<p>Hello everyone- I’m attempting to transfer to Oberlin as a Spring 2009 Junior transfer from a state school in Texas. I was accepted to Oberlin out of high school, but decided not to attend. Briefly, my GPA in HS was 3.8, my GPA now stands at around a 3.6, my SATs were Math 630, Writing 790 and CR 800. I was in the top 5% of graduating class. I have a few EC’s ,but not of any real value out of high school. Three issues here:</p>
<p>1.- I already submitted my “Why Transfer” essay online. It is a bit negative toward my current school, and I’m a little worried about that. With each negative, I did mention how Oberlin would be better, but still…Would it be feasible to try to write another transfer essay or just let this one be it?</p>
<li><p>Besides an alumni interview and monthly emailing of the Admissions office, is there anything I can do to increase my chances of acceptance? My Why Oberlin essay was good, I’ll have at least two glowing recommendations, and I think they really know I want to attend.</p>
<li>My three best recs are coming from two high school English teachers who taught me dual credit classes and my high school principal. The one from my current professor isn’t going to be so great b/c he doesn’t know me as well. Is this going to hurt my chances?</li>
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<p>"The one from my current professor isn't going to be so great b/c he doesn't know me as well. Is this going to hurt my chances?"</p>
<p>well, having a good rec. is better then having a mediocre one, so its not a great thing</p>
<p>you should NOT be sending in recommendations from hs profs. three years out of high school...i highly doubt that they will allow that, or if they do, look keenly upon it...</p>
<p>it is never a good idea to trash your current school in your why transfer essay...the essay should not be about your old school, it should be about the school your trying to get into...the underlying implication is that the main factor for your transfer is that you don't like your current school, not that you like oberlin...</p>
<p>also, is 3.6 your current gpa at college? if so, you will have a lot of trouble transferring to oberlin from a cc...</p>
<p>It's a state school that I'm currently attending, not a community college. Yes , the gpa is currently a 3.6- it might come up by the end of the semester, but I really don't want to say that it will for certain. The teachers from high school taught me in dual credit and AP courses and will write excellent recommendations- so, while they will certainly not be as well regarded as a professor's rec, I'm not sure why admissions would look down on them completely- could you explain a little more? By "a bit negative" , I didn't mean that I completely trashed my current school, just that I backed some of my reasons for wanting to attend Oberlin with what exists there that doesn't at my current school. Do you know anyone who has transfered into Oberlin? Thanks for your reply- I appreciate it.</p>
<p>as long as your not sounding like the impetus for your decision to transfer is because of your current school...you really have to make sure it sounds like that the reason your transferring is that you want to be at oberlin, even if it you think that is the case already</p>
<p>not only would they look down on them, i would really highly doubt they will accept hs recommendations for transfer admissions at this point...the fact that your hs teachers were teaching classes where you recieved college credit i dont think matters...i guess the line of thinking is that two years into college you should be able to get a couple of prof. recommendations...high school is way in the past at this point, this is a different level, impressing your 11th grade english prof. is of little relevance at this point....again, check with admissions but that may be huge and really make it impossible to transfer in</p>
<p>yes, i know a few people who transferred to oberlin here...most of them came from strong liberal arts colleges with similar academic rigor (amherst, sara lawrence, lehigh)..i dont know much about them other than that</p>