have class on Tuesdays anyway), and loved it. The campus, the atmosphere, the food all compared very favorably to UIUC</p>
<p>It’s been a few weeks, and I now know my extracurriculars:
Staff writer at the Illini Independent (smaller student newspaper)
Mentor and Fundraising Committee Member in the Illini Mentor Program (3 hours a week volunteering, mentoring kids in a struggling elementary school)
Volunteer at Austin’s Place Women’s Shelter (a place where homeless women can stay during the coldest months of the year)
Member of the 1867 Society (leadership and increasing student philanthropy)
Member of Illinois Model UN
Member of Illini Pride (just a dumb school spirit club)</p>
<p>Will these organizations/clubs/service learning projects be good enough? I have volunteering at the library before college, as well as two jobs before college in addition to these.</p>
<p>Meaculpa:
If your transfer application was to a school with higher acceptance rates, then providing a list of activities that you’re “a member of” may work. </p>
<p>Being “a member” of a long list of activities without detail of your contributions only conveys an interest to impress an admissions counselor. It doesn’t say anything about how you would add value to the school you’re applying to.</p>
<p>Pick any one of the activities that you listed. How is it more successful “because of you”? </p>
<p>That’s something the adcoms will be looking for. It can only be conveyed after committing serious time, passion, and effort to an activity. Conveying it too soon or with content that doesn’t show a pattern of who you are, will only raise red flags.</p>
<p>If you want to stand out above the competition in the BC transfer applicant pool, you’ll need to have far more substance than a simple list of activities. Even one activity will suffice, but who you are in that activity has to give the adcoms reason to choose you over the competition.</p>
<p>I realize that, and I’m definitely going to use the Illini Mentor Program as my biggest one. That’s the group where I have the most important position, and probably the best group overall.</p>
<p>we’re in the same position, the reason i chose my school was for financial reasoning.</p>
<p>BC is also the school I plan on transferring to upon completing freshman year at my current school. I hope everything works out for you meaculpa</p>
<p>I don’t know why I read this thread, but since I did I will say, don’t be discouraged by the gloomy stats. Absolutly do your best to enjoy your time at your present college, but you are clearly smart, and there is no reason why you can’t transfer to BC, Northwestern, or (you name it) other selective school if you still want to do so next year. Plenty of people do it. Personally, I went to a good lawschool (a million years ago), but I left my boyfriend behind across the country. When I realized that was not going to work, I studied night and day, ended up in the very top of my class, and then transferred to top lawschool near the boyfriend. A year later the boyfriend was history, but my degree from a top lawschool is still with me. I couldn’t have accomplished those grades without the motivation. Having said all that, realize that where you go to grad school is WAY more important than college so if you are having a great time in a year, and getting great grades, stay!</p>
<p>I appreciate that. I talked on the phone with one of the ex-board members of the BC Transfer club (which apparently exists), and he transferred to BC after his freshman year. He told me that I’m transferring from a better school, that I had better high school stats, and that I had better standardized test scores, and he got in to CSOM, which is more selective than CAS. That made me feel better about my chances of getting in. </p>
<p>I do have a few questions: how important are my second semester class selections? Will taking harder classes (assuming I have good midterms in them) help my case, or will the main focus be on first semester? I’m pretty unhappy here, and if I don’t get in to BC or NU or one of a few other schools, I’ll be pretty disappointed.</p>
<p>@bigredg: Same to you. Keep me updated on how the process works out for you. I started the first few steps of Commonapp (boy have I missed it) a week or two ago.</p>
<p>I know this thread is about as old as the college itself, but I do want to say that I finished first semester with a 4.0 GPA.</p>
<p>“do have a few questions: how important are my second semester class selections? Will taking harder classes (assuming I have good midterms in them) help my case, or will the main focus be on first semester? I’m pretty unhappy here, and if I don’t get in to BC or NU or one of a few other schools, I’ll be pretty disappointed.” </p>
<p>meaculpa,
Second semester classes and grades are very important. Transfer letters are sent out mid June. If your grades are what you expect, you will want BC to see them and so will BC.</p>
<p>Yes your mid-terms must be sent early, it may be enough, but YOUR finals will be over early in May, I suggest also sending in your final grades. (unofficial immediately and official ASAP)</p>
<p>Same situation here though, I was disappointed about my sats and gpa(ruined by a huge mistake,=( now i am waiting for other schools decision,but BC’s rejection really hurts me. I am wondering if the chance to transfer to BC, do i still need to take sat or act? many thanks to all!</p>
<p>Sorry anna, I really didn’t see this until now… I’m pretty sure either SAT or ACT are required for transfer admission.</p>