<p>Hi everyone, </p>
<p>Planning on going to Imperial College London in October to study maths with CS. I am looking to apply to a few US universities as a transfer student. I have about 7 months to prepare my application. (N.B: I previously applied to the US as freshman, but was ultimately rejected)</p>
<p>I have read a lot of information about transfer admissions on various websites, but I still have a couple of questions. </p>
<p>Should I be thinking about my essays now (even before I start university) or wait until I actually start?</p>
<p>Should I get some counselling help with admissions? Can anyone recommend me a company? I just need some help crafting a very good application. ----> This question is probably my most important one...</p>
<p>You can see my credentials in this thread: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1653016-rejected-international-student-take-gap-year-and-reapply.html#latest">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1653016-rejected-international-student-take-gap-year-and-reapply.html#latest</a></p>
<p>I would be applying to TOP universities (I would be happy with ICL if it doesn't work out). Also, ideally I don't want to be retaking the SAT or taking the ACT - from what I have gathered the SAT scores are less important in transfer admissions?</p>
<p>Any other advice for an international applicant applying as a transfer would be appreciated!</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>What is your GPA with ICL? Do you need Scholarship?</p>
<p>The top US Universities, HYP for example, has few spots each year for transfers, Princeton does not take transfers. Your chances are not good, but you can try. If it was I, I will not spend money on consultants, just do your best on your essays. Its a long shot for anyone, especially you were rejected by all before.</p>
<p>I’m going to Imperial in October (so no grades to tell you yet!)
I’m going to need financial aid. </p>
<p>I’m pretty serious about getting a consultant to help me because I’m not great with essays. I feel that the essays are very important - and probably is the thing lacking in my previous application (along with my SAT score). </p>
<p>Imperial is a sick college, so congrats! Could I ask why you want to transfer to a different university? Why specifically in the US? I know a bunch of essay editing services that came in useful when I applied so you can PM for those.</p>
<p>Mainly because of the education system in the US, which will allow me to pursue a wide range of subjects. </p>
<p>I also want to have an international ‘background’ in my education. At the end of the day though, I would like to end up living in the U.S</p>
<p>If you can do well at Imperial it will be much easier to transfer to US schools in the 2nd year. At that time, your HS grades and SAT will not be used to make the admission decisions. Moreover, if you find Imperial interesting, you could try US schools at the graduate level and complete your UG at Imperial.</p>
<p>Indeed, coming over for graduate school will be far easier than transferring, and you’re far more likely to get your education funded that way than as an international looking for financial aid.</p>
<p>@artloversplus Do you mean complete two years at Imperial and then apply for a transfer in my third year?</p>
<p>I wouldn’t mind trying my best for a transfer this year - purely because I would have the time to put together a solid application (my first year at Imperial would compose of relearning some stuff I already know)</p>
<p>Still wondering if anyone can recommend me a counselling site that they have used for admissions - particularly for top schools!</p>
<p>Here are the facts:</p>
<ol>
<li>You applied top Unis as freshman and got rejected.</li>
<li>Your SAT is 2150 and you think your essay failed you to gain admittance.</li>
<li>You want to transfer after 6 months or one semester of grades at Imperial and apply 2015 Fall admission with TOP Unis in the US.</li>
<li>You have financial needs so you can only apply to those few “international need blind” schools.</li>
</ol>
<p>Analysis</p>
<p>1.The fact you have only 2150 SAT as an international is a big problem to get admittance to TOP Unis. If you had 2300, you might have a better chance. You failed gain admittance probably not because of the essay alone.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>If you apply to those SAME schools after only one semester at Imperial is going to fail you again, because your HS and SAT stats will be reviewed and will be used as deciding factor. </p></li>
<li><p>If you apply to some TOP schools after 3 semesters at Imperial for Fall 2016 admission, your HS and SAT stats will NOT be used as deciding factors. So, lets say you have straight As for all three semesters, your chance is good to get admittance in one of the TOP schools.</p></li>
