Hello,
I am currently attending a 4 year college that isn’t rated at all, quite low. I attended this college due to the financial aid at that time and the optional offer of a special program; however, after attending I’ve came to realize that this school is not right for me in any way. All of the teachers work other jobs and simply read off of the power points, don’t respond to email or anything.
My eyes are set on transferring out, however, I have a few restraints that I am aware of.
The first and probably most prominent is my low ACT of 29.
I am not looking to attend some crazy Ivy League, but I’d like to attend a higher-tier college as I am now very academically driven and after setting curve after curve I want to challenge myself.
The issue is that recently my Biology teacher has been creating tests that even he doesn’t know the answer to and just pulls them from somewhere and regurgitates the scantron with that answer key. Despite my 10 hours a day studying for these irrational tests, I’m not sure I’m going to be able to hit a 93% (4.0) for the class.
That’ll set me back for the semester as I’ll no longer be able to get a 4.0, but a 3.93.
How badly will this impact my transfer ability to schools such as Washington University, Case Western, UCLA, University of Washington, Georgetown, Vanderbilt, Tufts, etc?
Also, should I re-take my ACT even though I’m a freshman in College? The reason for my low ACT is because I was too ignorant about my score back in the day and didn’t realize how poor my 10th-grade attempt was. Would the colleges even consider a new score?
Thank you in advance for your advice.
Those are some pretty elite schools you list-- is there anything in the middle (between your current school and those) that you would consider? What is your state of residency and how do you plan to afford a different school? (Transfers typically do not get much aid). I do not know if your ACT is relevant or required-- depends on how much credit you have accumulated so far in college. I doubt one Bio grade A versus A-/B+ will matter much unless you are a bio major.
Some schools will not accept ACT/SAT scores taken after HS. You’ll need to do some digging for the schools on your list.
Yeah, I guess I’ll re-structure to schools that I really want to attend. For me, my dream would be Case Western. My residency is acclaimed in WA and my major is probably going to be something Business Related. I would like to end up in the health care field, which is why I’m taking these courses (Chemistry and Bio) but this one bio teacher is screwing everything up. I’m passing Chemistry with flying colors since it’s pretty straight forward.
I did get into UC Davis and other schools around there but turned them down to attend this school due to the deception in money given and how good the school sounded from the academic advisor.
The only reason why I am so stressed is because I know that my 10th grade ACT score of 29 is very poor and that any deviation with my GPA will hurt my chances.
Gotcha, is there by chance an organized thread or list on this forum that has specifications for schools posted? (Transfer related)
Contact the schools you are interested in and find out if they need your ACT – many will not. Also, look at their transfer rates, this will give you an idea if you even have a shot. Talk to the Biology teacher that you are having trouble with. You mention money – do the schools you are looking at offer aid to transfers? As someone else mentioned, those are all elite schools. How is your state school in the areas you wish to study?
Case Western has a transfer profile page. Googled it.
@nocah213: Are you a Freshman? The California UC’s only take Junior level transfers so you would need 60 semester/90 quarter units before transferring. They do not consider your HS grades or test scores, only what you have accomplished after HS graduation.
As stated above, you need to look at the transfer requirements to determine what you need to do in transferring into these colleges. If you are a CA resident, then I would suggest to go a CA Community college to complete your transfer requirements if you are targeting UCLA.
I am not a California resident, so I guess I’ll cross off UCLA. Do you think Case will be a huge reach for me? Also, what are your thoughts on re-taking the ACT as these schools usually have 30+.
For example, for Vanderbilt what would I need to do score-wise to tailor my app towards them?
Getting in really doesn’t mean anything unless you can pay for these schools. Have you talked to your parents to see if you can afford these schools? Going out of state is triple the cost. A private school is even more expensive, which means, unless your parents have $250k cash lying around, you’d have to co-sign massive amounts of private student loans to afford them. That kind of debt will crush you financially.
If you’re looking for a little more prestige, and you’re in Washington, you should consider UW and WSU.
Generally, once you have started college, your current performance is more important than your ACT. While you might have entered with a low ACT, showing that you can handle college coursework is what will be important when transferring. My advice would be to either complete a year where you are and then try to transfer, or, as advised, go to a community college. If the motivation to attend your current school was financial, then you need to carefully screen the schools you are looking at transferring to. Additionally, a lot of schools, especially those of a higher quality, won’t consider a transfer applicant who doesn’t have at least a year at their current school.
You have valid reasons for wanting to transfer, but I would word them more carefully on your application and in any interviews. You do not want to come across as a “victim” of incompetent teachers. It could be said that you just don’t understand the material and lacked initiative to take the necessary steps to make up the difference. Whether or not that is true, it will hurt your chances of transferring. Imagine going to a job interview and telling the interviewer that you are looking for a new job because your current boss is an idiot. You won’t get the job. The same likely applies here. I would focus on the idea that you want to challenge yourself and you realize that your current school just isn’t a good fit.
Hope this helps!