<p>Apparently transfer applicants to Harvard and other prestigous schools are required to send in the SAT scores. Since the highest i've gotten was only 2040, and SAT2s are bad too, should i just retake it?</p>
<p>I don’t know about Harvard but Brown (and every single other school I applied to) told me not to bother retaking the tests. Of course it could help, but weigh it out with everything else you have going on in your life. Personally, retaking wasn’t worth it. I had a ton going on in my life the past year or so and taking the SATs or ACTs would have just added to the chaos. If you feel that you can spare the time, energy, and nerves for the tests-- go for it. If you feel that it might take away time from your studies or applications-- don’t bother. </p>
<p>Btw, you’re talking about transferring for NEXT year, right? Obviously it’s way too late to take them for this round of transfer apps.</p>
<p>oh, yeah. I’m talking about next year. I’m currently only a high school senior. But since i got rejected from Harvard, which is my dream school, I’m planning to work harder in college and transfer to Harvard either next year or the year after that. And i just went onto the the transfer student page on Harvard website and it says most transfer applicants have above 600 on verbal and math section of SAT. But i only got 570 on reading…So that causes me to start thinking if i need to take it again. </p>
<p>Besides, i’ve just looked at a couple of threads about transfering. Apparently people are saying that colleges look more at your HS GPA and SATs and ECs if you apply as an incoming sophomore(which for me would be next year). If that’s 100% true, does that mean i would definitely get a much greater chance of getting accepted if i worker harder in college(by get a 4.0 GPA and keeping up with my ECs) and apply in the end of my sophomore year in college?</p>
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<p>That’s because when you apply for a soph transfer you turn in your application after havig completed only 1 semester of college, do you think they would weight that more than 4 yrs of HS??</p>
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<p>Way above 600, look at the 25% level for fr applicants (about 700) and then figure that transfer admission rates are even lower than for fr.</p>
<p>“If that’s 100% true, does that mean i would definitely get a much greater chance of getting accepted if i worker harder in college(by get a 4.0 GPA and keeping up with my ECs) and apply in the end of my sophomore year in college?”</p>
<p>I would avoid using words like ‘much greater chance’ when the university accepts 10-20 people. 
While your chance would definitely increase if you improved your stats, a 2% acceptance rate means that even the most qualified applicants can get denied. Your best shots at getting such a low acceptance rate is capitalizing on a hook that makes you special. Universities use transfer admissions to increase the diversity in their student body. </p>
<p>It’s not as simple as GPA and ECs anymore; you really have to stand out in the application pool. Retake the SAT if it makes you feel better, and a higher score can never hurt you, but I can assure you that if you really want to get accepted, you will need to put something on your application that says “I’m one of a kind”. At this point, numbers are going to cease to represent you. There are many 2400s and 4.0s but only so many lollipop14s. </p>
<p>P.S. please don’t misread my tone and think it’s hostile. You just have to see that transfers are so much different from freshman applications, especially at this level of acceptance. I bet I just sound that way because I may apply to H in the same year as you, but make no mistake, I’m 100% behind you! :D</p>
<p>In other words, even if you have great high school credentials, a 2400 SAT, a 4.0 in college, and leadership positions, you will not get into Harvard. You need something that pretty much cannot be found anywhere else. If achieving a 2400 SAT is an issue (which it likely is since you are graduating in 2.5 months), you are far, far behind. Hard work isn’t enough for Harvard. If you succeed in getting whatever credentials you are determined to get, however, you may be able to transfer to a great school. (Although the point made above about something making you stand out is relevant in top schools in general.)</p>
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<p>Haha thanks for your advice. I think it helps a lot. And i’m definitely not taking your tone as hostile. Rather, i think it’s genuine and honest. =D </p>
<p>I totally agree with your point about “making yourself stand out”. I guess that’s the part i really missed when i did my application for Harvard four months ago. In both the common app essay and the supplemental essay, i made a great deal about the two activities(actually one of them is about summer volunteering) i have done instead of presenting the more unique side of me. Cause i always had this notion that my chance would definitely be greater if i showed the Harvard adcoms more of my achievements. I guess this is totally misleading since there are so many others in this world who have much greater achievements than me. </p>
<p>Since a better score can never hurt me, i guess i’ll most likely retake it to not only increase my chance by a tiny bit, but show Harvard how much i’m determined to go there. I hope that helps…</p>
<p>BTW, lenoradusk, are you a high school senior too? I’m just curious =D since you mentioned that you might transfer in the same year as me…</p>
<p>hey lollipop
since you said that both your SAT I and your SAT II’s are bad(relative to Harvard’s ‘standards’), when are you considering taking them?</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure the May deadline is over and you can only take one or the other in June.</p>
<p>Do you plan on taking the other in Oct, when you’re in college?
