<p>hi guys,</p>
<p>I'm looking to transfer from Uchicago to somewhere like Stanford, Wesleyan, or Brown (I'm currently a rising second year). Does anyone have any advice or experiences they're willing to share about transferring from UChicago? </p>
<p>Frankly, I'm not even sure where I stand GPA-wise in my class, so it's hard for me to gauge where I could get in -- I have a 3.5 cumulative GPA, but a 3.85 for my last quarter (3.25 puts you on the Dean's List). Is that a competitive GPA, coming from UChicago? Is it true that grades are "deflated" here, and do you think other colleges recognize that?</p>
<p>I would appreciate any insight or suggestions.</p>
<p>Thanks!
-spooky</p>
<p>Wow that's really good for Chicago...I've heard it's quite a bit harder there to get a great GPA there than the schools you are looking at. </p>
<p>I think you'd have a great shot at Stanford, Wesleyan, or Brown. Personally, I think you'll get into Wesleyan for sure. </p>
<p>J/w, why are you transferring?</p>
<p>thanks for your advice.
to be honest, I'm still ambivalent about transferring (I'll be taking a year off next year to explore some other stuff and consider my situation). I'm looking for a college with more of a connection with its community, more intellectual freedom (that might sound strange but I found the intellectual stuffiness/snottiness of Chicago a little oppressive), better extracurricular activities (a "real" student newspaper...the maroon is okay but more like a HS newspaper, and I would like a broader experience because I would like to be a journalist) and more of a balanced perspective of student life, like better university support of nonacademic endeavors. Also, socially Chicago hasn't been quite the right fit for me.
I know those don't sound like the most convincing reasons for a transfer, but for some reason they've pushed me to toy around with the idea of transferring for a while time now. </p>
<p>(And I want to add a disclaimer about UChicago -- don't let me prejudice you! it's an incredible experience for many people.)</p>
<p>anyhow, thanks, I appreciate your offering your perspective...especially when i feel so muddled myself :)</p>
<p>That's funny. I'm going to be applying to Chicago as well as Wes. Haha. Chicago is my first choice, but I can clearly see the attraction of Wesleyan. I imagine it's very different from the environment at Chicago...as in, insane. :) But that's what makes it so incredible. </p>
<p>BTW, Wes has a 40% transfer acceptance rate, so you shouldn't worry a/b whether or not you'll get in. Either way, at least you know you've got an incredible school to consider. But of your three choices, I'd say Brown would be my favorite.</p>
<p>spooky and brand, I'm just now transferring out of Wes to Northwestern and if there's any insight to Wes I can give you, just PM or IM me (cataclysmz). I was also really muddled about the transfer process and also encountered a lot of disappointments about social life and extracurriculars, even though a lot of people love Wes. So, just so you have all your information, feel free to ask. I'm really excited about my own transfer and I want to make sure you guys get your best shots the next time around too.</p>
<p>well, just for our info, would you mind telling on this thread why you're leaving? </p>
<p>I always enjoy getting the opinions of people that are currently at a place I want to go to. Definitely gives me a better insight into the school.</p>
<p>yeah i would appreciate any opinion you have of Wesleyan too. Have you been satisfied with the academics at Wesleyan? How do you feel it is socially?</p>
<p>I think socially it's a really one-type kind of place. When I came to NU and met with an advisor, he said it the best; if you don't love Wes, don't go. Wes somehow has the highest percent of people who truly love their college--the people, the environment, everything. Everything you've heard about the people being very open, very liberal, very laid-back is pretty much true. Overall everyone's pretty smart but not that concerned with academics.</p>
<p>The actual academics live up to their reputation, but you definitely notice in certain departments that its not a larger university, and I ended up wanting more resources in terms of more faculty and course options. Our extracurriculars are pretty standard and nothing really recieves that much attention. People are really content to just chill, and there's not much of a town, so it seems like there are limited options of what you want to do and whom you want to do it with.</p>
<p>That's just one opinion and all, but I'd visit or talk to a few current students and see if you can get a feel in the fall before applying. Wes has a really particular feel to it and I really think if you don't love it, you're not going to be happy, especially as a transfer student, since you probably know even more of what you're looking for. Hope that helps!</p>
<p>Yeah, Wesleyan is probably the best of the small, progressive colleges with a penchant for quirkiness; if you don't like being around a lot of geeks and nerds with high self-esteem, you may be in for a shock.</p>
<p>sounds like my kind of people :)</p>