<p>I know Im going to get bashed here, but I'm wondering... How much influence does the athletics department have in bringing a transfer's app through? I dont have the best academic stats but I really am dying to go into a great LAC, Williams being a huge first choice, and was wondering if I have shot in the dark.</p>
<p>Athletics: Track and Field- Can pole vault much higher than anyone else on the Williams team (from what I can tell) and have the ability to score some decent points in their meets. Also have some very good all around ablility in many other events. Recruited for Division 1 Pole vault and was Section 2 champion in HS.</p>
<p>Academics:
4.0 GPA - University at Buffalo
Vice President of UB Chapter of American Marketing Association
Other small EC's and Volunteer Work
I can write a very good essay I believe, as well as have an excellent interview, and obtain very good Rec. Letters.</p>
<p>HS: (sigh) 3.0 GPA with SAT's scores at a corresponding level
(hopefully not taken into too much consideration)</p>
<p>Trying to get into the Economics major.
Im sure I have no shot and if so, could you reccomend any other LAC's (good ones hopefully) that I could look at.</p>
<p>^^^^ Forgot to Mention
I am just a Freshman at Buffalo now, and these stats then are obviously just from Freshman year. I am confident I will be ending this semester with a 4.0 like the fall semester. I realize the deadline for next Fall's admission to Williams is up, so I am looking to leave Buffalo either next spring or even after my sophmore year, if I must.</p>
<p>Only the track & field coach(es) could let you know what they think of your skills/credentials. Have you contacted them (via the Athletics portion of the Williams website)? After that, if you apply, the outcome depends on what the Admission Committee decides. You'll never know unless you try.</p>
<p>The good news is that since you'll be applying for a junior transfer, your HS grades and SAT scores won't count much or at all. The bad news is that the top LACs have very little room for transfers. But if you're looking at Williams, why not similar schools such as Amherst, Middlebury, Bowdoin, etc.</p>
<p>"I'd keep quiet about the Econ major. Williams is overrun with them right now and probably wouldn't be looking to add Econ major transfers."</p>
<p>jt: This is bad advice -- but to be expected, considering the source. Williams is as unlikely to turn down an Econ major as it is to deny an English major if it decides you are a good match for the school. If you want to be an Econ major, state so on your transfer app. And it also can't hurt to investigate the other NESCAC schools -- although Williams does have a good econ dept (and I don't know anything about the other schools'). As always, honesty is the best policy.</p>
<p>Williams has accepted Econ transfers in the recent past.</p>
<p>Apply to as many similar schools as you can. It should improve your odds. You never know in advance which will have a vacancy (although some attrition is predictable or known in advance and the admissions people at each school may be able to tell you next fall or winter whether they expect to have any slots for transfer students). </p>
<p>My sense is that opening up a line of communication will be important. They will want to be sure that you will fit in (and coming into a small college as a junior will require some strong personal skills to succeed) -- that's something that may come across well over the telephone or in a meeting.</p>
<p>My cousin tranferred into Williams as a junior about fifteen years ago. She was a declared double major in very popular fields (art history and English). She believes that one of the reasons she was accepted was that she was able to convey to the college how much she would gain by transferring to Williams (and she did, going on to work as a curator).</p>
<p>JTDayton - you might want to look at the SAT optional NESCAC schools like Bowdoin or Bates. I think that poor SAT scores in HS do adversely affect transfer chances. They're unfortunately considered by many to be a measure of intellectual capability and will not be washed away by your superior academic performance at Buffalo. And by all means, connect with the track coaches immediately at your target schools as your pole vaulting credentials should help you whereever you end up applying . .</p>
<p>
[quote]
This is bad advice -- but to be expected, considering the source. Williams is as unlikely to turn down an Econ major as it is to deny an English major if it decides you are a good match for the school.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Baloney. Williams has only averaged 8 transfer acceptances with an average acceptance rate of under 10%.</p>
<p>Williams is currently experiencing a major glut of Econ majors. The number of declared majors doubled two years ago. They've been hiring visiting faculty and restricting some of the upper level courses to those who absolutely need the course to meet grad requirements. They've also stiffened the math requirements to discourage additional majors. </p>
<p>Until they've worked through the glut, it is highly unlikely that they will be favoring Econ majors in the transfer application process, unless there is a significant offsetting quality -- which pole vaulting may well be.</p>
<p>My advice: to the extent possible, play down the Econ major. Perhaps deal with such as question as "maybe Econ, maybe Poli Sci, maybe History"</p>
<p>"My advice: to the extent possible, play down the Econ major. Perhaps deal with such as question as 'maybe Econ, maybe Poli Sci, maybe History'"</p>
<p>Again, jt, this is bad advice and I would respond to it with the poster's own "Baloney" -- otherwise, being noncommittal and vacillating may be seen as weaknesses, or, at the least, will not help you make your case in a strong, positive way. </p>
<p>To the extent that he is advising you to be untruthful, please disregard his misguided (with questionable intent) "advice." It would be best to be honest in your dealings with your prospective colleges. In addition, your prior course selection will indicate your interests.</p>
<p>Just a thought: when you check for SAT-optional schools, be sure to check the requirements for transfer students as they could be different in this respect from those for first-years. </p>
<p>If you want to find out about SAT-optional schools, Google the organization Fairtest (I think it is one word, but it might be two). I don't know whether their list will include Midd, which is not actually SAT-optional but allows unusual combinations of tests as I recall.</p>
<p>If you are set on getting out of Buffalo, think about some larger schools, too. You might find an honors program at a university that would make it feel more like a smaller school. I don't know much about tranferring, but almost everyone I hear about who is transferring is going into a big school. That's probably where most of the slots are. It seems really common to move up within a state system, for example. My suspicion is that transfer slots at the top small schools are very few and far between.</p>
<p>Also, the big schools seem more stats-driven and might care a lot more about how you did in college than how you did in high school. The pattern I see is that kids who don't do well in high school go to a community college or a less prestigious four-year college, prove themselves, and then transfer (usually into a big university).</p>