Hello,
I am a current freshman at another Ivy League (not HYP), and I have applied to transfer to Brown as a sophomore starting fall 2018.
I have a pretty good SAT and ACT (2280, 34)
I have done pretty well on most of my AP’s
[QUOTE=""]
AP Physics C Mechanics: 5
AP Physics C EM: 4
AP Calculus AB: 5
AP Physics 1: 5
AP Chemistry: 5
AP English: 4
AP US History: 3
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My extracurriculars are good but not stellar. Played high school football, tutor Arabic, doing a help-hotline at my school this year, and I work 2 jobs at the moment.
My understanding is that the biggest thing that Brown looks at is GPA (correct me if I’m wrong?). My problem is that my high school GPA and college GPA sort of suck. My high school gpa is a 3.4 UW and a 3.97 W. My college gpa is a 3.68.
The main reason my high school gpa was so low is because I played/practiced football for probably 15-20 hours a week, year-round. I am not a stellar football player, so I wonder if this would be an adequate explanation as part of the “additional information” section to explain why my gpa was so low.
In all honesty a big part of the reason I got into my current school is because I lived in the same city as the university and I suspect they have a big bias for that.
All said and done, what are my chances for getting into Brown? Would my SAT/ACT/AP/EC along with my current school sort of make up for my GPA? How big of a handicap am I working with? What can I do to show that I am not a “smart slacker”?
Thank you!
Important to know: Why do you want to transfer to Brown ?
Need to communicate why Brown is the place for you & why your current school is inadequate for your needs.
Ah, you’re right
I explained in my essay that what I want to study is a very niche and interdisciplinary subject, the open curriculum would suit me perfectly.
But I am sure that is what every applicants purpose revolves around.
Did you apply to Brown as a senior, and if so, are you really writing anything substantively different?
If you didn’t apply in high school - why did your interest change that you now want to transfer to Brown?
If you are at another ivy, the issue isn’t really academics, the issue is fit.
I did not apply as a senior. Does that help or hurt my chances?
I am trying to transfer because Brown is much more in line with my needs (mainly the lack of a core curriculum, or sector reqs) for my intended studies. At my current school, it will be basically impossible to do the same - I would need to do something along the lines of a dual degree with a double major and a minor. Brown is just more practical.
I think I did a good job of demonstrating all this in my essays.
It would help if you had something they needed i.e. women who want to do engineering or student from North Dakota. I actually got accepted as a transfer in the 70s but attended another ivy. Good Luck, transfer is tough, but you never know.
So why didn’t you apply as a senior? Have your needs changed significantly? Why?
These are questions I would be asking if I were reading your transfer app. Do you answer those in your essays?
And what can you bring/contribute to Brown? I guess anyone can say HYP is more in line with their needs but that alone wouldn’t get them admitted. Remember transfer admission rate is even lower than applying as HS senior.