Transfer from MIT?

<p>Hello, all!</p>

<p>I went to MIT for two years (I only finished three semesters, though), and I hated it and left to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I did really well at MIT for the first year (I had a 4.8/5.0), but during my third semester I only took three classes and got a 3.7/5.0 GPA for that semester, making my overall GPA a 4.3 (the fact that I didn't want to be at MIT was hitting me hard and giving me existential angst; I thought I wanted to be a scientist for my whole life).</p>

<p>After dealing with my problems, I decided I wanted to write for some sort of environmental conservation magazine for a career, so I want to transfer somewhere to major in journalism. I'm really interested in Northwestern, but I know transfer admission is really competitive.</p>

<p>My high school stuff was good enough to get me into MIT and Stanford (99+ percentile SAT's, some serious science research, RSI). I think I can get decent, but probably not glowing, recommendations from a writing professor and philosophy professor at MIT, and my high school teachers think I'm God's gift to the Earth (lol I'm from a rural area). Is transferring to Northwestern reasonable, or should I be shooting lower because of my bad semester at MIT? I'm also looking into Washington and Lee, Cornell, and USC. Are those places within reach?</p>

<p>Looking to ease my mind,
hopeful1992</p>