<p>I'm currently a freshman at a large state school that's not in my state. I'm very unhappy here and am looking for a school closer to home (I'm from CT), with a smaller student body, higher academic motivation, and where I can better get to know my professors.
I'm currently looking at:
Brown, Columbia, U. Penn (Reaches-Their ivies, so I realize they're major crapshoots)
Boston College, Tufts, Vassar, Wesleyan (Matches)
Holy Cross, Fordham, Villanova (Safeties)
My Stats are:
HS GPA: 4.2w, 3.9uw
Took 5 AP classes (US-5, EuroHist=4, Lit=5, Lang&Comp=4, Stat=5)
Graduated in the top 4% of my class.
SAT: CR=780, Math=690, Writing=720; 1470/1600; 2190/2400
SAT II: Lit=760, Math=720
Work: Worked as a nanny for a summer; Designed a website for a consultant company
High School Activities:
Sports: Varsity Tennis, Varsity Indoor Track, After school tennis academy at local club
Clubs: Key Club, Church youth group
Leadership: YAC's Officer, Student Ambassador, Relay for Life Committee Officer
Volunteering: Volunteered at two nursing homes
Honors: National Honor Society (20 hours community service)
Mu Alpha Theta Math Honor Society (10 hours tutoring)
Oberlin College Book Award
Headmaster's Award for maintaining a 4.0 GPA or higher all 4 yrs of HS
AP Scholar with Distinction
National Society of High School Scholars
President's Scholarship-merit scholarship at my current university
I'm in my University's Scholars program for life sciences, which is a type of honors program geared toward biological science majors
College Activities: Club Tennis Team, I mentor an elementary school student every week, I'm a member of the Student Government Association
I have already chosen two professors who will write my recommendations and I am striving to get to know them better.
I have very valid reasons for wanting to transfer.
I'm currently taking two freshmen colloquia, Biology with Lab, Astronomy, Art History, and Microeconomics (17 Credits), and I have gotten A's on all my midterms and are finding my classes very easy, so I intend on pulling out a 4.0 for the semester.
BTW I'm a prospective biology major
So, what are my chances at the schools above? Thanks for any help, and sorry for such a long post!</p>
<p>No body has any thoughts?</p>
<p>Have you checked the transfer acceptance rates at those schools? I'm thinking that all except Fordham could be match/reach.... just because they may not take many transfers.</p>
<p>I could be off on that.</p>
<p>It's hard to guage when you have no college GPA to report - which, understandably, you can't, being a first-term freshman.</p>
<p>I would just make sure that some of your schools have >25% transfer acceptance rates and at least one way higher than that (which I'm guessing could be Fordham).</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Holy Cross has one of the top freshman retention rates in the country so there are very very few openings to transfer into. Here are the colleges with the highest retention rates per US News & World Reports. You need to be exceptional to transfer there.</p>
<p>Institution retention rate enrollment
College of the Holy Cross 96% 754
Davidson College (NC) 96% 464
Haverford College (PA) 96% 314
Swarthmore College (PA) 96% 370
United States Naval Acad 96% 1,228
Wesleyan University (CT) 96% 720
Amherst College (MA) 97% 433
Carleton College (MN) 97% 504
Williams College (MA) 97% 534
Bowdoin College (ME) 98% 474
Pomona College (CA) 99% 378</p>
<p>Wow! I thought Holy Cross would be a safety. My current university is considered to be a more competitive school than it.</p>
<p>Also, for the last 2 years Princeton Review has given Holy Cross an academic rating of 98 which is 10 points higher than the one it gives for BC.</p>
<p>Would I at least be competitive for some of these schools, if I pulled out a 4.0 this semester?</p>
<p>You definitely have a shot at all of them including Holy Cross. The big issue is that there are limited slots. Schools that have a high freshman retention rate will have fewer openings. Schools with higher freshman retention rates are typically the better schools where students are having a great experience and so choose not to transfer. I would pick 3 you sincerely want to go to and interview there to show interest and write great essays explaining why you want that school. I know that Holy Cross really values interviews because it shows sincere interest. You also should check the school out in person anyway to ensure it is a good fit.</p>
<p>2009 Princeton Review Admissions Selectivity Rating for Holy Cross is 96. For Univerity of Maryland College Park it is 94. Tufts and Boston College is 97.Test</a> Prep: GMAT, GRE, LSAT, MCAT, SAT, ACT, and More | The Princeton Review</p>
<p>That's funny! I'm currently at the University of Maryland College Park. I have nothing against it personally, but I realize now that it is the wrong fit for me.</p>
<p>Bump...Bump...</p>
<p>How strong are your 'reasons' for transfer.</p>
<p>They're very strong. I'm unhappy with the very large size of both the campus and the student body. Because class sizes are so large it's virtually impossible to really get to know professors, which I want to be able to do so I can get letters of recommendations for medical school. Also, a lot of people here never go to class. This is the case in both my economic and biology classes, to a point that even my professors complain. As a fellow student, it's frustrating when most of the class doesn't even care enough to show up for lecture. The campus also has a very commuter feel. I know that sounds ridiculous because it's such a large campus, but most people can't get campus housing. And it seems like those who do are mostly from Maryland and go home every weekend. I'm really looking for a smaller school with smaller class size, where students are more motivated academically, where the Greek scene is not so important, and where most students don't leave campus every weekend.</p>
<p>Redsoxgirl, your reasons are strong, although a bit are more precarious than others (IE: I want small class sizes so I can get to know my profs so I can get recs for med school. Be careful there). What really matters is how well you can explain those reasons, persuasively and personally display them, etc., in your essay.</p>
<p>Have you thought much about how you're going to portray yourself and your reasons to these very competitive schools?</p>
<p>Parisha- Not yet. I'm still trying to figure out what schools I really want to apply to and which ones I can realistically get into. Based on my stats and going off the assumption that I get a 4.0 this semester (I know we shouldn't make this assumption but it is my goal and I'm doing very well in my classes as of halfway through the semester), how are my chances at the schools mentioned above?</p>
<p>redsoxgirl, honestly you are a good student whether or not you get into an Ivy League or remain at UMaryland Park you should be proud of what you've accomplished, the problem is Ivy Leagues are random in admissions and crapshoots because their are too many other students that are just as good</p>
<p>So just do the best you can try and get a 4.0, apply asap, write great essays, and see what happens your chance is just as good as anyone elses. Your scores and GPA are certainly within range to apply to those schools, so now it basically comes down to your fate and whether you were meant to attend an ivy or remain at the University of Maryland</p>
<p>I don't care so much about attending an ivy. I certainly cannot stay at Maryland because I'm very unhappy here. Boston College is my dream school. I think I'm qualified enough to go there, but their transfer acceptance rate is just so low. My parents are the ones encouraging me to also apply to some ivys because if I'm going to transfer I should reach for the stars. I just want to make sure that it's not a waste of time to apply to them.</p>