Rejected by MIT, now what?

Transfer Students
1

<p>Hi, I'm a 12th grader in Taiwan, and is currently attending Taipei Municipal Jianguo High School. Since I didn't take the SAT nor the ACT this year, I had limited choices, and MIT was one of the top schools that
didn't "require" one. Unfortunately, I was still rejected by MIT recently. Therefore, I'm thinking about transferring to top schools in US like Ivies, MIT, Caltech, Stanford, U of chicago...etc after my freshman year. </p>

<p>Here are my stats:
GPA: 3.9(we don't offer AP courses)
SAT Subject: 800 for Math II, Physics, Chemistry
TOEFL: 104
IELTS: 8.0
AMC: 139.5/150(2012 12A)
I'm going to take the ACT this june. </p>

<p>ECs: (the year I took part in)
International Earth Science Olympiad Training Camp(11th)---failed to make
the national team to compete in IESO
Captain of Earth Science School Team to compete in the preliminary round of
the National Earth Science Olympiad
Harvard Prize Book(11th)
Class Basketball Team<em>5 on 5</em>(9th, 10th)---1st/30(9th, 10th)
Class Basketball Team<em>3 on 3</em>(11th)---1st/30(11th)
Class Choir(10th, 11th)---3rd/30(11th) </p>

<p>I know that my stats are rather "solid" than "stellar", and my ECs are no doubt sub-par. However, I believe that there are some characteristics or qualities which I do possess can't be shown through stats and ECs, and I don't want to give up getting into those schools.</p>

<p>Schools I also applied to:
U of T(mathematics and economics)---pending
National Taiwan University(mathematics)---pending </p>

<p>If I made it to both unis above, which school should I attend for my freshman year concerning the acceptance of those elite schools I'm aiming? Though u of t is a school that most US unis may be more familiar with, but
does that really mean that it has an advantage over NTU? I've heard that they bell curve grades, and it seems to me that it will be even harder to have GPAs near 4.0. However, I'm also afraid that those elite schools will be
biased against international schools, especially unis in asia. Could anyone please give me some advice ? </p>

<p>BTW, do the schools I mentioned have a preference between SAT and ACT? </p>

<p>Looking forward to any reply!!!</p>

2

<p>What are your career plans? Different schools are better for different things, so if you have a goal in mind it would be a good idea to share it.</p>

<ul>
<li>The Gracken</li>
</ul>

3

<p>Ivies accept very few transfers (those that accept them at all anyway), and besides, they aren’t the be all to end all of schools. Around May, the Space Available survey comes out and tells all the universities and colleges that still have freshman slots available- you could apply to those if you’re still interested in going to school in the U.S. </p>

<p>Hope this helps!</p>

4

<p>"What are your career plans? Different schools are better for different things, so if you have a goal in mind it would be a good idea to share it.</p>

<ul>
<li>The Gracken "</li>
</ul>

<p>Sorry for not responding immediately, due to some personal reasons. </p>

<p>I don’t really have a specific goal at this moment, but I’m sure it’s gotta be something quantitative or something realted to engineering.</p>

<p>Could anyone please give me some advice? I’m wondering if I should even try transfering!</p>

<p>Thanks alot!</p>

5

<p>I think UofT would be a better choice. Canadian universities are probably the best known to a US adcom among all international unis. Despite the bell curves, I’ve also heard a lot of success stories of people thriving there (Asian kids with a 4.0 GPA, etc). The system is more similar to American ones and it gives you a leg up in the transition process if you are to go to a US uni eventually. That being said, if you go to NTU, you’ll stay at a place you’re more familiar with, and can avoid the fuss of adapting to a new environment and thinking about transferring at the same time.</p>

<p>I think another way to look at it is considering which school you’d rather go if you can’t manage to transfer out. Which one is more worthy of spending your 4 years at? After all, transferring is a risky game, esp for the ones you listed.</p>

6

<p>Do you mean that concerning the acceptance of us top universities, no matter tansfer or grad school, u of t would be a better option?</p>

<p>If yes, suppose that I got a act score of 36, and have a gpa of 4.0 in my freshman year, which is basically the best case scenario, with my stats and ECs above, what are my chances of getting admitted by those schools(taking the fact that I’m asian, and an international student into account)? I understand that it ain’t easy task, and I’m considering whether to transfer or not, so please give me some advice!!!</p>

7

<p>My advice might not be so useful since it’s from another prospective transfer student. Students from top Asian universities actually do pretty well in terms of graduate school admissions. I’m not sure how exactly they compare to Canadian ones though. </p>

<p>I think major college-level awards/leadership positions/research experience, plus good essays and recs, are needed to get into the schools on your list.</p>