<ul>
<li>Repost from the Transfer thread, didn't realize this was here x) -</li>
</ul>
<p>Essentially, I was a fool. When I was applying to colleges last year as a senior in high school, I didn't take things too seriously and assumed I could coast into an Ivy based on a high GPA and good test scores. My essays were pitiful (good writing, but focused on things I thought would make me look interesting, not things that were relevant or that I cared about too much). I wasn't too keen on leaving my state anyway, as I thought the status quo could suit me - but I never realized how much I wanted to leave until after it was too late to apply. </p>
<p>Now I've been in university (ASU) for three weeks, and I'm becoming fairly certain that this isn't the place for me. I know that there are a lot of opportunities here, and I don't want to jump the gun and judge too quickly, but ... I know that I cannot spend two or three years here (if I stay, I graduate early) and be happy with where and what I am. So, I'm mulling my chances of transferring - I know it's crazy hard, and I know that there's a slim chance I'll get in anywhere. But I'm intent on making the best of this year at ASU before moving on to bigger and better things, and I have faith I'll make all work out. That being said, I need some help from you all: chances, advice, really anything that could make this work.</p>
<p>Schools I Want, Not In Order!:
1) Johns Hopkins (excellent Neuroscience program, great pre-med, perfect size, Maryland is beautiful)
2) Duke (another great Neuroscience program, awesome research center with UNC, basketball!, great school)
3) Washington University in St. Louis (interesting Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology program .. don't know too much about it other than that)
4) Brown (an Ivy!, another good Neuroscience program, known to be liberal, seems really .. eccentric and diverse and creative haha)
5) UNC at Chapel Hill (my 'safety', good school in general, CogSci Minor, supposedly a good town!)
6) Northwestern?
7) Still looking for another safety, actually, to keep my options open .. although I'm trying to keep to the East
8) Maybe two or three LACs .. </p>
<p>[High School Stats]</p>
<p>GPA: 4.0 unweighted, 4.88~ weighted (unsure)
Rank: 1/540ish
SAT: 2330, 800 Math, 790 Writing, 740 Reading
SAT2: 760 US History, 790 Math II, 700 Chemistry
Course Load: Most rigorous through HS</p>
<p>AP Scores:
Eng. Lang - 5
Eng. Lit - 5
US History - 5
US Govt. - 5
Spanish Lang. - 5*
World History - 5
Biology - 5*
Macroeconomics - 5*
Microeconomics - 5
Physics C Mech. - 4*
Chemistry - 4*
Calc AB Subscore - 4
Calc BC - 3</p>
<ul>
<li>indicates that the test was taken without an actual AP class but rather an honors section</li>
</ul>
<p>Awards:
- AP Scholar with Distinction
- National Merit Finalist
- Kathryn&Grady Gammage Scholar [ASU/Barrett Scholarship]
- Intel Employee Child Scholarship </p>
<p>Clubs/Activities:
- Academic Decathlon [9 - 12, Captain 11/12] [Team was 4th/5th in state when I captained, and I placed 2nd/1st individually in the state in those years, as well as in the top 10 in the country my senior year at the state level]
- Science Olympiad [9 - 12] [Couple of individual medals in my senior year]
- Pride's Peak [9 - 12, VP 12] [Gifted program of 300 kids on campus, helps coordinate activities, spread information, and raise funds specifically for honors programs / etc.]
- Swim and Dive [9 - 11] [Quit senior year after some health concerns, meh.]
