Should I apply to Stanford?

Transfer Students
1

<p>Hello, guys! Here I would like to ask some wise advice of yours. May be some of you aware of approximate chanches of being admitted as a transfer student to top colleges? I would appreciate your evaluation based on your experience and knowledge. Also it would be great to hear some advice for my case. So let me briefly describe my stats:</p>

<p>I am an international transfer from Russia and need full financial aid.
Currently I am in my freshman year at a top national university.
Last year I applied as freshman and was accepted to Northeastern U in Boston but without sufficient FA (Honors program + max scholarship of $15,000)
Last year I had 93 on TOEFL + 1860 on SAT (470, 800, 490)
Now I have 111 on TOEFL + 2020 on SAT (570, 800, 650)
SAT II is 800 math 2 and 780 physics
Currently I am #1 in overall academic ranking in my major of 280 students. My GPA is 9.9 out of 10 scale.</p>

<p>Moreover I have some nice achievments. The biggest one is that I fund raised more than $17,000 from strangers since I was accepted to Northeastern and did not have money to go there.</p>

<p>Now I am wondering where should I apply. I believe the weakest part of my application is my SAT scores.
I am scared that so few students are accepted as transfers. Moreover, being a poor international decreases my chanches even further. So guys, if you read this post and have a minute please share a peace of your valuable advice with me. What are my chances to be admitted to top schools?</p>

<p>P.S. Stanford is my dream school with 2% admission rate.</p>

2

<p>I hear Stanford is even harder for transfers than it is for freshman applicants. However, they do (I believe) prefer sophomore transfers to juniors, so you have that in your favor. I’m not too familiar with what a good TOEFL score is, but it sounds like you’re doing much better overall in college, and improvement is important for transfers.</p>

<p>I would definitely apply if I were you. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take, right? And if you get denied, you’re still guaranteed to get into a good school, so don’t worry too much. Stanford is VERY difficult to get into. There are a ton of students that apply with perfect stats that don’t get in. Admissions knows this. Its just the luck of the draw. </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

3

<p>Unless you used that 17,000 to build homes for the poor back in Russia I don’t see much of a chance getting into Stanford. </p>

<p>On a side-note. You should be happy you have even gotten this far. If you keep up the grades you’ll be competitive for a master’s program at Stanford. xopowo. </p>

4

<p>Go for it! I was reading an MIT article, and they have turned down people who have constructed a mini-nuclear reactor in their backyard, which they find it very encouraging for everyone else! So you dont need to “build homes for the poor” to get into Stanford. These selective colleges are looking for three things (among potential):

  1. Do well in school
  2. Be nice
  3. Have PASSION and be passionate about something.</p>

<p>It doesn’t guarantee you’ll get in, but I think you have a damn good shot, especially with your improvements! Please don’t hold yourself back, and go for it! Let us know if you get in!</p>

<p>I thought I had the bookmark for the MIT article, but if I find it, i’ll cite it!</p>

<p>ok I found it:
<a href=“Applying Sideways | MIT Admissions”>http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/applying_sideways&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

5

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<p>Raising money for yourself is not going to be viewed as an achievement.</p>