Transfer Chances?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

<p>Basically I'd like some advice on transferring into Penn after freshman year and a rough estimate of my chances of doing so.</p>

<p>I'll be attempting to transfer from American University in DC, where I will be attending as a freshman in the fall.</p>

<p>My High school stats are as follows (not sure how much weight they have in the transfer process, though I know at least some of it is considered) </p>

<p>SAT: 2380/1600 (3rd sitting, first were 2090 and 2280)
SAT II: 800 Math II, 780 US History
GPA: UW 3.8425, upward trend- 3.64 9th, 3.875 10th and 11th
Rank: 19/486
APs: Calc AB (4) US Gov (4) Psychology (5)</p>

<p>Senior courseload: AP Calc BC, AP Bio, AP Lit, Honors Statistics, Honors Senior Social Sciences, Honors Spanish 5</p>

<p>Awards: National Merit Finalist, County Spelling Bee Finalist 10th, 11th 12th (3rd place this year), AMC 10 school winner 10th, 2nd place AMC 12 school</p>

<p>EC's:
Boy Scouts : Eagle Scout, Senior Patrol Leader 9,10,11,10
Scholastic Scrimmage Varsity team member 11,12 (1st place undefeated in our conference this year)
FBLA 4th place states 2012, several regional placings, several top-ten placings in open competitions at state conference
NHS 11,12
Fencing at YMCA 9,10,11
Weightlifting 8-10hrs/week</p>

<p>Community Service: I've been on three week-long mission trips to a homeless shelter in Maryland. Other than that just some random stuff through boy scouts, church, and NHS.</p>

<p>Can anyone tell me what sort of classes I should be looking to take in college to make myself look more appealing in the transfer process? For instance, should I take Calculus 3 instead of business statistics despite the advice to the contrary from my class advisor? Should I continue to study Spanish?</p>

<p>What should I aim to accomplish in terms of extracurricular activities?</p>

<p>Should I make friends with all the professors?</p>

<p>And what can I do over the summer to best prepare myself for all of this?</p>

<p>Any and all advice is appreciated. Thanks!</p>

2

<p>I was just accepted as a transfer this spring, and here are my thoughts:</p>

<p>Your high school stats and EC’s are fine. With that being said, they don’t really matter all that much. As long as you keep a relatively high GPA in your freshman year (I got in with a 3.7 from a large public school), you’ll be competitive academically. </p>

<p>With that being said, I would advise you to not even bother thinking about transferring now, however. You have no idea how much you will like your current school, and you won’t know until you get on campus and experience college life there. You may actually love it there and decide not to transfer. Because of this, I would advise you not to do anything just because you think it will help you transfer chances. Take classes you’re interested in and pursue other activities because you genuinely want to be involved in them. Don’t even bother thinking about transferring until you at least finish 1 semester. Ultimately, this will allow you to grow as a person and discover what your actual passions are, which will ultimately help you when writing your essays (the most important part of the application, in my opinion) if you do ultimately decide to transfer.</p>

3

<p>Dont do anything that you think will look good for a future school. Do what you want now.</p>

<p>Penn is strong in almost every academic area, so if you want to study sheep raising, pursue that at american and if that is truly your passion, Penn will think you will be a great fit in their sheep rasing program. </p>

<p>I transferred to Penn and found that I wrote better essays and did better at my current institution(before penn) when I truly gave the school a shot and put aside all my interests in transferring. Similarly, you wont do well socially if you think that you will be leaving american in a few months. You just wont care to put in the time with people who you will be leaving in the dust soon. </p>

<p>Regarding your high school stats they are very strong. Most schools dont care about your high school stats though when you transfer. Your high school gpa will get pretty much replaced with your college one. Have a strong GPA (3.7 or above) and get involved on your campus in ECs, events, write for the college newspaper, etc and you will stand a good shot.</p>

4

<p>Thanks for the advice guys. Everyone I talk to says “don’t think about transferring now”, so I guess I’ll have to put it out of my mind for the time being. I sort of failed this year at the college admissions game - I was really set on going to Penn, but my essays were terrible, I didn’t put enough time into the app- and I guess this is my way of dealing with the disappointment of not getting in this first time around.</p>

5

<p>I was in the exact same position as you are. I was rejected by Penn in high school (most likely for the same reasons that you listed), but applied to transfer after my freshman year and got in.</p>

<p>I would say the most important thing for you to do is enjoy being in college, make sure to keep uour GPA up, and get involved in EC’s that are meaningful and relevant to what you want to study. For me, for example, as a neuroscience major, I worked in a research lab that dealt with neurodegenerative diseases.</p>

<p>If/when you do apply, make sure to paint a clear picture of why you want to transfer, and explain what Penn has to offer that your current school doesn’t. Don’t try too hard to impress them, just be honest, let your vice shine through, and you’ll have a shot. </p>

<p>But as everybody has said, don’t worry about any of that now. Just focus on where you will actually be going to school and have fun there. That’s the most important thing when it all comes down to it.</p>