Transfer Chances

Colleges and Universities A-Z Amherst College
1

Hi everybody. I plan on transferring to amherst and here are my stats.
Highschool: I graduated with a 3.3 (mostly AP and honor classes)
My SATs were around a 1800-1900
I took 6 AP’s and each one I got a 5 on.
I didn’t take the ACT or any subject tests

Here are my extra circulars: I was student body president my senior year, swim team captain my senior and junior year, member of a theatre group my senior year, Model UN treasurer (all 4 years), member of the swim team all 4 years, I have been volunteering at a center for autistic children practically my entire life, I was in Math Club , photography and a tutor for other students in my class

I received 6 awards (3 of which are only given to 1 student in the country per year and are highly competitive)

College: NYU
Stats: I have an overall GPA of 3.56.
I received a 4.0 for the past 2 semesters, a 3.7 the semester before that and a 2.1 my first semester because I got a concussion that was pretty serious and had to miss a lot of school.
Extra Circulars: I interned at BET, The Brooklyn DA’s office, Theatre Development Fund.
I wrote for the NYU newspaper WSN and the NYU satirical newspaper, I also worked for an improv group at NYU.
I took one semester off because I couldn’t pay for school and worked 2 jobs to fund my last semester. During that semester off I performed at the legendary United Citizens Brigade, Had one of my student films chosen for the Turkish Film Festival, and was shot a documentary series following the lives of some of the Autistic children I work with.
I also audited classes (since I couldn’t pay for them) and 3 of those professors wrote me recommendations about my experience in the class.
I TA’d a film class and have a great rec from the professor who taught that class who is also a notable film director.
I have great rec’s from my boss at TDF, 3 of my HS teachers, 3 of my professors and the professor of the class I TA’D for. I also plan on submitting 3 films I directed including the doc series I shot last year.

I feel like I have a good shot however, I do have that 2.1 from my first semester (I touched on it on my application and during my interview) and I am an international student applying for aid (which may hurt my chances). I have great internship experience and obviously care a lot about my education (since I took a semester off to fund my education and worked 2 jobs to come back)

Reasons for transferring: honestly, I can’t afford NYU anymore and I can’t take any more time off to fund my education. But also, I really like the idea of going to a liberal arts school. There were 1000 students in my bio class first semester, I don’t want that anymore.

My essay was pretty good (I think) and so was the interview I went to.

Also, if anybody has a recommendation for another school thats transfer friendly and seems like a good fit for me please leave it bellow. (please make sure they give aid to international transfers).
I plan on majoring in Film but if the school does not offer film I can settle for English/ Creative Writing with a media studies minor or something.

2

It’s essentially a 2% chance, since the transfer acceptance rate is about 4% and half of them come from community colleges. Your application looks pretty strong to me—I was accepted as a junior transfer this year, and I certainly didn’t have nearly as many extracurriculars as you. The biggest thing, I think, is taking all the parts of your application and making it work towards a single, unified answer to the question, “Why do you need to attend this school?” I was also attending a huge university, so I focused on certain aspects of why I need to be a part of a smaller, more engaged academic community. (I’m sorry for the vague generalities; I’m really tired right now and can’t figure out how to say what I’m thinking. I can give you more specific advice based on my experience if you’re interested.)

One thing, though: it sounds like you’ve already been at NYU for four semesters. Transfer applications are submitted in March, so are you planning on taking the next year off to apply for a transfer? Lots of schools (Amherst included) require transfers to spend at least four semesters studying there.

3

Look at Wesleyan. Your extra curriculars are amazing but you might need to get your test scores up. Try the ACT or the new SAT. Also keep your grades strong and always explain about anomalies.