<p>I'm a sophomore Classics, Political Science major at Howard University in the arts and sciences honors program. I have a 3.8 gpa. Classics dept may be eliminated soon or stripped of Latin and Greek language courses due to an academic renewal that the administration is seeking for the university, so I'm thinking about transferring to some schools in the top 50 on USNWR rankings for fall 2011 (Columbia, Penn, Michigan, NYU are just a few I'm thinking about). I was on the debate team for fall 2009 and I captained my dorm hall's debate team for a spring contest called ResFest, a tradition at Howard. How much will my limited extracurricular involvement during my freshman year affect my application? I do plan on a flurry of activity for sophomore year.</p>
<p>Today, I have a list of 20 schools that I think I'd like to apply to. I have 5 dream schools on the list, 5 reach schools, and 10 target schools. I hope to have this list whittled down to about 4 by the end of the summer after I've done my research on each school's financial aid policies, transfer of credit policies, and the finer points of each school's classics departments.</p>
<p>I didn't have such a hot high school record - I graduated with a cumulative gpa of approximately 3.1-3.2 and I scored a 1940 on the SAT. I had fantastics subject test scores though: 710 on Literature and 740 on US History.</p>
<p>Beyond the research I plan on doing this summer, maintaining top grades, and increasing my on-campus activity, what else can I do to make sure I have a strong application for the schools that I'm interested in at this point? I really want to be prepared for the rigor of this process if push comes to shove and I do end up in a position where a transfer is necessary.</p>
<p>Oh, this might be a non-sequitur, but I am African-American and Filipino. I'm not sure if that's something to consider in the admissions process.</p>
<p>Figured you were af-am if you went to Howard lol.
Anyhow, your college stats and especially reason for transferring are golden! Your EC’s are good as well. Make sure you have 2 profs that will write you great recs. A 1940 is high enough not to retake after 2 years of college, your 3.8 shows that you are capable of college coursework.
I think your chances of getting into a top school are very high, especially because you have an actual reason to transfer, not “because I want to go to a better school.”</p>
<p>Sorta answering your question/ giving unsolitated (but hopefully helpful) advice: </p>
<p>NYU is notorious for bad financial aid. Michigan has a cost of attendance of nearly 50k for out of state upper level students (and if you are out of state, you can’t count on financial aid). UNC and UVA are two publics offer financial aid (to incoming freshmen at least) to out of state students. UNC apparently puts in and out of state transfers into the same pool. </p>
<p>I would suggest having more than 4 schools on your list unless you have an absolute safety, or you have an acceptance letter in hand. (Since there is no set time line for transfer applications, it’s entirely possible to be accepted by one school before the application is even due at another). You should also consider applying to more schools because acceptance rates are much lower for transfers than they are for freshmen, and acceptances are a lot more “unpredictable” and “random.” The college board lists transfer acceptance rates. </p>
<p>This is a good place to start for financial aid policies: [Project</a> on Student Debt: What’s the Bottom Line?](<a href=“http://www.projectonstudentdebt.org/ncoa_chart.php]Project”>http://www.projectonstudentdebt.org/ncoa_chart.php) Unfortunately, these polices may not apply to transfers. Also note that need blind/ meets full need policies may not be the same for freshmen and transfers. (Brown, for example, is not need blind to transfers). </p>
<p>Vanderbilt, Emory, and Wellesley have been known on this board to give good fin aid to transfers. </p>
<p>You might want to also search this board for colleges that don’t require high school stats (your weakness) for junior year transfers. </p>
<p>Final comments: Keep in mind that living in a city is expensive. Also, liberal arts college seem to be more “cost inclusive” than universities. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Priorities:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Keep the grades up (and a full, robust courseload)</p></li>
<li><p>Think about soliciting recommendations toward the end of the first semester; consequently, you may want to choose courses accordingly, i.e., with professors you seek to approach for a letter</p></li>
<li><p>Start legitimately working on your personal statement (i.e., reason for transferring and objectives); you have a very compelling and specific reason, so the essay should come somewhat intuitively</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Tips:</p>
<p>-Don’t sweat your SATs and don’t waste time retaking them - just move on and keep the grades where they are (or higher if you can); don’t waste time on ECs or even applications at the expense of your grades; this fall semester is pivotal</p>
<p>-Being AA will help you significantly and likely mitigate your test scores</p>
<p>-ECs aren’t terribly decisive for transfers unless they’re spectacular (or non-existent), which yours are not, so don’t worry about having few freshman year activities</p>
