<p>I'm a freshman at Northwestern; and I know it may sound weird, but I'm actually considering transferring to another school for personal reasons (fit mostly).</p>
<p>It's not that I'm finding the work tough, so I'd like to know if there are any schools at least on par with or better (not really trying to jump up a tier) that would be plausible.</p>
<p>I'm fairly sure I'll be able to land a 3.8-4.0 GPA.</p>
<p>I never did so well on the SATs, in the 2100s. (Is this a huge factor as in regular admissions?)</p>
<p>I had a 4.3 in high school with the full IB diploma.</p>
<p>Any suggestions?</p>
<p>I've considered these schools for transfer: JHU (Never applied), Columbia (EDed, deferred, rejected) or Brown (RDed, rejected)</p>
<p>Is it possible to transfer into a Cal or UCLA from a private university? (I understand most transfers are cc transfers; I'm also out-of-state)</p>
<p>By the way, how much does it matter that Northwestern is on quarters? Should I be looking into schools on the quarter/trimester system?</p>
<p>I know this isn't a usual case, but any advice/suggestions would help. Thanks.</p>
<p>Dude assuming you get a 3.8+ you could get into alot of schools equal and better than NU as a sophmore transfer. I def see Cal as a possibillity assuming your not applying to Haas.</p>
<p>i dont think it matters if u are on a qt system if you stay at nu for a year b/c the number of credits should be equivelant...if your looking at ivy i know dartmouth is on a qt system</p>
<p>I wouldn't be worried about your SATs because you did very well on them even for a school of Northwestern's calibre. Also, SATs are supposed to show how well a student will do in college and you have a 3.8-4.0 so I'm sure they will have a very small effect if any. My sister goes to Northwestern and my brother goes to JHU so I've seen/spent some time at both. My sister complains about the people at NU sometimes but my brother loves JHU. Baltimore isn't as nice as Evanston but JHU still seems like a happier school. I suggest putting UPenn on your list.</p>
<p>Seeing as how I'm targeting schools that are at least on par with NU, I feel like I should see if I can improve my SAT scores; do transfer admissions recommend, or see it as a positive thing, if I take it again this year?</p>
<p>Also is there any impact, positive or negative, on transfer admissions if the schools you're applying to are schools you've already applied to and been rejected by during regular admissions?</p>
<p>As a rule, SAT scores become decreasingly relevant as you make your way through college. As someone already said, they are a tool to predict future college performance. If you've already proven yourself, why do you need an aptitude test to "predict" what you've already accomplished? Personally, I don't think it matters enough to warrant taking them again just to gain a few points.</p>
<p>As far as applying to schools you've already been rejected by, I certainly don't see any negative effect this would have. If anything it shows persistence. They'll probably pull your old file and look for any marked improvement. A 4.0 from NU would count as such. Good luck.</p>
<p>Oh, BTW, make sure you look up the numbers regarding transfer admits to the UC's. Very, very hard to get in out of state.</p>
<p>How important are evaluation letters from professors and the dean?</p>
<p>Most of my classes are lecture courses so there's very little chance to get to know your professor let alone the dean of your college. How do I go about asking for these letters?</p>
<p>And lastly, I read that UC only accepts transfers with 60 credits, which apparently is junior status. Is this true?</p>
<p>
[quote]
How important are evaluation letters from professors and the dean?
[/quote]
Very important and usually pretty pro forma, respectively. Check the Transfer Admissions 101 thread. All (or almost all ;) ) the info you need on the recs issue and lots of others.</p>
<p>Unless things have changed, JHU doesn't require SAT scores for transfer. So ck the websites for each school you're considering. Still low transfer acceptance rates, but you are very well qualified.</p>
<p>For the UC's, there is always the issue of being out of state. It's possible, but it sure doesn't help your chances.</p>
<p>I believe the letter from the dean you're referring to is just a letter confirming you're in good standing at the school. (No suspensions, discipline problems, etc.) It does not have to be a personal letter; in this case your lack of a relationship w/ the dean is a good thing.</p>
<p>Also, most schools realize the difficulty of getting to know a professor that teaches a large lecture. If a TA is able to provide you w/ a rec, that will suffice.</p>
<p>Letters of reccomendation may well play a pivotal role in your admissions decisions, seeing as how you've only accumulated a handful of credits. Give them as much info to judge you by as possible.</p>
<p>Thanks for pointing out the transfer admissions 101 thread, Andale. It was very helpful.</p>
<p>I have a few more questions. Is major a factor in transfer admissions? I'm currently undeclared and looking into a lot of different fields for my major. Would it be to my advantage to declare a major?</p>
<p>And when is a good time to get started on these applications, meaning when should I be registering into their online applicant services and commonapp?</p>
<p>By the way, I'm sorry if these questions have already been asked numerous times; I've never thought I'd be considering transferring so I'm absolutely new to the process.</p>
<p>The major can be a factor at some schools; eg, impacted majors that don't have room for transfers or -conversely - majors which need more students. I have definitely seen the former and am just speculating on the latter.</p>
<p>Some schools are very specific about which majors are "open" on their websites; others you'll need to study the websites and/or communicate by phone/email or in an interview to figure this out.</p>
<p>For <em>most</em> schools, you can start registering any time and don't need to rush - as many have March~ deadlines. BUT, as someone pointed out, the UCs have an early deadline (tomorrow, I think :eek:). McGill has an early deadline for Part 1 of the app (or did in previous years). So you really need to start looking at specific school websites for that.</p>