<p>Hey all. I couldn't find a Stanford 2008 transfer thread, so I thought I'd start one up.</p>
<p>Feel free to post about yourself, or share news about admissions this year. I wonder if it's too late to send Santa a letter asking for a lower freshman class conversion rate this year. (;</p>
<p>I'll start off.</p>
<p>I'm a "nontraditional" student. About a year and a half ago I realized that I wanted to pursue math academically, and so I enrolled in a California Community College with the notion of transferring on to a public university. I'm actually visiting an OOS university at the moment while I finish up my CCC work online. I was excited by the idea of attending Stanford, but I didn't have any relationships with my professors here so I wrote that off. Well, I think I've impressed a couple of my teachers in my upper division classes, so I decided to get their evaluations and put together an application.</p>
<p>GPA: ~3.8, including a few bad grades from my "aimless" days.
SATs: Pretty old, didn't update them. 760V, 560Q. That's a low math score, basically I was excelling in Calculus at the time and ran out of time on the test because I hadn't touched the stuff in three years.</p>
<p>I've got a real passion for math, and I think I've managed to express that in my essays.</p>
<p>I've got an application in to Berkeley, and with the huge class selection I would totally be fine going there. I've fallen in love, though, with the small class sizes and personal relationships at the smaller school I'm at now.</p>
<p>Who else is out there?</p>
<p>Good luck with that guys... right from the website.</p>
<p>Before proceeding with a transfer application, it is most important that applicants understand just how competitive admission is for prospective transfer students. Last year we admitted just 1.5% (a total of 20) of our transfer applicants, making the competition extraordinary. While we do not want to discourage transfer applicants, it is important that they have a realistic picture of their chances for admission.</p>
<p>Ouch 1.5%... doesn't seem transfer "friendly"</p>
<p>Eh, also applying to transfer. Slacked off in HS in Massachusetts, so now I'm at the University of Illinois (Urbana Champaign), but now I'm getting straight As and taking sophomore/junior classes (if I stay here, I'll graduate after my third year easy). I'm a physics major, and after my first year here I'll need one more class to fulfill a math minor, been nominated to the school Honors program, etc etc. Hoping to get in, see my other thread to comment! ("Transferring from University of Illinois @UC")</p>
<p>Best of luck to everyone else.</p>
<p>@Undeadpaladin,</p>
<p>That does concern me, but it's not quite as scary in context. If I understand correctly, Stanford shoots for about 60-100 transfer spots per year. I <em>think</em> that they try to hold some spots for transfers, unlike in some other schools where transfers only replace dropouts. Last year they had an unexpectedly high conversion rate on their freshman class, meaning that a higher than usual proportion that were offered admission accepted.</p>
<p>So, I can see a few possibilities. There could be a carryover from last year: less freshman and transfer seats than normal available. The high conversion rate could repeat this year without being accounted for in terms of offers given, once again resulting in fewer transfer seats. Another possibility is that they could "figure" on 60-100 transfer seats and estimate their freshman conversion rate correctly. Another possibility is that they could overestimate their freshman conversion rate in response to last year's, and have more transfer seats than usual. The final possibility I can imagine, though I haven't looked at historical numbers to back this up, is that applications could be reduced in response to last year's low admission rate. Of course, some of these possibilities are not mutually exclusive.</p>
<p>@Goshamoosy:</p>
<p>Good luck, man. (; I'm hoping to have my less than stellar HS career overlooked as well.</p>
<p>Stanford's app was the most fun to fill out.</p>
<p>I think Stanford is a waste of time unless you have a 3.95 GPA or above with a substantial number of credits. It's just too hard to get into with a 3.8 unless everything else is incredible: essay, ECs, work experience, diverse student (not from california; minority student; 1st generation to go to college), etc. 60-100 students is probably about the maximum they would accept in a year. I wouldn't be surprised if they only accepted 40 or so transfers this year. But best of luck.</p>
<p>Well, I've got a 3.91, from my credits I've got second-semester sophomore standing (I'm a freshman), I'm a Russian Jew from Massachusetts, I've been playing piano for 13 years, I fence (as in, with swords), I've held a few jobs (including a manager position at a radio station)...so, I think maybe I've got some hope? Hopefully?</p>
<p>Yea you definately have a chance. My 3.95 GPA wasn't science, i'm just saying you better be pretty damn-near perfect to get into Stanford, it is really rising as the best school in the country.</p>
<p>I don't think Stanford gives out the stats of its Transfer applicants, but that would be useful information, as the people getting rejected may be just a ton of students from California community colleges with 3.5s and what not.</p>
<p>Point well taken. I didn't care to elaborate too much because I'm not concerned with getting chances here, but I do have "incredible" work experience that gives me some hope.</p>
<p>And, yeah, I also wonder who the rejected are. I consider myself well qualified. Am I competing against 1300 other well qualified applicants...half that many?</p>
<p>You'll have a better idea in due time</p>
<p>Hey all.</p>
<p>I, like most people who have posted in this thread, am just a bit curious as to what my chances of being admitted as a transfer to Stanford would be. </p>