<p>I’m happy to help proof your essays when you’ve begun drafting, if you’d like</p>
<p>check out GW. they have a really good classics department and if you like DC then itd be perfect. they’re alright with financial aid, i was a sophomore this past year there and i was able to work with them to get a lot more aid than freshmen year. if you’re in need then they’ll definitely work with you</p>
<p>Hey College_ruled, that is precisely the kind of advice I’m looking for, so thank you! I’ve already knocked a couple of schools to the bottom of my list with the info you’ve given me.</p>
<p>Wayward_trojan, I know that being specific about what I want to get out of attending Penn is going to be key to a good essay, so do you have any pointers about the sorts of things I need to point out? Where should I be looking on the website and would it be good to try to get in contact with some faculty in the classics department? I do plan on visiting Penn in the not-too-distant future since Philly is not that far away.</p>
<p>Ker2008, I think I will add GW to my list. Do you know how generous their policies are toward transfers? I have a friend who was accepted there in high school (it was his dream school) and he kind of got shafted by the financial aid office.</p>
<p>I would try and get in touch with Classics professors/students to get an idea of the structure of the major. Likewise, look at the course catalogue online to see what courses are being offered this fall, which can be found here:</p>
<p>[School</a> of Arts & Sciences - University of Pennsylvania](<a href=“http://www.classics.upenn.edu/courses/fall/fall_classical.html]School”>http://www.classics.upenn.edu/courses/fall/fall_classical.html)</p>
<p>The website seems pretty thorough and should list contact info for professors as well as information for prospective students. </p>
<p>As far as the essay goes, I would just tell the truth: Howard is not in a position to further your academic and intellectual objectives and Penn is. Forgive the oversimplification, but it’s really about sincerity. Do mention specific courses that interest you and/or professors you’d be interested in working with so that you can show adcoms that you’ve considered your decision to apply very carefully and done your due diligence.</p>
<p>the fact that your reason is actually fantastic gives you a great chance at almost all schools you would apply to (Yale, Stanford, Harvard, etc are exceptions).</p>
<p>I disagree with ker2008 about GWU. It’s decent for archaeology, but I would advise against it for someone interested in classical languages. It simply doesn’t have sufficient offerings.</p>
<p>Boston U seems like it might fit you as a safe match. Excellent classics and IR/political science offerings and a very nice location. </p>
<p>I’m biased towards it, and it’s probably a big reach since it admits relatively few transfer applicants, but Duke may be worth an application as well. It’s extremely strong in both classics and political science, and graduates tend to do well.</p>
<p>If it helps, I wrote about things to look for in a Classics program:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1065037695-post2.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1065037695-post2.html</a></p>
<p>well if you are majoring in political science, gw is one of the best schools in the country. the location is great for internships, etc. also, ive taken a course with the head of the classics department and he told us before that they are re-doing the program (this past year), so it may have improved. still, its a great school and one of the best for poli sci. i really suggest that you apply</p>
<p>My brother is at Howard, so I know they suck at fin-aid like most HBCU’s so you shouldn’t be surprised when you get your fin-aid package and it looks like crap.</p>
<p>I can give you some advice on NYU though. If you want a campus atmosphere pass on it. The school is comprised of buildings scattered around the city. The drug scene is heavy especially in a nearby park. No school spirit, spoiled riched kids and the list can go on. IMO NYU is overrated. And I agree w/ college_ruled, their fin-aid is bad.</p>
<p>Warblersrule86, thank you SO much for that list of criteria. This is really going to help round out my research.</p>
<p>Ker2008, I appreciate your suggestion and I will see about getting in touch with the classics department there. Frankly, my main concern is finding a school with a strong classics program. I am quite satisfied with the political science program at Howard.</p>
<p>Kelly92, I hear your message about NYU loud and clear! Their financial aid policy toward transfers is why I will give it less consideration. </p>
<p>I know you guys say that I should have a good chance at admission at the schools I’m considering, but I also peruse the Yahoo! Answers forum and one of the users, Prof. Mark Taranto (former business professor at Wharton), told one user that he had virtually no chance of transferring into any Ivies or top 20 schools (the user had high school stats similar to mine). I’d appreciate just one last reassurance that I’m not about to embark on a quixotic journey! The schools that I am giving closest consider to as of now are Harvard, Columbia, Penn, Washington University in St. Louis, UVA, and UNC Chapel Hill. </p>
<p>Thank you guys so much! You’re all giving me great advice.</p>