<li><p>If your scores are not sterling after three semesters at Imperial, you better off to try admittance at graduate level where funds for needed students are plentiful, so that you need not to limit yourself only to the TOP schools, all top 50 schools are possible then.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Yeah, I fail to understand why you are so hell-bent on transferring (from Imperial, which is well-respected in the Commonwealth) instead of just getting a degree from there and then getting a funded masters or PhD from a good engineering school in the US (if you desire to come to the US so much).</p>
<p>What are your goals after graduation, anyway?</p>
<p>@artloversplus - I don’t need as much financial aid as other people. If I was to improve my SAT score over the next couple of months (or even take the SAT), then it would be worth a shot? My HS Grades are already a maximum - I can’t go any better! Also, if I was to apply for fall 2016 admissions, would that mean I get 2 years at a US university or 3? Furthermore, I just want to point out that I would have quite a few grades at Imperial by March during the admissions process. </p>
<p>@PurpleTitan It’s just that I prefer the US education system. When you go to university in the UK, this will be the first time that you only study one subject (its easy to switch within departments e.g math to comp but hard to switch between departments). In the US I would be able to study a variety of courses - which I have been doing at high school for the past 7 years - this is a more pleasant experience for me! This is essentially one of my goals in terms of an undergraduate education, but I also want to end up living in the US (possibly as soon as I start working)</p>
<p>Thank you guys for the comments! Discussing this even more makes me feel that taking a gap year would be worthwhile…</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That is a very vague statement which put everyone on cc won’t be able to help you. You need to state clearly how much can you afford.</p>
<p>Whatever you do, do not put TOP UNI. as your only application criteria. You may get into Georgia Tech with full tuition or RPI or Rochester, they are really good engineering schools, those are matching schools for you. In addition, you didn’t even look at Cooper Union and Olins, they are tuition free engineering schools. IF you still forge ahead with HYPMS as your targets, your failure is predictable they are lottery schools.</p>
<p>Apply wisely.</p>
<p>@artloversplus:</p>
<p>Actually, Olin and Cooper Union are half-tuition schools these days, I believe, but definitely very well respected engineering schools.</p>
<p>There is a problem in that you want to attend universities in the US to immigrate here. You are assuming that after graduation from a US college, that you will be employed. Not gonna happen. It is extremely difficult now to get employment in the US if you need to be sponsored.</p>
<p>Assume you will be returning to your country after graduation. US immigration policies have become tougher and employers are showing a trend of not wanting to spend the money or time to sponsor a non-citizen. Many of my dd’s college friends in EE, had to return to their countries because they couldn’t find sponsors. Lots of engineering contracts are funded by the US government. Security clearances are provided to US citizens. If you are a non resident, you won’t be able to be cleared for a number of contracts so the jobs and sponsors will be hard to find.</p>
<p>@"aunt bea" I was told differently by my interviewers. In my mind, this is just one way of being able to immigrate to the US. </p>
<p>@artloversplus I was going to apply to Georgia Tech, but their international applicant deadline was too early for me - so I missed the chance. What are the chances of transferring to the schools you have mentioned? I can spend about 30-35k per year on my education. </p>
<p>Ted: who are these interviewers? What have they to do with US Customs and being able to “immigrate” to the US?<br>
What side of the pond are those interviewers?<br>
“In your mind” has nothing to do with actuality.</p>
<p>Artlover summed it up in a nutshell, but you’re not getting it, so let me reiterate:
So, being that you insist on applying because your true intent is to immigrate, there are several things to consider.</p>
<p>-Most US schools rarely take international transfers because the schools can’t confirm what was truly taught in the course.</p>
<p>-You need financial aid and your stats are not stellar. Your budget will need to consider a yearly average of $40K to $60K for minimum overall costs to attend any US university since your stats are not competitive, you’ll be paying full fees at any US university. Yet, you don’t “need as much financial aid as most people”. </p>
<p>-You’re desperate to immigrate here and “grasping at straws” because, “in your mind” this is one way to do it. The major, your stats and graduating aren’t important to you as long as you receive immigration. US employers have to sponsor you in order for your to legally work here. The employer has to legally state and declare that there are no US citizens who can fill the job position; in our economy, that is very difficult and US employers are not going to fill out forms and sponsor or employ someone with mediocre skills.</p>