<p>I have a 3.97 GPA with I think 46 credits so far, plus 13 more from this semester. The 30 of the 46 credits were recieved from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, 16 were from a Study Abroad Program, and the 13 this semester will be from UW-Madison. </p>
<p>My high school GPA was a comparably modest 3.2. Definitely not up to Stanford's standards, but I am hoping that the "signs of improvement" will work in my favor. </p>
<p>I had an ACT score of 33. Not the best, but I think it should be somewhere close to the median. </p>
<p>I guess upon hearing the news of Stanford's generous 1.5 admittance rate last year I really started to second guess whether it was even worth applying. The application fee's are not cheap, and its hard to scrounge up recommendations when most of your lectures have 300 people in them. I am only going to apply to one school; Stanford or Penn. I would prefer Stanford, but if it turns out my chances are next to none, I'll just go ahead with my UPenn application. </p>
<p>Thanks for your time, and sorry about the post length.</p>
<p>ECs, work experience, good essay writer, etc???? Any connections to Stanford? First-generation college student in family? Minority? What would be your major at Stanford? Give a kitchen sink version of your stats- anything and everything that applies to the process and I can give you a good answer.</p>
<p>This was in Stanford's FAQs, too:</p>
<p>How much weight is given to performance in high school for a transfer student? </p>
<p>This will vary from one applicant to another. First, much will depend on whether there is a significant difference in the level of performance in high school versus college (certainly it is always better to be headed up rather than down). Second, much will depend on whether you are applying to Stanford after only one year of college or after two years of college. In the latter case, much more weight will obviously be placed upon the academic performance in college.</p>
<p>If you are currently a second-semester Sophomore, which I assume you are by your credit amount, your high school performance doesn't mean a whole lot. Your ACT is good, so definately don't worry about that. But, like I said, give a thorough list of everything...</p>
<p>for reasons i wont elaborate here, i can't submit my high school counselor secondary report, although i am able to submit my high school leaving testimonial and high school full academic record. stanford needs the secondary report right? is there any way to get around that?</p>
<p>Ah, my mistake. Thanks a lot for the reply.</p>
<p>Yeah, I am a second semester Sophomore. I've already transferred once. I don't know if that will harm my chances, but I had to get out of Minnesota after 19 years and not a lot of places have mid-year admission.</p>
<p>As far as ECs go, in high school I was on Soccer, Track and Golf, part of the International Affairs Club, a Model UN participant, active in my school's habitat for humanity chapter for two years, and volunteered at the public library and with the after school program at my local elementary school for three years. Furthermore, I have worked various jobs since Sophomore year including soccer referee, soccer coach, pizza place (never do this.), masonry assistant, and day camp counselor. In college, the only addition I can make is that I am currently a member of WISPRIG. Not a particularly impressive list but I hope it will suffice. </p>
<p>I have no connection to Stanford. Neither of my parents went to college, but several of my cousins have. I am not considered a minority, so no help there. </p>
<p>Writing, particularly in essay style, is a relative strength for me. Additionally, I have several friends who can be considered good editors, so I am feeling pretty comfortable in that department. </p>
<p>I hope that this list gives everyone a better idea of my chances, as I feel completely in the dark at this point and quickly running out of time to submit an application.</p>
<p>Thanks to anyone who took the time to read this.</p>
<p>Your ECs and work experience are good for high school. What is WISPRIG? If this is your only EC since being in college that will hurt you somewhat. And if you have no work experience (i wasn't clear on this) in college, that also doesn't bode too well for you, though it is not a HUGE factor. Also, what is your major? If you have a very common major than it will be much harder to get in, than if you one that is rarely chosen. The fact that you already transferred once in college, on paper, does not look good. It shows that you are perhaps inconsistent in your decisions. If you could effectively elucidate the reasons for the fact that you already transferred once, perhaps in your "Why do you want to go to Stanford" short-answer or essay, that will help you in this department. Give the rest of the information above, so I have a better understanding...</p>
<p>Sorry, it is actually WISPIRG, I made a bit of a typo. Its the Wisconsin Student Public Interest Research Group. Basically, its a student group that organizes volunteer efforts to help relevant social and environmental problems. This site Our</a> Mission - WISPIRG Student Chapters can offer you a better explanation. I have work experience since being in college, but I haven't held down a consistent job while in classes. I did tutoring at the YMCA for a few months my freshman year but stopped once winter arrived. My major is international relations. I am not too sure how common of a major it is, but I do know that Stanford has one of the best programs in the country in that department. I figured I could incorporate that in as a small part of my why do I want to go to Stanford essay. I also was involved with a group called AWOL (Anti-War Organizing League) but was unsure whether it would be wise to include that.</p>