Prospective Transfer - How to Plan, How High to Aim, School Suggestions

Transfer Students
1

My freshman applications didn’t go as well as I had hoped, and I am looking to transfer colleges after either my first or second year. I will be attending UW Seattle this fall.

I know all the basic logistical things that go into transferring colleges, but I was wondering if anyone could offer advice in more nuanced areas of the process. Like things you wish you had known before you started the process, or things that you didn’t expect to play an important role in your applications, etc.

I know that UW Seattle is a great state school, but I know that if I don’t try for something more I’ll regret it later. I worked very hard in high school and, unfortunately, it looks like luck wasn’t on my side last year. I’m aiming at applying to schools like Columbia (my dream school), Cornell, Vanderbilt, USC (I’ve heard they give decent financial aid, is this true?), Duke, and Yale. If I transfer colleges, I need the school to be significantly better than UW to make the financial difference worth it (I pay in-state tuition at UW).

Here’s a little bit about me:

  • High school GPA 3.9 uw
  • IB Diploma recipient
  • I took the most rigorous course load available at my high school, full IB junior and senior year
  • 4 years of Spanish
  • I did poorly on my SAT (2100) and subject test, I’ve never done well at standardized testing
  • Very good ECs: theatre (extensive hours, 25 hours a week, 50 during tech week, stage manager of the year for two years), NHS, drama club secretary, rocketry club president junior year (27th in the nation in the TARC my sophomore year), international thespian society member (did a lot of charity work through this), Spanish club co-creator and president senior year, volunteer at the Pacific Science Center for two years, art/photography outside of school, outdoor enthusiast hiker/camper/backpacker.
  • I had a very hard year personally my senior year, which my counselor can explain in a letter if needed (if she’s even allowed to write one, could someone clarify this?)
  • Diagnosed with lupus my junior year after missing about a month’s worth of school from November to February, while still working hard to keep my grades up. Continued to have health problems my senior year, resulting in the discovery and removal of a tennis-ball-sized cyst from my throat, nothing serious but it is a part of my story. Lupus definitely challenged me, especially during my junior year, and continues to impact my life.

My counselor and teachers though my essays were great when I applied as a freshman, but I didn’t have a clear direction as far as what I wanted to study and what my long-term goals were. I’ve cleared that up now, and I am much more prepared to elaborate in that regard.

I will be studying biology with a focus on ecology, marine biology, and public health. Potentially minoring in either photojournalism or theatre. I’m determined to prove that arts and sciences don’t need to be mutually exclusive fields of study. One of my reasons for wanting to transfer is that UW doesn’t really offer much as far as theatre studies, especially in the technical fields that I want to study.

Some questions I have right away:

  • Should I try transferring my first year or wait until my second when I have more classes under my belt so high school isn’t as much of an issue?
  • Do I need to take the SAT again (subject tests as well)? I’m pretty sure even if I wait until my second year to transfer, colleges will want me to report my score. Will they want my subject tests too? I know I’ll be busy with college but if it really is important I can make the time to study and take it.
  • Colleges want to know why a student wants to transfer to them. Do you have any advice for how to write this type of essay? Obviously I need to say more than “this is a great school”. I have some personal reasons for wanting to transfer that go beyond academics, but writing them down would take more time than I have right now.
  • Are there any schools I should look at that aren’t on my list?

Thanks for your help!

2

Your priority should be doing as well as you can in your college courses. The super selective schools will only be realistic to transfer to with very high college GPA (even then, they would be considered reach for everyone). In addition, at Washington, biology and public health are competitive admission majors (there are minimum GPAs to apply, but they do not guarantee admission to the majors). The drama major there requires a 2.50 GPA to enter the major.

If your GPA is not good enough to get into your major at Washington, you may have to make backup transfer plans to a less selective school where your intended major is not a competitive or selective admission major, or choose a major at Washington that is not competitive or selective admission.

For financial aid, check the net price calculator at each school, but also check whether their financial aid for transfers is the same for frosh (some private schools may not offer as good financial aid for transfers).

What is the actual reason for wanting to transfer, or why you are disappointed with attending Washington? There appear to be plenty of courses in the drama department: http://www.washington.edu/students/crscat/drama.html .

3

Thank you for your input! I completely understand where you’re coming from. I know it will be hard, but I want to give it my best effort. My priority will be doing well at UW and building a network there, but as it stands right now I would still like to transfer eventually.

One of my reasons for wanting to transfer is the location and the social aspects of the school. I went to high school near Seattle, and at least 20 people from my graduating class are in my dorm, many of them living on the same floor. I know college is going to be different, but to me it will always feel a little bit like high school because almost 250 students from my class are also going to UW, many of which are also studying biology. One of my main reasons for originally applying for schools out east was to get away from what I know as familiar and start over. Personally, my high school experience wasn’t too great aside from my time spent in the drama department (it’s cliche, but its true) and I was really looking forward to getting a fresh start.

UW does offer a good amount of theatre classes, but they do not offer a minor in theatre as far as I’m aware. I am considering pursuing theatre professionally, and Seattle isn’t comparable to the east coast for theatre in regards to networking and job opportunities - especially compared to NYC. As someone heavily invested in theatre and the arts, the NYC and Boston area has been a dream of mine for a very long time and I really want to give it one more shot. I enjoy being in a big city - but I also prefer small class sizes. UW lectures are typically 300+ people, and transferring into any of the schools I mentioned would almost guarantee small classes.