Questions about transferring to CAS

Colleges and Universities A-Z New York University
1

<p>Hi everyone,</p>

<p>I'm a senior international high school student and will be graduating by the end of this month with both New York State High School Diploma and IB (International Baccalaureate) Diploma. I have several questions about transferring to NYU - College of Arts and Sciences. Well, before going into those questions, let me clarify my situation for a bit.</p>

<p>At first, I didn't plan to go to any college in the US at all. Since I've decided to do the IB Diploma, I aimed my goal to the UK and didn't apply to any the US colleges by the deadline of January 1. At that time, everything went pretty well; I got accepted into my UK firm choice school -- The University of Manchester (Manchester Business School) However, last 2-3 months I suddenly changed my mind about going to college in UK. Well then, my parents asked "so what's next?" </p>

<p>I knew it was pretty late to change my mind and started taking SAT and applying to the US colleges in the middle of february. I knew I missed all the chances for getting in the US top colleges. But that's the only thing I could do, so I decided to ask my counselor for help and applied to 6 schools for Economics BA. Fortunately, I was accepted into everywhere I applied to -- NYIT, Suffolk, U of Illinois Springfield, U of Wisconsin Green Bay, Pace, and Indiana University at Bloomington. I'm not very sure yet where I will be attending this fall. Honestly, I love being in the city. (Well, maybe you guys could give me a suggestion.)</p>

<p>Last three weeks, I went for a luncheon and tour at NYU. I really like the atmosphere, environment, and everything there. These elements have led me develop a strong feeling and passion of getting into NYU. So I came up with four major questions about transferring. Some of the questions may seem foolish, but bear with me guys. I just want to make sure and gather all of the information as much as I can.</p>

<p>Firstly, what classes should I take exactly? Should I just take a core liberal arts courses, or should I just declare my major and take Economics classes? -- I asked my counselor; however, he wasn't pretty sure about it. He said that it would be better to take a core liberal arts courses because it's universal, and all (or almost all) credit could be transfered. On the other hand, if I declared my major in the first year, some of credits would not be able to transfer since different universities have different courses. And on the NYU website says that all transfer applicant to CAS have to declare a major. I'm not exactly sure if eventually in the freshmen year I decide to take liberal arts courses and undecided major, would this be an obstacle for transferring? </p>

<p>Secondly, is it possible if I wish to transfer to NYU in the second semester of my freshmen year? It says here on CAS page, "The most competitive applicants to the College of Arts and Science are those who have completed a minimum of one full-time semester of college/university coursework at another accredited institution." However, on the regular transfer page says, "Our most competitive applicants will have completed at least 32 credits/points of liberal arts coursework by the time you would enroll at NYU (equivalent to approximately one year of full-time study)." This one is pretty ambiguous and confusing.</p>

<p>Thirdly, in accordance with the second question, this leads me up with a question how many credit will I make in the first semester and the whole freshmen year for core courses of liberal arts? and how many credit will I make if I decide to go with Economics BA major? It doesn't have to be an exact number, I just want to know it approximately because I went on some transferring threads and saw many people had a significantly different number of credits. Some earned 45 credits in their freshmen year, some earned 32 in their first semester, some earned 24, and some earned 18. Nonetheless, they were accepted into NYU anyways.</p>

<p>Lastly, I've heard that if I chose to transfer as an incoming sophomore, I do not need to submit SAT Score, is that true? On the other hand, I would still have to submit SAT score if I wish to transfer in the second semester of my freshmen year. Though, this one needs to be clarify. It's from an unofficial source, so I wouldn't believe it thoroughly.</p>

<p>Here is my stats</p>

<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>] SAT/ACT breakdown: 630 CR 680 M 630 WR (Not impressive. I took it in January, plan to take it again this october.)
[</em>] SAT/ACT Superscore: 1940
[<em>] SAT IIs: Never take any of SAT IIs.
[</em>] TOEFL: 106 (iBT)
[<em>] GPA (Unweighted): 4.00
[</em>] GPA (Weighted): 4.4/4.7 (My school uses this as a class rank standard.)
[<em>] Rank: 6 out of 170 (Top 3%)
[</em>] IB: Not done with the IB exams yet, but was predicted for 39
-English A: Language and Literature HL (6)
-Spanish Ab Initio SL (5)
-Economics HL (6)
-Business and Management SL (7)
-Math SL (6)
-Biology HL (6)
-Theory of Knowledge (A/7) Presentation 19/20, TOK Essay 37/40
-Extended Essay (A)
[<em>] Leadership Positions:
-Vice President of School's MSG Varsity Club (12)
-Leader of school's Culture club (11-12)
-Leader of Business and Economics Tutoring club (11-12)
-Leader of Math game at local elementary school (11)
[</em>] Awards/Honors:
-Outstanding Academic Performance (10)
-Winner of School Founder's Scholarship (Worth $40200 for 2 years) (11-12)
-School's Headmaster List (11-12)
-President's Award for Educational Excellence (GPA 4.0 or higher) (11-12)
-President's Award for Educational Achievement (Biology HL) (12)
-Will graduate with both NYS HS diploma and IB diploma with high honor. (12)
[<em>] Other Extra-curricular:
-iOS and BlackBerry Operating System Developer -- received over 300,000 clicks of download in 3 months. (9-12)
-Community Service over 500 hours (11-12)
-Volunteer teaching Math, English, and Computer during Summer 2012 (11)
-School's Photographer/MSG Varsity Club's Photographer (My work was aired on MSG Varsity Channel along with my friends.) (12)
-School's News Anchor/News Reporter (12)-
-Writer for School's Literary Magazine, MSG Varsity, and Yearbook club (12)
-School's Yearbook Committee (12)
-Vice President of school's MSG Varsity Club (12)
-Leader of school's culture club (11-12)
-Leader of Business and Economics Tutoring club (11-12)
-Leader of Math game at local elementary school (11)
-Drama Club's photographer (12)
-School's Blog Admin (12)
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Essays: Strong, reviewed by 2 English teachers.
[<em>] Teacher Recs: Strong, I believe.
[</em>] Counselor Rec: Strong
[li] Hooks (if any): International Student, maybe?</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] Will Apply for Financial Aid?: No
[</em>] Intended Major: Economics BA
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant):
[</em>] Country (if international applicant): Thailand
[<em>] School Type: Private Boarding High School
[</em>] Ethnicity: Asian
[<em>] Gender: Male
[</em>] Income Bracket: ~400,000
[/ul]</p>

