<p>Merry Christmas to all, and I hope that everyone has a happy holiday season.</p>
<p>This is the final transfer list chance me that I will be putting out. I have finalized (hopefully) my list and need now to remove schools from it. I am likely to be an econ or math professor (or major to be later determined). I am applying for fall 08 junior standing from Franklin and Marshall College, a top LAC. I know that this is not the first thread I have started (and apologize if anyone is getting too annoyed by them), thanks again for anyone who has helped me on this matter.</p>
<p>transfering for junior status fall 08
College GPA - 3.3-3.5
SAT - 2070 (M-800,V-620,W-650) - Should I take this again? Im pretty sure i could get something 2250+
ACT - 34</p>
<p>EC: interned this semester (will intern again at the same place or will volunteer at a hospital next semester), work on campus 10+ a week, part of several clubs,</p>
<p>Please chance me and give me any information that you can that you think I could gain a better understanding on any of these schools.</p>
<p>I'm currently trying to make a satisfactory list of where I should apply. I'm wondering if I am applying to to many reaches, etc... if anyone could tell me something of substance in that regard I would appreciate it.</p>
<p>Bard
Brandeis
Bucknell
Case
U-Chicago
Colby
Colgate
Dickinson
Davidson
Dickinson
Emory
Furman
Grinnell
Holy Cross
Kenyon
Lafayette
Lehigh
U-Notre Dame
Oberlin
Occidental
Pepperdine
Reed
Rhodes
University of Richmond
University of Rochester
University of the South (Sewanee)
Skidmore
Union
Vanderbilt
Vassar
Wake Forest
Whitman</p>
<p>There are 32 schools there (wow). Im trying to cut it down to probably twenty (still a stagering number). If anyone could give me any help, or point out any other schools that are academically comparable to Franklin and Marshall I would appreciate it. F&M has been a good place, however, there are certain things that I really wish were different. I am looking for a smaller school feel (U-Notre Dame is likely the largest I will look at), small teacher-student ratio, strong premed program, and overall a good experience (I would like to be happy with my last two years in college, something that I can not always say about my time at F&M). Again thanks to any of you who can contribute.</p>
<p>I don't think Chicago will be the way to go. It's pretty big and it's more academic than pre-professional.</p>
<p>What else don't you like about F&M, and why do you think the schools on your list would be better options than F&M? What, to you, is a good college experience? </p>
<p>Keep in mind that no college is perfect, and I'm just afraid that you're trading one set of problems for another set of problems.</p>
<p>Hmm..even 20 is too many. Remember you have to send transcripts to each school, have an instructor (or 2) write you an evaluation for each school, have a college official write the "official's report" that your in good standing for each school, send ACT/SAT scores to a lot of the schools, write essays for each school.....the list goes on an on. And besides...do you really wanna go down 20 spots? I mean..if you don't get into the first 19, you'd be happy and number 20? Maybe you should apply ONLY to the schools you really like and could see yourself...don't take admission chances or "safety" schools into consideration.</p>
<p>Why don't you start by looking at the admission rates and average stats of incoming freshmen for the schools on your list...start figuring out which schools would be a "Reach" and then whittle down your list.. Maybe apply to 1 or 2 schools where the average incoming freshmen's stats were above yours but not schools that are WAY above your stats or schools that have very LOW transfer admission rates.</p>
<p>I'll give you an example...you have Vassar on your list...I applied for Transfer there for Spring... I had a perfect 4.0 over 2 years at college (never anything other than an A..my numbers were higher than what you posted and I got rejected..my rej. letter stated that my application was outstanding but I was competing with 100 other applicants for 4 spots...</p>
<p>So, when you have schools like that on your list, I think there's plenty of room for you to cross off some unrealistic choices... Yes, sometimes people with lower stats get into highly competitive schools but that's the exception, they usually have some unique hook/talent..considering you have so many schools on your list, you have to start drawing the line somewhere to help you narrow it down to something manageable.</p>
<p>unalove - thanks for your message, I will definitely take what you said into consideration. One of my concerns at the moment is if I do transfer I will be just trading one set of problems for another. I love the small school feel that F&M has offered and many of my professors were extroadinary to work with. However there are definite things that I don't want to deal with (currently the school is trying to rebuild itself as a more prestigious school and some of the actions I don't agree with and have turned me off to the school in some ways). I want to be at a place that has a small school feel, good professors, a good academic experience, and generally a pleasant place to be. I do think I will not be applying to Chicago for the reasons that you gave, but it is still an amazing place.</p>
<p>Track - thanks for your message. Coming from my high school (i came from one of those crazy north eastern prep schools) those freshmen admit stats meant nothing, the bottom of my class (as i was part of) ended up going to F&M, OSU, wesleyan, Chicago and all sorts of amazing places. I will likely remove the schools that have low transfer admit rates because I likely would not get accepted there. Also where did your 4.0 come from, did it come from a community college? If so, Vassar would likely take another liberal arts college student before you because of the similarity in curriculum and academic workload. That is what I believe and have heard through several other, I will take what you said into consideration and likely will adjust my list to fill something more realistic.</p>
<p>Yes..I did transfer from a Community College but it's on Long Island and one of the higher rated community colleges in the country.. I had all PHDs teaching my liberal arts courses, the pay for teachers at my CC is very high so it attracts professors with some very impressive resumes....It also has very strong curiculum...</p>
<p>A place like Vassar is more likely to take transfers from a liberal arts college but consider that I had a very solid app. not counting my strong numbers, I did apply as a hopeful English major, my writing skills are well above average according to my two English professors (Both PHDs from Ivy League schools) so my essay was very creative and technically strong. </p>
<p>My point is, no matter how good my app. was, I'm still competing for 4 spots, it's tough to get around such low transfer rates no matter where you are transferring from so your plan on choosing schools with higher acceptance transfer rates is definitely a smart way to come up with a shorter list.</p>
<p>In my case, Vassar was the only school I applied to with really low (under 20%) transfer rates... I got accepted everywhere else... Purchase (31%) , NYU (29%) , Fordham (42%) and Columbia GS (40%).</p>
<p>So that's why I advised applying to only 1 or 2 schools with low transfer rates, because putting together a strong app. can only get you so far unless your stats are mind blowing..as you can see, even coming from a CC, if you have a good app, you can still get into a great school as long as the transfer rates are somewhat reasonable....</p>
<p>Track - In no way did I mean to put you down, I want to make that clear. You should be etremely proud of your 4.0 and your other solid statistics. I do not fully understand the interworkings of how community colleges work, but I do believe that there is a gap (how big I dont know) in academic strength. Vassar is a school that I definitely like, but yes the overall chances of me getting in are so slim that it would probably be a misuse of my time and assets to complete the application. I will definitely adjust my list to remove the schools that have ridiculously slim admit rates. I would appreciate hearing any other comments you might have for me.</p>
<p>This post actually shocked me with the whole Vassar thing. I go to Dutchess Community College and had no idea Vassar was a hard school to transfer into. My English professor was a teacher who team taught on the Exploring Transfer program Vassar has. I at one point was thinking about Vassar and we talked. He is one of the teachers writing me a recommendation so that may be why he said I wouldn’t have a problem but getting denied with a 4.0 seems shocking for Vassar. (Background about me, I have a 3.6 and will graduate with a 3.72)</p>
<p>Vassar is more selective in the spring than in the fall. They know how many people left and how much extra room they have in the fall, thus they can accept more people.</p>
<p>I want to say thanks for contributing to my thread, I will take your thoughts into consideration. I would appreciate any other information anyone can pass onto me. Thanks</p>