<p>Dear All, so I think I want to transfer from Penn to Yale. It's not because I think Penn is not a good school, in fact there are many nice and smart people here and I do enjoy my life. But as I really want to get into academia (humanities), Yale has a more intellectual atmosphere (and many great professors, especially in history) and might be more suitable for my future plans than the social ivy. Although I do realize it's very difficult to get in as a transfer, I want to give it a shot. So what do you guys think? Suggestions are greatly appreciated!!
Starting with the stats:
SAT: 2340
SATII: 800/800/780
HS GPA: 3.9/4.0, 11AP exams</p>
<p>College GPA: 3.85-ish after three semesters
College Course Load:4.5 classes first semester, then 5.5 second semester. 6 classes this fall and planning to take 7-8classes next spring.
Difficulty: mostly 300-levels, I started taking 400-levels with PhD students in freshman year, as AP enabled me to avoid many intros.
Major: History, Philosophy, and Classics
Research and ECs: I've done several research assistant jobs for professors. I also got a piece of original research in history published on an undergrad journal. Now I'm doing a department research grant. I was also TA for a foreign language class freshman year.
Other things: speak four languages (well, technically I don't speak Latin), lived in six countries (does this somewhat help with respect to concerns of diversity?)</p>
<p>I'm wondering if you guys think this is a worthwhile enterprise, considering that Yale is the only school I'm applying to and it only accpets like 2% of all applicants? I really would like to take advantage of Yale's academic resources (history & ancient history faculties, study abroad program with PKU in China, etc.), but Penn is a very good school and I'm not even sure that I'm that competitive in Yale's transfer pool. </p>
<p>If I do apply, I'm also worried about faculty recommendations. There are several professors from whom I can ask for letters but I'm not sure if I should let them know that I'm applying as a transfer (since some of the profs are quite attached to Penn). Even if they are ok with my transferring, it might look bad if my profs write me good recs and I get rejected.. So can I use actual letters of recommendation for Yale instead of the forms on Yale's website? (I will ask for general recs without telling the profs that I'm applying to Yale, and only tell them if I get in?)</p>
<p>You need a much stronger reason…given the limited number of spots available it will take a very convincing reason to get in since you are already in such a good place from where you can achieve almost anything</p>
<p>You’re certainly a competitive transfer applicant to Yale. However, if you’re planning to go to academia, where you received your UG degree matters very little and where you did your PhD will matter very much. If you graduate from Yale and then fail to get into Harvard GSAS, you can pretty much kiss that dream of yours good bye.</p>
<p>1) Where you go to college influences where you’ll eventually be able to get a Ph.D from. If Yale has a stronger humanities curriculum, it will definitely provide a boost in the admissions process for a Ph.D.
2) Who said Harvard’s “GSAS” (I laugh at the fact that you use this, instead of referring to specific programs, some of which are strong and others of which are weak; it pretty much tells me you don’t know what you’re talking about) is necessary for the professorial dreams? For philosophy, for instance, the indisputably top programs are NYU, Rutgers, Princeton, and Michigan. Harvard is good, but the former four are definitely a cut above.</p>
<p>So does your high school or the books your read. However, when she will apply for those tenured-track positions, it’s not like the committees will be saying - gee, she went to UPenn and not Yale FOR UNDERGRAD. Let’s reject her!</p>
Harvard’s program has had considerable faculty turnover in the last few years and is not nearly what it once was. I certainly wouldn’t put it in the top 5 and would say it has strong competition for top 10 status.</p>
<p>You’re correct that getting into a top program is essential. One can get into exactly the same programs from Penn and Yale, however.</p>
<p>Again, what puts you in front of a committee is the Ph.D program, but what puts you in a Ph.D program is your undergraduate school (among other factors), of course. </p>
<p>And P.S., you don’t ever really apply for tenure-track positions from the get-go. You usually have to ascend through the ranks of associate professor, assistant professor, etc., first.</p>
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<p>…and she also mentioned history and philosophy.</p>
Er, not so. When one is hired for a faculty position, it is made clear from the get-go how long one’s position is expected to last. </p>
<p>A non-TT position usually lasts for a year or two; a TT position typically lasts for 6. At the end of the 6 years, you are put up for tenure review, where you either do or do not receive tenure. If you don’t, you’re best off packing your bags and looking elsewhere.</p>
<p>Um. I don’t know where you are from, but in the United States, “assistant professor” is the first position on the tenure track (at most reputable schools anyway). Once you get your tenure, you become “associate professor”. Then, once you achieve seniority, you become “professor”. And if you do really well, you become a “chaired professor” and the donor or the school presents you with a fancy chair (where they follow the traditions anyway).</p>
<p>We’re straying from the point, which is this: You’re about as competitive as you can be, but I just don’t see how Yale would be in a demonstrably better position than Penn to either educate you or assist in your long term career goals. (A bold statement considering I don’t know what your goals are or much about the Classics program, but I don’t get the sense that you’ve done specific research on why Yale’s program is better suited to your needs.) </p>
<p>If you do a bit more homework and can demonstrate a compelling reason for transferring, you’re in awesome shape.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot for the suggestions! Just to clarify: I intend to get a PhD in history, and that is why I hoped to transfer to Yale; since Yale arguably has the best history program in the nation, in addition to a professor whose research interests match mine, it doesn’t hurt to go there as an undergrad and get to know the faculty who, I hope, might serve as my advisor in grad school.</p>
<p>However, I have decided not to apply to Yale as a transfer after reading your comments and, of course, doing some reflections of my own. There are many other things that I wish to accomplish in my undergraduate years (starting German and ancient Greek, for instance), and transferring to Yale might disrupt those plans. Meanwhile, Penn has a lot to offer.</p>
<p>Thanks again! I hope you guys will get what you want in 2010.</p>