<p>With all of the success on this forum, I think we sometimes take for granted the actual "reality" of the transfer process. It's always discouraging to see those low transfer acceptance rates and the amount of acceptances that occur on this forum can be a bit misleading. </p>
<p>Back in Fall of 2007, I decided that it was time to transfer. My HS stats were respectable holding on to a 3.7 GPA, 1420 SAT, Top 10%, honors awards coming out my you know what. My college GPA was a 3.87 (around there) and I was in the honors program at a Top 50. Recommendations were well written, and if you ask some of the veterans on this forum, my personal statements were nicely done. I was a bit of an nontraditional applicant and I even had a story that most would agree was quite compelling. With all of that in mind, I set out to chase my own dream of attending Dartmouth. </p>
<p>The result: two years of applying as a transfer with 10 rejections and 3 wait lists. </p>
<p>Both years, my applications were edited the "T". It just did not seem possible. And when I sat down and asked myself how I managed to get the big denial from Dartmouth as a junior transfer, after being so certain that my application was perfect and the interest was there and the recommendations were stellar and the GPA was within range etc. etc. etc., it finally occurred to me just how stacked the odds were against me. This is reality, my friends, and PLEASE remember this when you go through this awful process. Some of you will not have the success stories you all dreamed of.</p>
<p>The transfer process is the worst process I can think of. The amount of time and paper work involved is tiring and just the mere thought of transferring can cause one to feel a lot of anxiety among friends and professors. College isn't high school and most of you will be juggling 18 and 19 credits trying to prove how worthy you are of admission to these top schools. Asking professors you barely know for recommendations for a "transfer application" can be intimidating, and you will lose a lot of your free time that could be spent doing other things. All of this, wasting what should be the time of your life, chasing acceptance rates that hover around 8-9%.</p>
<p>I am not trying to discourage anyone from chasing their dream, but please remember this "reality" when people post on this forum. Most posters here do not criticize to be pricks - they are just trying to explain to you just how difficult the road ahead is for you.</p>