<p>Hi everyone, i just have a couple questions about transferring to a different university. I currently go to Western Michigan University which i hate, i would like to go to a university with a big name because i feel like it would give me the best chance to get a higher paying job. </p>
<p>College: horrible first year 2.23 GPA way too much partying</p>
<p>I just want to know with a 4.0 sophomore year i have inputted my grades and # of credits into a gpa calculator for my university and it shows a 3.3</p>
<p>Would my upward trend of gpa boost my chances of transferring, or would it hurt them? I am thinking if they see 4.0’s for 2 semesters after doing horrible it would show them i am really committed to my schoolwork.</p>
<p>Is this good enough at the following universities, and could anyone help me find some other universities that would be match schools? I will be a junior transfer with a total of around 55 credits (plus or minus 4).</p>
<p>I am currently majoring in Econ, trying to get into the liberal arts schools, not the b-schools</p>
<li>Michigan Ann Arbor - LSA</li>
<li>Penn State</li>
<li>Tulane</li>
<li>NYU</li>
<li>U Texas Austin</li>
<li>UNC Chapel Hill</li>
<li>U Miami</li>
<li>Michigan State- i really dont want to go here, but it’s better than WMU</li>
<li>Cornell - far reach i know just reassure me thats its impossible</li>
</ol>
<p>an upward trend would definitely make up for the 2.23 IMO. For instance- if you get a 3.9 and a 4.0 in your 3rd and 4th semesters respectively, i doubt the 3.3 cumulative would like totally hurt you. That's just my opinion though. And trust me, if you're trying to run away from the partying, Penn State is not the school for you.</p>
<p>There are multitudes of people who have higher GPA's in college than yours such as in the 3.8 range, who have gotten rejected from Cornell. You better be offering something besides a year of 4.0 (which it looks like you haven't completed yet.) If you have nothing else to offer outside of that they'll reject you pretty fast. At Cornell you have to apply to a certain school as well so that has a bearing on it.</p>
<p>can anyone tell me if the schools i listed are match or reach schools? I really want to go to Michigan Ann Arbor or Tulane, though i dont know if a 3.3 is good enough</p>
<p>I may be a bit off the mark here, but won't your spring semester sophomore year not be counted in the evaluation process? At least GPA-wise, I don't see how you can bump your GPA up 1 whole point with only 1 more semester of work (given that you're going to be doing about 15 credits).</p>
<p>I'd say the two state schools u can get into, and the rest are reaches/far reaches/impossibilities.</p>
<p>Renix is right. Many people get rejected with far better GPAs, so you would have to have something to offer, not just a near average GPA and an upward trend.</p>
<p>i also just double checked the gpa calculator on my school's website, assuming i get a 4.0 this fall my gpa will be up to a 3.22, and then another 4.0 in spring (which will not be the gpa at the time of applying) would raise it to a 3.4</p>
<p>Also on a side note, if i dont end up transferring, my dream is to go to a top 15 law school. Does anyone know how the admissions are reguarding schools? If i dont transfer i would be graduating from a Tier III school. Would it make a big difference to transfer from Western Michigan University to say Michigan State?</p>
<p>Well it seems like all of you guys are saying that the state schools are matches. Can anyone advise me of other schools i should apply to that are not far reaches?</p>
<p>Jayhawk: I thought maybe Tulane might be a match, isnt Tulane alot easier to get into because of the low retention rate/post katrina?</p>
<p>You are transferring because you do not like your current school right? maybe you should do another "initial college search" on collegeboard.com or something, to find a school that matches your interests. Start really basic and choose a location, religious affiliation (if necessary), and start narrowing down the list until you find somewhere you want to go.</p>
<p>However, with your grades, I would say that it is unlikely if you are trying to transfer just to go to a school with a "bigger name."</p>
<p>well does anyone have an opinion on whether or not it would make a big difference to either stay at western michigan or to transfer to michigan state. I guess michigan state is better known, but how much of a difference does it make in regards to grad/law school? Would transferring to a state school help me out in the long run rather than staying at a tier 3?</p>
<p>All right. In my honest opinion, it is narrow-minded and shallow to hate a school simply because it is not well-known. If you didn't fit in socially, then maybe I can understand your reasons to transfer. But if you want to be successful in gaining admission to grad school, transferring to a "bigger name" school isn't your biggest worry right now. It's in succeeding at where you are right now with the highest possible GPA and test scores.</p>
<p>okay really thats what i wanted to hear, im kinda depressed because my parents both went to big universities and are pretty dissapointed that im going to a school no one has heard of. I do not hate this school, I just want to go to a school with more prestige, if you think that is shallow then i guess i am shallow.</p>
<p>On another note, without going into too much detail would explaining on my transfer application that my bad grades were due to severe drug abuse (which is not a lie). My life has been affected pretty badly and i hit rock bottom last year getting caught, i have been drug free and assuming i get a at least a 3.75 or somewhere in that range, would actually putting drug abuse on my application as a reason for bad grades in my senior year of hs and freshman year of college be a bad thing? Or would it actually benefit me in that it was a valid explanation.</p>
<p>uh, there are people who get rejected for doing great all their lives.. I don't know how you think you hold an advantage over them by hitting "rock bottom" then doing average afterwards</p>
<p>I think you are being a bit naiive, no offense.</p>
<p>uhhhhhh so i shouldnt explain my situation then? why is it that everyone has something negative to say that is not useful to my situation. I realize there are a million people who have better stats than me, and have been doing perfect all their lives. I am asking you on this forum for advice on whether i should tell them or not. A simple yes/no would have worked completely fine.</p>
<p>and i never said that i "hold an advantage over others by hitting rock bottom" i asked if it would help me in my position.</p>
<p>I have no idea but if I were looking at two applications with similar stats and gpa...one person who screwed up his transcript by drug abuse and one who didn't (but still had the same gpa overall)... guess who I'm taking. Even if there was a person with lesser GPA and good EC's and rec's they'd win IMO.</p>
<p>yeah put that on there. It will really help IMO- you'll actually have a something interesting story o tell and it'll make you stand out. But you have to show you've learned and matured(this should reflect in your grades)...so just do REALLY well next semester. No more excessive drinking or drugs- It's not going to be easy at all but i would start by rooming with intoverted nerds who are taking the same classes as you.</p>
<p>so many conflicting opinions... im hoping it will make me stand out as an applicant</p>
<p>also i will be applying after my 1st semester of soph year, is there any portion on the transfer applications that i can ask the admissions people to wait until my 2nd semester grades come in?</p>
way too much partying</p>