2

<p>I’m no professional, but I think it would be a match for you.</p>

3

<p>Additionally, you could always consider taking a gap year. </p>

<p>Remember, non-transfer students receive better FA at pretty much every school, so in terms of cost savings it’s (almost) always best to enter a school as a freshmen rather than a transfer. </p>

<p>Your GPA/Class rank are excellent, but your SATs are a bit low. The application process for NYU in regards to SATs for transfer students is a bit hazy. The website technically says you need to have completed a year of study at or before you apply to NYU in order to not submit SAT scores. NYU says the following:</p>

<p>“If you have not already completed one full year of full-time college or university enrollment in liberal arts and science courses by the time you submit your application, you must meet the same standardized testing requirements that are outlined on our Standardized Tests page for Freshman Applicants.” </p>

<p>So, you may have to submit SAT scores if you apply any time during freshmen year either for spring or fall entry. </p>

<p>Transfer admissions for first term freshmen students is very competitive (in fact, transferring into NYU is more competitive than getting in as a freshmen; with first-term freshmen students being more competitive than others). NYU says the following:</p>

<p>“Transfer admission for students currently in their first full-time semester of college work is highly competitive. Because in-progress coursework is unlikely to be sufficient enough to evaluate a transfer application, the focus of the evaluation will be primarily based on one’s high/secondary school performance, though mid-term college/university grades will be expected.”</p>

4

<p>Thank you for replying NYU2013.</p>

<p>I know my SATs are not that impressive and like I said, I plan to take it again in upcoming october. </p>

<p>In my opinion, the application process of NYU is pretty hazy though. I have two of my friends got accepted into CAS for International Relations BA with SATs of 1920 (Latino/Woman) and class rank of Top 2% and 1980 (Asian/Woman) and class rank of Top 14% and one of my friends got accepted as a sophomore into CAS as well. In the meantime, the other two of my friends also got rejected from CAS for Economics BA major. They both are asians and got SATs of 2190 with the class rank of Top 2%. So I’m not really sure where is the standard, but I believe if I have SATs over 2050 would be a safe for me.</p>

<p>Well, taking a gap year was in my consideration; however, I talked to my parents and realized that it would be pretty risky and sort of a waste of time. I would totally feel devastated if I took a gap year and got rejected from NYU. Also, since I am an international student, it would be ostensibly hard for to get any financial aid from NYU. (Well, I would say FA is not really necessary for me because I plan not to apply for it anyways.) </p>

<p>Recently, I called and checked with NYU undergraduate office and asked them for a few questions. Firstly, they said that they do not accept students who wish to transfer to CAS in their second semester of freshman year. They said that if I wish to transfer to NYU, I would have to finish Liberal Arts and Sciences courses in my first year with at least 32 credits. (Also, they said that I don’t have to do or take a specific major courses in the first year.) However, students are exempt from submitting if they are transferring to NYU as incoming sophomore. Well, I think it’s still ambiguous though since on the website it says for all colleges except Tisch and Stern, students can transfer in their second semester of freshman year. I don’t really who can clarify this point for me.</p>

<p>Also, I will be attending University of Illinois for this upcoming fall and plan to study here for a year in order to obtain Liberal Arts and Sciences courses with 36 credits or higher. So I would be able to transfer to NYU in the second year if unfortunately they do not consider my application for Spring 2014.</p>

5

<p>If you were to take a gap year and do something productive (volunteer with charity in some way, for example) it could do nothing but help your application to any school. While it is difficult for an international student to get FA, NYU has recently made it easier for international student to access at least some institutional aid. </p>

<p>SAT scores, GPA and class rank are all relevant factors in NYU admissions, however, because NYU has so many qualified applicants they can only accept oh-so-many and every year admission becomes more and more competitive.</p>