<p>I am currently a freshman at Northwestern and I will apply to Columbia as a transfer student. After having spent some time in New York and having visited Columbia, I knew that this is the right place for me and I really really want to give it a shot. It would be awesome if you guys told me what you think... </p>
<p>Shortly after the deadline for transfer admission, I will have received my second quarter grades (Northwestern is on the quarter system) and send my transcript to Columbia. I am expecting an overall GPA of at least 3.8 .
Also, I am taking 5 (all but one upper level courses) instead of the usual 4 classes the second quarter.
I don't know if that matters at all, but I will apply as an Anthropology major, which, I guess, is not the most popular subject to study. I also have a really awesome professor with whom I took an Anthro class who could write the recommendation for me.</p>
<p>Also, I was wondering if minority status matters in transfer admission, as I belong to a European ethnic minority.</p>
<p>The one thing I am a little worried about are my SAT scores, I got a 1950 (650 on each section). How important will my SAT scores and my High School stats be after having taken 9 college courses? Do you think the SAT scores are a huge drawback? According to Columbia, HS stats are only of secondary importance, but I am still a little worried...
Thanks!!</p>
<p>Good luck with transfering into Columbia University. As long as you maintain an A average, you'll be fine. Anything less than a 3.7 GPA, forget it! I learned that the hard way.</p>
<p>any other advice,please????</p>
<p>redline, why did you apply as a transfer to Columbia? Seems like it was a bad experience for you...</p>
<p>I applied as a transfer student to Columbia University's School of General Studies. I was rejected because the admissions director told me that my grades(3.5+, with 6 Honors Classes) wasn't good enough. By contrast, they told me that my essay and recommendations were excellent. Nevertheless, they told me that they are looking for straight "A" students, which made me very upset because they have no idea on how tough it was for me to get a 3.5+ GPA, and that fact that 3 of my professors don't give "As" in they classes. And the B's I've earned were 3.5 in each of them. But my school doesn't have "+ or -" in their grading system to reflect that. And out of the 19 classes I enrolled in as a fulltime student, I had 12-As, 6-Bs, and 1-D(Which I explained in my essay).</p>
<p>Going back to GS, it's a school that's geared towards non-traditional students who has taken a break between high school and college for at least one year, by Columbia's definition. In other words, if you have taken some time off before starting college, you are encourage to apply to Columbia GS instead of Columbia College, which took in less than 20 transfer students. </p>
<p>GS is the division that you might want to look in to, as the ciriculum is almost identical to Columbia College. The only drawback is you can't reside in the college dorms. You have to live in the school's apartments. But you might want visit their website for more information and post a message on the board about the program. There are a few folks here who attends to the school. If you want the best chance at Columbia University, GS is your best bet because they accept around 300-400 people a year. But it changes from year to year. You odds are much better with them than Columbia College and you're open to the same opportunities as a student. </p>
<p>Try them. You might grow to love GS.</p>