<p>...but had a measly 3.2 GPA in high school (and no leadership positions), what would I need in college (a CUNY), in terms of ECs, essays, and the like, to be a competitive transfer applicant to top colleges like Columbia, NYU, etc.? Answer both in terms of sophomore year and junior year. Try to be as specific as possible; I've already heard enough of the "apply junior year because your chances will be greater." Perhaps someone could also give me a made-up list of ECs that could be competitive? I honestly don't know what "leadership position" really means besides being the president of a club or something...</p>
<p>when your transfer junior year, most schools tend to not look at your HS GPA/SAT etc. so 2 years in a CC is almost like a clean slate which is why everyone says your chances will be greater. </p>
<p>in terms of EC’s, this is really too vague. you can put just about anything in this.
ive seen someone put “Grandma’s caretaker”
what you want to aim for is EC’s that reflect your major. IE psych club for psychology.</p>
<p>heres a list of good EC’s (just several i can think of atm)
-student government
-eagle scout
-mentor
-volunteer
-internships
-officer positions in clubs
-student conferences
-list ALL rewards, even if its a measly deans list
-research conducted (if any)
-scholarship nominee </p>
<p>to be competitive i would consider all of those to be on your EC. and you can pretty much sit back and wait for an acceptance letter. esp if you maintain a 4.0 and transfer junior year. but give or take, I only had…maybe about 4-6 of those. what really counts is how much you’ve actually contributed to something. If you were in psych club for 1 day, who cares. if you created psych club and made it recognized by the nation for some fantastic or controversial research, then that is something you should put down.</p>
<p>OK, but would that really be enough? Wouldn’t my high school resume hold me back (even in junior year), since there are so many applicants with those ECs and a 4.0 but with better high school credentials? Keep in mind that I am talking about top schools here. Wouldn’t I need something more…spectacular?</p>
<p>What if I want to transfer sophomore year? How much more would I need to have? Would they not consider my high SAT score as an advantage if I apply for junior year? Shouldn’t I use that to be my advantage and apply sophomore year (assuming the 4.0 transcends the 3.2)?</p>
<p>What about competitions and contests? There have been some contests on my eye now (I’m still a senior). If I win some contests unrelated to my major (let’s say it is a writing contest), and I win like $10,000, would that really help me? Or do colleges only really want to see effort as opposed to skill?</p>
<p>@crazybandit - i think your overshooting this, but thats good. go to the NYU section and see what people got accepted with. thats your competition. </p>
<p>I saw the thread title and just laughed. Why people worry with those statistics is beyond me.</p>
<p>But then I saw your high school GPA, and yes, there’s reason to be concerned with sophomore admission. Which is why you should lean towards JR admission. They won’t care for your high school record much (broadly speaking) and will weigh your college credentials.</p>
<p>OK…first of all, I’m not asking particularly about NYU. I’m talking about top schools in general.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The problem is that I don’t know how to compare applications because most of them have better high school credentials. If I “match” their college credentials, I obviously am a weaker applicant because of my weak high school credentials. So how much MORE do I have to do–in college–to be just as competitive?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I always hear this but I never know what to take from it. I mentioned the 2400 SAT because that would be a GOOD part of my high school credentials, which would help me in sophomore admission. By recommending junior transfer, you are making the assumption that my 3.2 in high school will hold me back DESPITE my 4.0 in college, and that my 2400 SAT cannot salvage anything, and therefore should be ignored and not considered, as it is in junior transfers admission. Is this true, or not?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Still, I don’t know what to take from that. Yes, I have a better chance as a junior applicant, but do I have a good chance for top schools? Will they really see 3 semesters of college and look past 8 semesters of high school?</p>
<p>OMG, If you have 4.0GPA and do some internship, officer positions in clubs. You will be the most competitive transfer applicant. Stop worry. It’s not easy to have 4.0.</p>
<p>Your 2400 SAT probably wouldn’t salvage anything from middle ground schools as a JR applicant, no. I’m assuming though, that schools like Ivies demand SAT scores no matter what. In this case, then yeah, your SAT’s would matter regardless. As far as your HS record is concerned, I wouldn’t use the phrase “hold you back”. That implies that your HS record is a complete detriment and you’re going to get rejected when you apply to a top school. I don’t think this is true. When they see your college GPA as a JR applicant, they’re going to see drastic improvement. I suppose in the essay that you write, you can smoothly make note of this. Perhaps you can explain why you’ve been able to improve your grades so greatly, something along those lines. I’m no expert, man. I make inquisitive threads on here all the time. I’m just somebody who plans on applying with JR standing and an associates degree from a community college. My high school GPA was downright awful (2.7). My college GPA is a 3.8. The only school I have to formally apply to (because of articulation agreements with my CC and state public schools) is Northeastern, so I’m not shooting for the stars like you are, although it is a competitive school. </p>
<p>Of course top schools will weigh your high school record to some degree no matter what, I should have clarified that. Ultimately though, your college GPA means a helluva lot more. If you want to take a risk as a sophomore transfer, then why not? You’ll just be wasting application fees, but that’s alright. You may as well take a chance, and if that doesn’t work out, keep up your good scores and go in as a JR.</p>
