Transfer Guidelines to a Top university

Transfer Students
1

<p>Guidelines for a transfer to a prestigous univ.</p>

<p>From what i've learned so far... Please feel free to add any comments on whether im wrong or just some stuff i left out </p>

<p>Your high school gpa
It matters. Especially for freshman who want to transfer their sophomore year.
They weight your gpa in college and your high school gpa about evenly although
if you transfer ur junior year ur grade in college will count more</p>

<p>SAT scores
they also matter still. yes they've come back to haunt you. </p>

<p>SAT II scores?
no idea</p>

<p>EC?
vaeries at different schools; stanford asks about them
yale on the ohter hand does not even have a space for them on the application
I'd just particpate in alot of clubs and ec's just in case</p>

<p>ESSAAYYS
MATTER ALOT
they're possibly the most imporatant right after your gradse
in transfer students they aren't really looking oft he most qualified candidate
they're looking for kids that will add to their student body
they want interesting kids
kids that they will want to know, kid sthat will particpate actively, kids that will mke a difference</p>

2

<p>ppl please add some stuff
the only reason i even typed this up was to learn more</p>

3

<p>recs: have tremendous importance, even if you are a freshman do not use high school sources. Find professors, not TAs, get to know them, do research with them. Unlike high school recs from college can directly show if one is qualified.</p>

<p>sat2s: matter some but are largely indicators of college level work in certin subjects. Thus, I would say it is better to get a 500 in sat2 physics but A in college physics then to get a 750 and a C.</p>

4

<p>my highschool GPA sucks royally but because i was in a bad situation. although i can certain display a raising trend that never came back down.</p>

5

<p>"in transfer students they aren't really looking oft he most qualified candidate
they're looking for kids that will add to their student body
they want interesting kids
kids that they will want to know, kid sthat will particpate actively, kids that will mke a difference"</p>

<p>I'm not tyring to disprove you, but what makes you draw this conclusion? Have you looked at alot of applications that got accepted to top universities? Again, I'm not arguing, just asking...</p>

6

<p>actually, the transfer students is the most ACADEMICALLY succesful group of people in stanford, if that says something about their grade....</p>

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<p>yeah, I am not sure that is really true either. Of course they want a diverse student body and that means kids that are quiet and work hard, kids are very social and join clubs, etc. Also, I would say they look at the most qualified but perhaps dont distinguish between a 1500 and 1600 or a 4.0 and 4.3 because those diffences dont really matter.</p>

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<p>blackdream, what do you mean most academically successful group? prior to entry, in classes, what?</p>

9

<p>"recs: have tremendous importance, even if you are a freshman do not use high school sources. Find professors, not TAs, get to know them, do research with them. Unlike high school recs from college can directly show if one is qualified."</p>

<p>I'll let you know how I do... I got high school sources to write my recs (and my internship employer this summer). I'm applying to Cornell, Dartmouth, Penn and Stanford. I should hear from Cornell pretty soon, got an email that says they are reviewing my application now.</p>

<p>-Eddie-</p>

<p>If you want to see my stats, search my previous threads...</p>

10

<p>Good luck to you, i just got that impression because the stanford app was saying something like "we recognize that current freshman might only know a ta well enough to write a rec", kindof ignoring hs teachers. </p>

<p>I just checked the stanford app.. "Distribute Forms T4 and T5 to two college instructors in academic areas who know you well. At least one of the faculty reference forms must be from a college instructor."</p>

11

<p>
[quote]
It matters. Especially for freshman who want to transfer their sophomore year.
They weight your gpa in college and your high school gpa about evenly although
if you transfer ur junior year ur grade in college will count more

[/quote]
</p>

<p>The policy varies from college to college. UT - Austin does not consider the high school transcript for transfers and it is rumored that Yale admits students whom they would never have considered as freshman applicants. In that regard, it is difficult to conflate the policies of diverse institutions, suffice to say that the high school transcript is often weighed less than the college transcript; how much less is a mystery to me.</p>

