Stanford Transfer - Questions

Transfer Students
1

<p>I am starting my transfer application to Stanford from Cal. A great college professor recommendation is on the way (really hard to get one at Cal!). I've got some questions about the rest of the process. Question 1 is most important to me.</p>

<p>1) Some people on this forum have stressed NOT to criticize the current school and rather to provide compelling reasons for wanting to go to the school desired. However, Stanford's essay question REQUIRES that I provide reasons for leaving my current university (Cal). "What are the specific reasons you wish to leave your present college/university, and what special attraction does
Stanford hold for you?"</p>

<p>How should I approach this? How far can I go in the reasons for leaving Cal? Should I still allocate most of this essay to the why I want to go to Stanford rather than why I want to leave Cal?</p>

<p>2) I will only have 1 semester's worth of grades. I'm doing extremely well in one class (A+), pretty well in 2 of them (A/A-), and not so well in the fourth (Don't know the grade at this point. It's borderline though. I blame it on a poor teacher who can't teach, but I can't say that in an app.) They will recognize that Cal's a lot more competitive than say, a CC, and that the grading is a lot tougher right?</p>

<p>My scores and high school grades were stellar. They can overlook a mistep in that one class and focus on the more important parts like the the essays right? Ivy's and other selective places overlooked a couple blemishes (B's) when I applied as a freshman, so I'm hoping that the same rule applies...</p>

<p>3) Activity-wise, what are they looking for? It has only been a semester, so they can't expect me to get overly involved even before I'm settled in, right? I've taken on an internship starting in the summer, and a paid job for The Daily Cal (newspaper) on top of my other EC's/passions.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance.</p>

2

<p>Did you apply to Stanford as a Freshmen?</p>

3

<p>Yes, and now, before you reply with what I think you are going to say...</p>

<p>I applied for SCEA last year, already a bad choice on my part. The pool was incredibly talented, and the director said that I would probably have fared better in the regular pool.</p>

<p>There are several parts of the application that I feel were weak, namely the roomate essay, a very important essay on the app. That combined with 2 so-so recommendations and only 1 stellar optional recommendation (which I should have made a normal one) sent me into the deny pile. </p>

<p>I realized these shortcomings put myself in a better position for my other selective school apps (MIT, Brown, Dartmouth, Princeton, Caltech ...). In the end, I got into everything I applied to but Stanford, MIT, Princeton.</p>

<p>After receiving these final admission decisions in the spring, I realized 2 big problems that barred me from these top choices. These were the things that I lacked that my best friends had that got them into those colleges. My best friend got into Stanford with the same grades, same scores, more interesting activities (Newspaper section editor, Robotics, singing group, NHS), and presumably, much better essays. You don't need 100 activities or anything out of this world to get in. You just need to come off as a genuine person, and he did just that. Anyways, the 2 problems I found with my application.</p>

<p>1) I only had decent EC's (Editor-in-Chief, dedicated musician, tons of programming, Tennis are the highlights), but not stand-out enough except for the EIC position. I could have gotten involved with more things, but I didn't feel that they were worth my time.
2) I lacked that "drive" and "initiative" that causes you to take life into your own hands.</p>

<p>Many freshman transfer applicants are very similar to what they were before, or that's what you are about to say. They get good grades in college, perhaps better than mine, get involved in something, etc. They are strong candidates like before, but they haven't really stood out and taken matters into their own hands. Maybe most importantly, I think I've realized what I've been missing all along, and even though I'm not a total turnaround, I admit that I lack the spice of those outstanding applicants and that I'll try and be a more proactive person.</p>

<p>As I said, I changed my routine starting in the summer and actively sought an Internship. Got that and that still continues to today. I made my summer more productive by attending summer school at Cal. Now that HS is over and that I have my own appartment, there is one thing I have that the bulk of Freshmen don't have - a kitchen. One of my life long passions that I never revealed is my passion for food and cooking. THAT's unique. That's not something you find in your typical applicant. I never had the chance to reveal this side to me before but now I do. </p>

<p>I'm not saying in any way that I'm getting in, but I have taken steps to change my course of life. I will portray myself as a much more compelling and unique applicant than before. I hope that in my essays, I can show my true passions and come off as a much more interesting person than the boring "I love programming" CS applicant I was before.</p>

<p>Sorry for the long post, but I had to let that out.</p>

<ul>
<li>Eliwood</li>
</ul>

4

<p>You should be honest about why you want to leave your current school, but you have to be careful not to sound like you're complaining. Most of my transfer apps required a letter discussing my reasons for leaving, including my dissatisfactions with my current school. I was honest but didn't whine. I said that I was looking for the more personalized, open, and intimate environment of a liberal arts college instead of the large university where I am now; that the large, lecture-oriented classes here aren't as engaging as the discussion-oriented classes at smaller colleges; and that I did not feel like I was being as challenged as I expected. Just use common sense.</p>

<p>They will look for substantial involvement in activities, especially since you're going for Stanford. If you can show that you're making a real contribution to your campus, you should be good to go. Joining the Unicycle, Hackey Sack, and Juggling Clubs just to make your list longer probably won't do the trick.</p>