<p>Transferring to a top school is complicated in that many people say the students who are accepted were competitive as high school seniors. I personally don’t know if that’s necessarily true. If you take the first 2 years of school to really apply yourself and get a 4.0 (which is not an easy feat, beware) it will be a good indication for the adcom. Many people on CC seem to forget that applications are taken in context; your stellar college GPA in contrast to your not-so-hot one hs one will demonstrate your growth in discipline. Your high school GPA in contrast with your 2400 SATs will demonstrate that you’ve always been bright, but you were a late bloomer as far as work was concerned.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t say that your hs GPA will wreck your shots, in fact I wouldn’t really even worry about it. Besides there’s really nothing you can do to change it now.</p>
<p>The most important factor in transferring to a “top school” is having a compelling reason. There are thousands of kids competing for a small amount of spots. You need to prove that yes, you are academically able to handle the work but more importantly; you need to be there for a) a program they offer b) the resources they have that you can’t get anywhere else and c)the way you are dying to take advantage of those resources. This is generally demonstrated in ec’s etc. So for example: Columbia has the perfect program for you in Histroy. Your CUNY doesn’t have that strong of department in your interest area. You’ve maxed out the opportunities there: you’ve joined the club related to this, you’ve interned with an organization that does that, you’ve worked with a professor who’s specialty is close to yours…but that’s about as far as you can get. You then must point out that Columbia’s history program will let you grow more than CUNY’s will and that you are willing (and have a proven track record) to take advantage of the opportunities.</p>
<p>You’re screwed if you DON’T do what TheRippa said. Not explaining a bad record in high school is essentially ignoring the gigantic elephant in the room. But remember that when you explain your bad high school record, you should take responsibility for your actions and not just make silly excuses about your failures. The adcoms should see that you’ve matured and changed from how you were in high school. Once you’ve shown this, you then have to explain how your newfound maturity has shown you that you need to leave your current school (be it for certain offerings in the target school, certain lackings of the current school, etc).</p>
<p>^that is pretty obvious, but what’s not obvious is whether it makes me a competitive applicant. Won’t I still be looked down upon no matter what I say in my essays (meaning high school grades take precedence over essays, even in college)? And what if I don’t have an objective reason (e.g., family issues)? Can it be something mundane like not being able to find myself in high school? The question is whether it would make me a competitive applicant, not whether it HELPS me, because it is obvious that it does.</p>
<p>In this situation in particular, are essays more important than they are in freshman admissions, then? more important as in it is a bigger deciding factor?</p>
<p>What I can’t help but ask is, you got a 2400 and went to a CUNY? O_O</p>
<p>Also, I’ve skimmed the thread, there are a few things I wanted to put out there. Some colleges won’t even look at your high school records. The ones that do will put more emphasis on your college work, especially since you’ve spent 2 years at college already. A 4.0 shows that you’re able to handle work, especially college-level work.</p>
<p>Honestly, I don’t know if essays are more or less important than they were during freshman admissions. Your essay is the only way you can portray your voice and personality (unless there’s an interview.) Otherwise, they just see stats. Let the admissions counselors know how badly you want to attend their school. </p>
<p>Don’t fret too much about numbers. I had an interview with an admissions counselor about 2 weeks ago and was accepted to the university at the end of the interview. I laughed and told her that I was ready to explain why I had done so poorly my first semester in college while doing so well in high school. She also laughed and said that she understood. We’re human, and they’re human too.</p>
<p>Colleges aren’t that cruel. They get that students slack off in high school and later do their best to make up for it - it’s not unheard of. In fact, a lot of universities love seeing the upward trend because it proves that the applicant has demonstrated a large growth in maturity and discipline. </p>
<p>HOWEVER, I would be cautious about applying to Ivies and Stanford with bad high school grades. I’ve heard of people who do amazingly well in community college (I’m talking about 4.0’s here) but not getting accepted. If you don’t have a really good excuse like a poor upbringing, then you have to work really hard on making yourself stand out in some way - whether that’s through clubs, internships, or awards. Also, PROVE to them that their school is the best for you. Explain to them through words and actions (joining clubs, jobs, etc.) that they have a program that no other school can offer. You can’t just rely on having good grades to get into such good schools.</p>
<p>At the same time, a 2400 SAT score may sway them. I can’t really speak for them, so you have to try your best at everything. Really.</p>
<p>That being said, there are plenty of other good schools besides Ivy Leagues that you can transfer to. NYU, UCB, and UCLA are all very respected universities that are more likely to accept transfer students. (Plus they ignore high school records after a certain point.) And if it really matters to go to an Ivy League, then work really hard in undergrad and try to get into one of them for grad school.</p>
<p>No, your low high school GPA should not hold you down. I emailed the Columbia transfer admissions folks and they told me they like to see progress.</p>