Hey everyone,
I’m currently a bioengineering student in the University of Michigan- Dearborn, and I’m looking to transfer to Harvard, Yale, MIT or University of Michigan ( Ann Arbor). Do you have amy advice on the application process, what these colleges look for, how to best present myself. Please don’t reply if you’re going to tell me my chances are slim, it’s hard to get accepted etc. I’m already aware of that. Thanks
What is your academic reason for Harvard?
Harvard, Yale, and MIT look for academically distinguished individuals, that’s a given. However, transfer students who matriculate into these institutions have a strong academic reason for transferring to these schools, and show that they can meaningfully contribute to these schools’ narratives.
Essentially, you can’t be applying because Harvard, Yale, and MIT are Top 10 as ranked by US News. Chasing prestige may be a valid personal motivator, but that reason won’t fly in a transfer application.
Ask yourself, “What does Harvard offer that my school doesn’t?”. That question is much harder to answer than you think. I recall @DadTwoGirls on a recent thread talking about academics at a top school:
“These top schools do not have any secret or magic or easy way to impart knowledge into the brains of their students. If you learn more at a highly selective university, it will be because the classes go faster, there is more homework and the homework is more difficult, tests are more difficult and the grading is more difficult, and they generally expect a lot more (including a lot more work) from their students.”
Besides all of that, does anybody ( hopefully someone who successfully transferred to the aforementioned schools) have any advice, for example, is it a good idea to talk to the professors you’re thinking about working with or getting guidance from? Not just that specifically, but anything that might be important to know (besides the obvious academic case)