<p>Hey guys. I was wondering what you thought about my chances to transfer into Wesleyan -- normally I would feel confident about it, but I made a couple of mistakes on my application (not big ones, but still) and I wanted to know if I should still be okay.</p>
<p>Basics:
Freshman at Cornell
College GPA: 3.53
High School GPA: 3.98 (no pluses or minuses, 4.0 was highest)
Class Rank: 4th out of 345
SAT: 750 Verbal, 760 Math
SAT 2s: Literature 770, Writing 800, Math IIc 760, World History 730</p>
<p>Clubs in High School:
Honors Choir, Chamber Singers
Model UN
Young Greens
Canoeing in Northern Canada (with summer camp)
Debate Club
Literary Magazine, staff member</p>
<p>Here's where the snafu comes in, College Clubs. I used the Common App form and as a result they only have that I participated in chorus in college, even though I'm also on the newspaper and in an independent music club. So that's an issue.</p>
<p>And a couple of other extra things about me, that I mentioned:
I self-published a small book of my poems and stories, and sent Wes a sample from it. I also mentioned that I wrote a novel in high school (never published, but wrote nonetheless).</p>
<p>Do I have a chance, even with the screwup with clubs at Cornell?</p>
<p>transfer admissions are really tough to predict... i think a lot of the variability comes from how well you articulate why wes would be better for you than your current school. so, no idea, really. i know wes does end up with a larger number of transfers than some of its peers, so hopefully that will work in your favor... good luck!</p>
<p>My daughter transfered to Wes five years ago with similar stats and activities, from a lesser ranked college than Cornell. I don't think the Cornell clubs thing is a huge issue. YOu look like an active, high achieving student. Wes does take a pretty big number of transfers. I think the key is, as was said, how well you articulated why you want to transfer. Overall, from what I know of my D and her transfer friends, you look like you have a great shot.</p>
<p>I can answer that with my essay, actually, which I'll put here. I'm very insecure about it, though I'm a writer, so my standards might be too high. I'm not sure. If anyone is willing to judge I'd be very grateful.</p>
<p>This is the common app essay, so all they ask is why you're transferring, essentially.</p>
<p>When I originally decided during my junior year that Cornell was my first choice for a university, I was occupied by a different state of mind. The thought of such a big place frightened me in some respects, but it also filled me with awe. The notion that I would have so many resources available to me was intoxicating, and when the time came to fill out applications, Cornell received special care. I got in, felt ecstatic, and came. But during my time here I have not found what I expected, and have come to a profound realization about who I am, and what I truly want out of a college experience. There is no question that Cornell is a wonderful place for many people. Ithaca is a beautiful landscape, and there is an enormous number of people to meet and befriend. I have made friends here and will always remember with fondness the sunny days (rare though they are) and long nights spent with them. They enjoy Cornell and I will wish them well. But this is not a place, I feel, that fosters my own sense of comfort and creativity, and as a writer hoping to learn the ropes of an extremely difficult and competitive profession, I can say with conviction that I want to be at a place where my own, individual ambitions are encouraged. Many times at Cornell the simple fact that I am majoring in the liberal arts has put me in a distinct minority amongst a huge campus composed in large part of scientists (agricultural or physical) and engineers. In a university with over 10,000 courses, there are a total of four creative writing classes, most of which are so full that many students must wait until their senior year to simply take an introductory course. And although I admire and enjoy the friends I have made in the many fields here that people study, I very much want to be surrounded by, to resonate with, people who have interests that are similar to my own. Wesleyan, I feel, would be a sea change from the larger, less personal environment that I am now in. A smaller place with a focus on the liberal arts strikes me now as the perfect opportunity to learn, to grow, and to meet friends with the same passion to create that allows me, drives me, to get up in the morning. I want to be part of a campus that is infused with artistic energy. This is my chance.</p>
<p>Epsilon--first, I must say that your essay perfectly captures what I think is the right tone for a transfer essay: complimentary to the first school, explains why you went there, then explains why transfering would be a good thing, without putting down the other school. I think it hits the nail on the head!</p>
<p>To your question: My D was very worried about finding friends and fitting in. But Wes ran a lot of transfer specific orientation events, and also mixed them in with the freshman at others. She made friends very quickly with transfer sophs and with frosh. By the next year, she also had very strong friendships with non-transfers from her own year.</p>
<p>She was thrilled with how quickly she met people that she seemed really in sinc with--a totally happy social e xperience, much different from her first school. It was a really friendly, welcoming experience for her. She now lives in Brooklyn with two Wes friends, one a transfer and one not, and has many other Wes friends nearby.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot Garland. You've made me feel better than you can possibly imagine about my future.</p>
<p>But I have one final question... how important is it that a Wesleyan applicant have strong political ECs? I've been to a fair few protests in my life, and am definitely very liberal, but this doesn't come through in my essays, or anywhere other than my clubs notation that I was in my school's Young Greens club...</p>
<p>I worry because all I wrote about in my essays, essentially, was that I'm a hardcore writer, and didn't paint myself as socially conscious. I applied with the common app and my short response besides the one posted above essentially said "Personal writing, every day, is by far my most important EC."</p>
<p>I do, and that helps a lot. I still worry about stupid things though, because I badly want to get in... I just found out yesterday there were a couple of stupid typos on my Common App, one of which said that I spent 168 hours a week, 4 weeks per year, writing. That was supposed to be for my canoe trip.</p>
<p>It's really obviously a typo because two lines down my actual canoe trip lists the same hours. I just hope they'll be willing to give me the benefit of the doubt.</p>
<p>Ack! Why didn't you proofread?
If you can, call them and ask if you can send a corrected 'hard' copy of your application (if it isn't too late already).</p>
<p>I did it on three hours of sleep... long story.</p>
<p>Those are the only problems in the app, otherwise the big things (essays, etc) came out fine. The only part I screwed up was the clubs. Everything else got in on time.</p>
<p>I sent an email yesterday (when I discovered it) marking the mistakes.</p>
<p>I submitted it online, so I'm hoping they'll chalk it up to a computer snafu...</p>
<p>Blah. I wish I knew what the applicant pool looked like.</p>
<p>Epsilon--in answer to your last question about political EC's, two of my daughter's closest friends, both transfers, were not politically active at all. I wouldn't worry about that.</p>
<p>I really hope you get in--you sound perfect for Wes!</p>
<p>Congratulations and am confident that you will make a Wes a more interesting place! Best of luck. Loved your essay and I believe the fact that you were able to communicate your own self discovery with such passion and understanding is a great match to the Wes student body.</p>