TRANSFER chances for ELITE SCHOOLS??

I’m currently in my second semester at University of South Carolina majoring in finance.

HS Stats:
3.0/4 unweighted gpa
3.7/4 weighted gpa
31 ACT
2 sports and some volunteering
summer job junior->senior year and after senior year

College Stats:
3.9 gpa
Completed 15 credits, taking another 15 now
accepted to transfer into honors college
Part of investing club
play intramural soccer
require financial aid

I will be applying to all of these schools:
USC (Southern Cal) - Marshall
Vanderbilt - Economics
Michigan - Ross (lol)
UVa - Economics in CAS
UNC - Economics

I’m obviously most concerned about my high school gpa. Although it’s low overall, my junior and senior year grades are much higher than my first two years, which should work in my favor. My upward trend looks like this: 2.6 freshman year, 2.9 sophomore year, 3.5 junior year, 3.7 senior year. Only UVa has extensive course requirements, but I’ve seen incoming sophomores get in. What are my chances at these schools? Thanks!

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You seem to be an average transfer applicant- did poorly in HS for whatever reason, but did far better in undergrad. I would say academically, you are doing very well- you’ve clearly gotten it together- but you are applying to elite schools, and business schools at that. That combined with decent but nothing special EC-wise, I don’t think your chances are that great.

@yonceonhismouth what if I have a solid gpa after a full year and I apply for fall 2018? Would I be in better shape?

I think your GPA is solid, that’s not your issue. I just don’t see anything outside of the classroom that makes you stand out.

@yonceonhismouth ok then would I have had a better chance this year if I was in another club?

You’re in investing club and play soccer. It is my personal opinion that another club wouldn’t help you that much- what would help is seeking out leadership and demonstrating initiative in your ECs, which I just don’t see.

@yonceonhismouth I can’t exactly become a leader in a club as a freshman

While @yonceonhismouth makes some great points, I respectfully disagree, save for the part that business schools are especially tough. I think if you wait a year and apply for junior standing, you could have a decent shot at elite schools if your GPA stays where it is. Again, though, I am an arts and science transfer, not a business one, so I am clearly no expert.

You certainly could- I have a friend at a LAC, currently a freshman, who is president of the investment club. But I didn’t mean exactly that you have to be “President”- you need to show leadership, for example organizing an event, or asking for some responsibility in the club.
I’m just translating what I have learned in the freshman admission process to your scenario, that top colleges like USC, UMich and UVA are looking for involved students with interesting stories.

@SeinfeldFan1 The problem is that elite schools are going to get a lot of applicants with great GPAs. What differentiates them? The activities. That’s why I’m telling OP that top schools are probably going to gravitate towards students with the top grades/scores PLUS the interesting involvement in the community.

Wow are you me? Lol not only do I have almost the exact same stats as you but I’m applying to the same schools you are applying (with the exception of UVA) to as an economics major. I’m applying as a junior though because I also had bad HS GPA and the rule is that the farther away you are from your hs years the less it will matter.

A couple of things to keep in mind:
-UVA has a very weird economics requirements and I actually didn’t apply for that reason, I suggest you check it out: http://economics.virginia.edu/major

-Ross is extremely difficult to get in to

-If you apply as a junior transfer (you have more than 30 credits), USC won’t even look at your high school record.

-Financial aid varies based on school, so I would use each colleges net price calculator online (which all colleges are required to have by law)

Since I have almost the exact same HS GPA as you, I would heavily recommend staying one more year so that they won’t look at your HS record. Because right now all they have to go on is 1 semester of work, if you kept that 3.9 up for 2 more semesters, you would have an excellent chance at getting in to any of those schools, but being totally honest with you right now, most of those are reaches for you (with maybe the exception of UNC) solely based on the fact that they would focus on your high school work more than your college work.

@Mastodon97 I’m planning on staying for 2 years; I just wanted to see if it might be possible for me to get out after 1. I wanted to apply for econ at UVa then transfer into McIntire, but I’ll wait another year and apply directly. I’m unsure about UNC because no matter what I’ll still have to apply to the business school. And I know I won’t get into Ross, but it never hurts to try!

Yes I would definitely stay for 1 more year too, so I think you are making the right choice. You shouldn’t rule out Ross that quickly, I would definitely try to be more engaged in clubs and/or work type activities, then I think you would have a decent shot at Ross. And if you really want to apply to UVA make sure to know their specific Econ department requirements, because thats the way I screwed myself into not being able to apply.
Good Luck!

@Mastodon97 good luck to you!

I’m currently in my second semester at University of South Carolina majoring in finance.

HS Stats:
3.0/4 unweighted gpa
3.7/4 weighted gpa
31 ACT
2 sports and some volunteering
summer job junior->senior year and after senior year

College Stats:
3.9 gpa
Completed 15 credits, taking another 15 now
accepted to transfer into honors college
Part of investing club
play intramural soccer
require financial aid

I will be applying to all of these schools:
USC (Southern Cal) - Marshall
Vanderbilt - Economics
Michigan - Ross (lol)
UVa - Economics in CAS
UNC - Economics

I’m obviously most concerned about my high school gpa. Although it’s low overall, my junior and senior year grades are much higher than my first two years, which should work in my favor. My upward trend looks like this: 2.6 freshman year, 2.9 sophomore year, 3.5 junior year, 3.7 senior year. Only UVa has extensive course requirements, but I’ve seen incoming sophomores get in. What are my chances at these schools? Thanks!