<p>omg…■■■■■ Howard was one of my top 5 schools of choice…I was even going to visit sometime (i’m still a junior in HS)</p>
<p>why are you transferring??! I know i’ve heard awful things about their administration haha…</p>
<p>Eastafrobeauty, it’s been a complicated path to get to the point where I am now. My dream college in high school was Yale, but I didn’t think I was qualified to attend let alone apply due to my grades and test scores so I didn’t apply. I decided to go to the best school I could gain admission to which happened to be Howard. My plan at the time was to go to Howard for two years, earn top grades, then try to transfer to Yale or some of the other schools I had considered before.</p>
<p>I didn’t like Howard my first semester – I couldn’t relate to many of the people I was meeting because I am more interested in discussing big ideas, community service, and things of that sort. On the other hand, many, but not all, Howard students are more interested in careerism and activities that depend on status like Greek life and silly things like that and Howard doesn’t really have the resources to support the things I like to do. I filled out some transfer applications last spring, but after realizing that not fitting in at Howard was not a good enough reason to transfer and after realizing I didn’t have any real reason for wanting to go to the schools I was applying to, I decided to stay.</p>
<p>Not long after making that decision, I find myself faced with the decision to transfer once again. Right now, Howard is going through an academic appraisal conducted by a committee called PCAR. This committee is seeking to increase funding for STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and math) and to increase the number of graduate students at Howard. To achieve this, the committee is going to recommend that the university cut funding for programs in the fine arts, the languages, and the humanities. They will also recommend that Howard increase it’s admission standards so that they can shrink the undergraduate population to accomodate the graduate population. I believe that these changes are going to impede my ability to succeed socially and academically and that is why I am transferring.</p>
<p>Yes, the administration is dangerously incompetent and causes students undue stress, but that is nothing compared to the damage that their plans will cause for the university and its commitment to a liberal education.</p>
<p>^ aww I’m sorry 
I totally understand. Like many HBCU’s Howard is underfunded.
I was also questioning if I’d be able to get along there…but I’ve heard (and even seen a couple of photos) that their parties can get wild!!! lmaooo but besides that I’ve heard more bad things than good things about howard :/</p>
<p>But I suppose you’re the more “intellectual-eque” type…Howard def. wasn’t a good fit for you 
p.s. I have a cousin that went their for communications, then got into Princeton for graduate school…and now works for Hilary clinton in the state dept. :)</p>
<p>Good Luck! I’m sure you’re going to get into some great places :)</p>
<p>I have my issues with Howard, but I would not dissuade anyone from considering it or attending based on my experiences. There are many brilliant, interesting, and dynamic people here, and depending on your academic and career goals, Howard is a place where you can really thrive. Of course, Howard’s mission as a university does not match up with what I’d like to get out of my college experience. I would certainly pay Howard a visit if I were you and talk to some people who will tell you what it’s really like because the packaged version they present to you is much different from the reality.</p>
<p>And that is so awesome to hear about your cousin! Congratulations to them! I would love to work for Hillary Clinton. Good luck to you in your college search.</p>
<p>dreamer, I am transferring to Penn this year from GW. I would really suggest taking a look at the transfer thread and just going through and looking at peoples stats and whether they were rejected, accepted, waitlisted…(its not that long of a thread)</p>
<p>as a junior, your high school stats wont hold you back that much. i had a 2000 SAT, 30 ACT, and like maybe a 3.7-3.8 high school gpa (senior year i slacked off). but college gpa was a 3.69 when i applied, which isnt too stellar compared to other applicants. but i i got into the College at Penn so if you can get your gpa to around a 3.8 (if it isnt already) and get really involved, i think you have a shot. also, i wasnt too involved freshman year, but i was soph year so dont worry about that (i suggest a community service org or frat). my essay was really genuine and i just talked about all of the science opportunities that were available at penn. i think your essay really determines your application, so when you write it, dont just write about how you have no other choice besides transferring bc they are ending the program, but focus MUCH more on what opportunities are available at Penn and why they can help you,. if you just write that your program is ending, they’ll think “then why dont you apply to any other school with the same program”, ya know?</p>
<p>so anyway, i think you have a shot at the schools that you mentioned. just really work on perfecting your application and dont worry too much about your hs stats. people with wayyyy worse hs stats then yours have transfered to ivies. good luck!</p>