I’m putting in a Transfer application to RPI for Fall 2018. I have a 3.92 GPA in Civil Engineering at Clarkson University.
Clubs:
-Associated General Contractors
-Clarkson University Student Association
-American Society of Civil Engineers
-American Chemical Society
-Steel Bridge
-Humans vs Zombies
-Admissions Tour Guide
-Potentially tutoring
-Potentially either research or being a TA(I’m in talks to do research, had an offer to be a TA but funding got pulled so that’s in limbo at the moment)
High school I didn’t do as well- 3.4 GPA, 1430-ish on SATs, 32 on ACT. I was sick for a month in Sophomore year, and as a result took a huge hit to my GPA(I wrote about this).
What are my chances for acceptance/Financial/Merit Aid?
@Aran888888 Hello, good luck on your application, I hope you get in. 3.9 is great and I’m sure will be seen as acceptable by RPI. You should know though that the concept of transferring from one college to another is commonly thought as a money saver for many people. For example doing two years at community college and then transfering to Harvard. But the truth behind the concept is pretty bad. The first is that transfer students typically get less aid than students that start as freshmen at that college. They give the most aid to freshman, secondarily to waitlisted people, then lastly to transfer students.
The other thing is that when you go from a non stem college to a high tier stem college like RPI, the rigor may be a shock to some. This second point shouldn’t dishearten you because people tend to build momentum and get on track with the rigor of the rest. Since you’re already in Stem at Clarkson you should be ok.
Your highschool transcript and scores will probably not be considered except to see that you graduated. What they concentrate on is the classes you took at Clarkson. You need to show that you took classes related to your major and that you have atleast Precalculus done. If you got Calculus 1 done even better. Only those courses where you got atleast a C- or better will be considered for credit transfer. To see what courses have already been approved for credit transfer check [this site](Rensselaer Undergraduate Transfer Course Guide).
There are many sources that you can find that talk about how transfer students get less aid from their second school and the various reasons why that is but here is a [small</a> article](How Do I Transfer Financial Aid from One College to Another? | Fastweb) that covers the main points. Don’t give up on the idea though, it may be that RPI gives you fantastic financial aid, you never know unless you apply. Worse comes to worse you could always just turn them down if it isn’t enough.
I’m not looking at it as something cheaper. I already have a cheap safety, but I want to see what I can do with some better schools. I fully understand that my financial aid prospects are poor.
I figure I’m going from a STEM school to a STEM school, so it shouldn’t be too colossal of a change in rigor. While I’m expecting it to be a partial change, I’m still running with a lot of extra-curricular activities right now and can afford to drop some in favor of academics if I need to.
I didn’t perform as well as I liked in high school. I’m doing far better in college than I did in high school, and while my performance in high school left some doors closed, I want to see if I can reopen them through the transfer process and get to somewhere I feel I should be(It’s not that I think Clarkson is bad, I just think I can do better).
I have taken Calculus 1, Chemistry 1, a design/teamwork class(Engineering and society, focusing on the interaction between engineers and society and vice-versa, with a lot of team design built in), and two standard freshman courses. I will have taken Calculus 2, Chemistry 2, and Physics 1 as well as a Matlab course and a Psychology class by the end of this semester.
I got into RPI! I’m very happy to do so and will start taking a far closer look. Once I have financial aid information back, I will be able to make a more informed decision and see what I want and what I like.
@Aran888888 Congratulations! I give u a lot of credit to push yourself and take on the challenge to transfer. Wherever u land it sounds like u will succeed. Best of luck!!
Thanks all! Once I get a financial aid package from them I’ll be asking more questions; joedoe, I will probably take you up on that if I get enough money.