<p>@"aunt bea" </p>
<p>Your first bullet point: why can’t US schools confirm what was truly taught?</p>
<p>Your second bullet point: Your comment on my stats not being “stellar”… You cannot go any better than the grades I have achieved - it is very very hard to find someone in my country who has my kind of grades. I go to one of the top states schools in the country and I am ranked at the top of the class. I won’t take a swipe at you for the comment because you won’t be at all familiar with my school, let alone our education system. Why will I be paying full fees? If this was the case, its hard to imagine the large number of internationals applying to US schools in the first place…</p>
<p>Your third bullet point: I only brought upon the immigration point because that would be a “bonus” with an international education. When I was applying this year, my main aim was to pursue my range of interests at university (and you cannot do this at UK institutions). I did not expect to get such a negative response!</p>
<p>This is not the kind of answer I was looking for… I know that getting into these top universities is hard. This website is supposed to be giving people positive information about colleges - NOT stopping people from applying. </p>
<p>I looked at your stats. Obviously your A levels are outstanding and that will help, but you do need to raise your SAT scores a bit. I would advise not applying to the same unis that you have applied to previously. Even though you have your A level scores now (I’m assuming you applied before you got your A level results?), your GCSE scores were phenomenal and they still didn’t accept you. So, I’m thinking it was your SAT that hurt you. If I were you, I would pick some new unis to apply to.</p>
<p>Regarding financial aid, American unis typically don’t give very good financial aid to transfers (even from US unis). This shouldn’t stop you from applying, but just be aware. </p>
<p>Regarding essays, definitely work on them and be specific about why you want to study in the US. Remember, just saying the you want to come to the US and would like to work there is not a good reason. You need to convince the uni that it is the only place that could offer you the education you need/want. What is it about that particular uni that makes it a perfect match for you? They do have to be well written, so make sure someone proof reads them.</p>
<p>I am an American living and working in London, so I know that there are people in London who specialize in advising students applying to US unis. If you have the money to spend, you could invest there. </p>
<p>Just being realistic, not negative, since people who don’t live here, in the US, are often misinformed, surprised, then shocked and then angry that what they’ve been told isn’t correct about the process and the costs. This is a heads up.</p>
<p>1) SAT’s and ACTs equalize the students that’s why the colleges use them. I understand a little about the A levels, but the colleges rely on the standardized testing in support of the A levels. If you’re already at a good school, and doing well, consider graduating from there.</p>
<p>2) You weren’t previously accepted at any of the schools where you applied. One reason and hurdle, for many perspective students who aren’t accepted, is their request for financial aid. (Need-Aware schools)
Why won’t you get financial aid? Besides not being a US citizen for federal monies,
many of the universities in the US are funded by tax dollars, provided by citizens of the states- the priority monies go to the children of taxpayers. Other schools have huge endowments, but these dollars are spent on students who are above the norm on the SAT’s and ACT’s and have a national or international status in something in their countries. The competition for these dollars is fierce, that’s why hundreds of thousands of students apply to those six schools. Some schools accept a max of 5 students per year. You say you are planning on applying to TOP universities. You need to reread Artlover’s previous comments and Megpmom’s advice. If you were to get any kind of financial aid, it would come from the kinds of universities that you aren’t considering: LAC’s out in the middle of nowhere. </p>
<p>I’m in California, and our state is out of money; we get applications by the boatload from around the world. If students have the money to pay full fees and their stats are within range, California schools accept those students at full pay of $55,000 to $65K per year. Our State can be choosy about who they accept from OOS since the in-state students are already phenomenal.</p>
<p>The universities are very particular about what kinds of students they are looking for to create their next class. They read the essays and rely heavily upon the message. They consider the content and the comments as well as how the essay was crafted to get a better idea of the student. If you don’t fit their mold, they don’t accept you. </p>