Do you know if Harvard still accepts them?</p>
<p>Do you really want to go through all this just to try to transfer to a school with a less than 1-2% transfer acceptance rate? Is it really worth all the effort?</p>
<p>To some people it is. What she should do is try as hard as she possibly can to get into Harvard, but also apply to schools she has a better chance of getting into. There’s plenty of great colleges that aren’t Ivies.</p>
<p>I would definitely focus energy on other schools. The time you spent preparing a Harvard application could have been better spent preparing another application…these things take time. That time’s gotta get distributed wisely. Ah well, just my two cents. </p>
<p>I mean, if you don’t have an intensely compelling reason for transferring to Harvard and some amazing accomplishments, you’re probably not getting in. SAT’s are just like a foot in the door.</p>
<p>edit: I don’t mean for this post to be negative or discouraging. Rather, I want you to realize that there are plenty of other wonderful (and prestigious) colleges that you’d actually have a good shot of transferring to with better SAT scores and good college grades. Look into them.</p>
<p>I’m glad you found my advice useful, lollipop. 
To answer your question, I’m a bit tough to label (and it would spam up your thread if I tried to do so) but I guess I’m best described currently as a high school student who’s concurrently enrolled in community college.</p>
<p>I’m glad that you sound confident that you have an option to retake the SAT, since a higher score can never hurt. Just FYI, I believe I heard that Harvard accepts the SAT up to and including the January before the application period. However, I could have mixed up the freshman and transfer dates, so you should check should you end up delaying your retake. </p>
<p>It’s good that you can learn from your freshman application. I happend to be stalking your posts earlier, and I couldn’t imagine going through what you did with the optomistic attitude you have. You could emphasize that in your application, as well as the many unique traits and talents no one on College Confidential can know or make judgements on. I know that the begining of preparing for Harvard transfer daunting process. Feel free to PM me if you have any further questions, as I’ve spent many a sleepless night looking up info about Harvard transfers. ;)</p>
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<p>Ahhh your question just totally scared me…hmmm maybe i should call them and ask…
If Harvard doesn’t accept the test scores taken after high school, i guess i won’t take it again since i don’t think i’ll have time to prepare for it while studying for 6 AP tests…</p>
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<p>I do think i have an intensely compelling reason, at least according to my standard of being “intensely compelling”. And i just was wondering what you would consider as an “amazing achievement”? Like getting first place in an international competition? I certainly don’t have something like that i suppose…</p>
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You definitely made a point here. I understand your reasoning. However, sacrificing one month of fun time to study for SAT really isn’t a big deal as compared to what I’ve gone through.</p>
<p>Thanks for your advice anyways. And i’m definitely looking into other good schools as well =D haha i’ll be just as happy if i get into Penn or Duke, for example. I’m just asking about Harvard specifically here because it’s been a dream of mine for years to study at Harvard. But i certainly understand that Harvard isn’t the only good school out there.</p>
<p>Hey lolli I totally get where your coming from. I to applied to Harvard and got rejected but it’s my dream school and so I want to try to transfer next year. Since were both applying we should try to help each other out. By the way what school are you going to?</p>
<p>@ivyreject2010
we should definitely try helping each other out!! :)</p>
<p>And since i got rejected from all the very top schools and i only applied to one safety…I’m going to my safety school, which is U of Washington. What about you?</p>
<p>lolli and ir,
Have you learned any lessons from your fr admissions experience? Do you plan to have a balanced list that includes more safety and match schools when applying to transfer?</p>
<p>Loli: I’m not sure where im going yet, I’m deciding between NYU and BU. I’m still waiting for my NYU fin aid but I’m pretty sure ill end up at NYU.</p>
<p>Ento: I understand your point but as of now I’m only planning on applying as a transfer to Harvard. It’s my dream school and so im not really planning on applying to many schools as a transfer student.</p>
<p>@entomom, i’ve definitely learned lessions…but i don’t really see the point of applying to more safety and match schools when i transfer…</p>
<p>The only reason i applied to only one safety is that i knew for sure i could get in with my GPA and SAT and ECs, especially it’s in state for me…Therefore, there was no point for me to waste more money on additional safety schools.</p>
<p>As far as match schools, i didn’t really find any that I would ever want to go to…I understand your point, but isn’t it worthless to apply to a school that you know you would never consider going even if you got accepted? Plus money is an issue too…</p>
<p>Sure it’s worthless to apply to a school you would never consider going to. My point is, when does one become a little more realistic and realize that there are many schools that can give you an excellent education, including the one you’ll be attending next fall? Starting fr year with a “plan” to transfer to a school like H in a year is very close to as foolish as applying to a school you don’t want to attend. Give your school a chance, you’re only a fr once. </p>
<p>Sorry, but after many years on this board, it’s hard to see students spend their energy on trying to get to an extremely distant ‘dream’ school before even taking advantage of all of the opportunities that their current school offers. Also, the transfer process is much tougher than most people realize in the sense of how much you invest in activities and friends at your current school, filling out applications while doing school work, what to do about roommate situations for soph year when you don’t know where you’ll be, etc. </p>
<p>I don’t mean to pick you out in particular, many of the recent threads (after fr decisions) have been in this vein. It’s not that I think that transferring shouldn’t be an option, just that it should be the last one after you’ve tried everything else to make your school work.</p>
<p>Best of luck.</p>