I just finished my first year here in Germany studying economics at a well-known econ department. However, as the title says I am seriously considering giving up my solid, tuition free time here to move to the US.
Although majoring in econ, I dabbled in CS this semester, scoring highest grades in OO-programming and discrete math.
Long story short, I want to change my major to CS and transfer. Here are some stats:
Major: Economics
GPA: 3.7
High School GPA: 2.4
SAT/ACT: not taken yet
Nothing much else to tell.
My battle plan is this. Keep the good grades rolling, and take more classes at the CS and math department.
As the next semester in starting soon, and I have not applied to any jobs such as TAing or RAing, it is unlikely that I’ll get any LOR.
My major motivation lies mainly with the entrepeneurial culture in the US, especially in California. Also here at my Uni, although being highly ranked in Germany, the majority of students are not driven by the general change-the-world ambition, which seems to be so present in the US.
Given that my grade trend (high school included ;)) is high and positiv, and I score well on the SAT, do I have a, say, at least 20% chance of being admitted to schools like UCB, UCSD, NYU and similar selective schools?
I don’t have much to add except common sense advice. About choosing universities to apply to:
First, scratch all universities off of your list that you cannot afford at sticker price, unless you have confirmed that they offer financial assistance to international transfer students (extremely rare).
Second, scratch all universities off of your list that require transfer applicants to complete their general education requirements before transferring. This includes all of the UC schools, I believe.
Third, scratch all universities off of your list that don’t allow transfer students to change their major.
You may find private universities to be more accommodating than public universities.
About applying:
You say that you don’t have letters of recommendations. Those are EXTREMELY important, especially if you wish to attend a selective university. Luckily, you still have time. Application deadlines for transfer students are typically in the late winter/early spring, so you have almost a full year to work on those letters of recommendation. I know that German professors don’t interact much with undergraduate students. Try anyway. Find a professor who likes talking to students (they exist), then become a regular at office hours. One of my classmates at Stanford got into Stanford with a letter of recommendation from his TA. (Just one of three. Not all of them.) If you have a particularly strong extra-curricular activity, one of your letters may be non-academic as well. (Especially if you have a leadership position!)
Keep in mind that your LORs will be for an American audience. Make sure that you the people you are ‘grooming’ to be your references are in a position to write a letter that sounds positive to an American audience. Americans like to read things such as: takes initiative, insightful, works hard. Let them see those traits of yours!
About attending:
Expect to spend at the very least two full years at the American university after transferring, if not three. You’ll have to complete a new major almost from scratch, on top of American general education requirements.