- World Scholar's Cup [12] [4th in US Nationals, represented US at Internationals in Singapore and got intellectually dominated by crazy Singaporeans ... but I'll gloss over that]
- Speech and Debate [9 - 10] [Public Forum Debate, not much to say here.]</p>
<p>Organizations:
- National Honor Society [11 - 12]
- Language Honor Society [10 - 12]
- Mu Alpha Theta Math Society [9 - 12]</p>
<p>Community Service:
- Hospital Aid Secretary, Surgical Floor [9 - 12] [250+ hours at the major hospital in my town, got to see some pretty interesting stuff and learned a lot about hospital culture; I cared for patients, cataloged medical records and medicinal records, assisted nurses and doctors in both a secretarial and an assistant's capacity]
- Relay for Life [9 - 12] [Participated in the walk, helped raise funds and form teams for the gifted program of my school during my senior year] </p>
<p>Work/Internship Experience:
- DemiDec Internship [12] [Reviewed testing/academic materials that a 3rd party company makes for Academic Decathlon]
- Summit Internship [12] [Assistant to a 5th/6th grade classroom all year, helped prepare and execute lessons, administer tests, bonded with all these crazy kids]
- Keystone Aftercare [12] [Supervisor to 60+ first through sixth graders in an after-school program, although I'm not sure if this would go on a resume or should ..]</p>
<p>Extras:
- Classical Indian Carnatic Music [4 - 12] [Proficient on the mridhangam - a drum - and I've played in a few concerts in my area - really my single connection/lifeline to my culture]
- Practicing non-denominational Christian [9 - 12] [Probably not really too important, except that I grew up in a Hindu family and my converting caused some .. ruckus. It's been a really shaping force in my life, though. I didn't write about it during application season last year, because I was a bit reluctant to expose something so personal, but I realize that it is a guiding light in my life and that might be something important to .. show, I suppose. Am I right/wrong?]
- Independent Study in Cognitive Science [12] [Started this for a year-long self-study project in school, but grew more interested in a general sense - I explored the mechanics of human intelligence, and came up with some synthesis ideas from reading a bunch of material.]
- Interests in Philosophy and History [10 - 12] [I'm in love with history and I'm branching into philosophy ..]</p>
<p>[College Stats]
Status: Freshman
Major/Minor: Genetics/American History
Credits: 60+ [Lots of AP, I know this won't transfer]
Course Load: Rigorous
- Organic Evolution [300 Level]
- Organic Chemistry I [200 Level, eeps!]
- The Human Event [Honors, Barrett-required]
- American Revolution [400 Level]
- Freshman Composition [100 Level]</p>
<p>Clubs:
- Music Therapy Organization
- Philosophy Club [May start an Honors one]
- Politics and World Affairs
- Model UN [Uncertain about this one]
- Quiz Bowl [Uncertain about this as well]</p>
<p><em>Possible</em> Internships:
- Trying to look into getting a BioDesign internship in genomics
- Looking into shadowing/interning with a neurology department at Barrow Neuro. Institute
- ^Of course, these are just maybes at this point in time, although I'm doing my best to try and figure out how to make them work.</p>
<p>Recommendations:
- I'm developing really good relationships with two of my professors right now, and I'm thinking that I'll end up asking them for recommendations if I try to transfer. I also have close relationships with some other teachers back at my high school who are all really articulate and know me extremely well (one's like a grandfather/father to me), so these should be great.</p>
<ul>
<li>I'm really interested in Neuroscience and Genetics (and perhaps combining the two with a double/major). But half of my heart is dedicated towards humanities as well, and I can't help but have an interest in Philosophy and stuff like that too! My main problem with ASU (even though Barrett has been good to me) is that I feel like I'm drowning in a sea of faces, and that ASU doesn't care to differentiate me from anyone else. I don't feel like there's a commitment to teaching or to learning, I don't feel like anyone else around me (student-wise) cares too much about their education. I don't expect deep, intellectual conversations every night or anything silly like that, but .. I just want to be with people who've obviously applied to a selective university (and gotten accepted) because they, to some degree, care about how they're being educated. Rather than be grouped with thousands of students who honestly go to ASU because it's cheap and accessible and a 'great party school.' </li>
</ul>
<p>Right now, I'm tending towards Hopkins as my absolute dream school (never visited, but I've fallen in love researching about it) and Duke as my other 'dream school' (for uh, more personal reasons? and because of its Neuroscience program). But I know both are crazy, crazy selective and I'm honestly not too hopeful that I'll get in, because I know there are a lot of people who want those limited spaces too. Anyway, I'm rambling and you're the best if you've read through all this. Chance me, please? And give me advice on how to make myself shine through my essays on my applications. I really, really want this all to work out.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the help, btw! (:</p>