12

<p>Here's my take on the transfer admission process so far:</p>

<p>-College GPA is the biggest factor; it's a double edged sword, but universities do distinguish differences in where the GPA is from (I know that sounds horrible, but it is true). A 3.5 from a community college will be seen differently from a GPA from a liberal arts college or university. Your high school GPA also matters, especially if you are a college freshman applying for sophomore year because the colleges will only have one semester's worth of grades. Colleges/universities want to see a general trend of how you perform, plus how you perform in a transition state, such as your first semester freshman year of college (which most people don't do as well in). Sending in midterm (even if you don't get official ones, ask your profs for estimates) grades does help!
- Extracurriculars are important! (more than essays!) ECs indicate how you spend your time, what you love, and how you will contribute to the college community. Colleges and universities want to see active and interesting people. Plus, the people who often participate in ECs are usually happier students (from what I see on my campus). Participate in ECs because you want to, and don't participate in them for the sake of "beefing up" your resume.
-Recommendations are helpful, but will only get you so far. In my opinion (which could really be off the beaten track), an intimately-written professor recommendation displays how you take advantage of your opportunities and are willing to go the extra mile by getting to know your professors. I went to my calc prof's (who wrote my rec) office hours at least once every week because I wanted to make sure that I was doing my homework correctly and understood the material. I didn't do that because I was planning on transferring (at that point, I wasn't even thinking about it) but because I wanted to achieve. From doing this, my prof knows what kind of person that I am, my academic drive, desire to know more about applying the subject to other things; plus I got an A.<br>
-Test scores are helpful, but they really don't matter as much (especially SATs, but APs can be helpful to see for placement and credits). In its conception, the SAT was designed as a way to "measure" college achievement, but you've already experienced and have "achieved" in college work because you're in college!<br>
-Essays are nice, but colleges use the essay to figure out why you're transferring. Are you transferring for the sake of prestige and brand name? Are you transferring because you have social problems? Are you transferring because your school doesn't fit your academic needs (this is my case because I want to double major in bio and music, but the classes always conflict at Mount Holyoke)? This is important because schools want students who have thought over their decision to transfer with care and maturity.</p>

<p>Wow, I rambled! I'm still waiting to hear from Cornell (CALS, but I'm having second thoughts about it) and Tufts (visited and loved it), but I've gotten into William and Mary (out of state) and Washington University in Saint Louis so far. I am currently a first year at Mount Holyoke College and my stats are listed on other threads. Hope this helps!</p>

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<p>
[quote]
A 3.5 from a community college will be seen differently from a GPA from a liberal arts college or university.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>It depends on the college, once again. Of the 27 admitted to Yale last year, quite a few were from Community College.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Essays are nice, but colleges use the essay to figure out why you're transferring.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Of all the colleges I filed an application to, only one asked for my reasons in the form of an essay. Various colleges have different prompts, you should read Rice's.</p>

<p>It is difficult to give a one-size-fits all calculus for college admissions without having it be highly generic in form. If that is what the thread-starter is looking for, then here it is:
1) Keep your GPA as high as possible.
2) If you are applying to anywhere in the top 25, try to have your SAT above a 1300.
3) Occupy yourself with activities. A job, some organizations, tutoring, and so forth.
4) Establish rapport with professors in the field you wish to pursue. If majoring in philosophy, having a professor in Chemistry write a recommendation will not exactly help. If you cannot gather a rec from the major-of-choice, then keep it within the college; for instance, though I plan to do philosophy, my rec comes from a professor in the humanities, which subsumes philosophy.</p>

<p>I find number (2) to be dubious, but that is merely because I chose to include a condition concerning the SAT.</p>

<p>5) Formulate compelling reasons for your desire to transfer.
6) Write good essays, and do not procrastinate.
7) Carefully map out your plan so you can keep yourself organized. I had all my applications sent in nearly a month before the deadline; I do not know whether this will help, but it exudes professionalism in a pool where last-minute applicants are the norm. Everything adds up.</p>

<p>Finally, this is not crucial, but it is important: Give your professors ample time to complete the recommendations. Recommendations from senators and congressmen you worked with for a month are worth less than one from a janitor who has known you for a lifetime. Remember, status does not do much unless the recommendation is coming from a professor in the university to which you are applying; do not send in more than three recommendations. I nod my head in disapproval at the sight of students sending in five or even six recommendations, as they are entirely unnecessary, and may even be detrimental to your application.</p>

<p>Edit: For universities where the admit-rate is less than 8-10%,* there is no formula for success; there are students with stellar stats who are still rejected in favor of applicants from community college. Just present yourself honestly and try your best:-)</p>

<p>*A notable exception is MIT, but you all know about MIT... it is MIT... the MIT that only admitted five students last year, if I am not mistaken.</p>

14

<p>Sorry about the essays generalization, but in almost all of my apps, they asked a "why transfer?" question. Also, if you ask your dean for a recommendation, they often want to know why you're transferring as well.</p>

15

<p>Except for the Dean's Report, I do not recommend asking a Dean for a full-fledged recommendation unless you have been speaking with them regularly and they know you well. Professors are much better since they have observed your progress/performance in class and have hard-evidence of your work. Once again, the "status argument" fits here: if a janitor knows you more than the President of America, the janitor's recommendation will be worth much more; you will want someone who knows you and can measure your progress.</p>

<p>I personally think politicians are the worst, to invoke a ubiquitous generalization, since when did they ever really care about their constituency, let alone a random college applicant? </p>

<p>I see a lot of posters on this forum boasting such recommendations, and I often wonder whether colleges are really astounded by such status; such recommendations are over-rated.</p>

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<p>who uses a politician as a rec? for that matter who would use people other than professors?</p>

17

<p>I used my boss for one of mine. Of course I've had the same job for uhh almost six years, so she knows me very well. I feel it will probably have more impact than my professors rec, being that she's a nurse and I'm going to nursing school.</p>

18

<p>
[quote]
who uses a politician as a rec? for that matter who would use people other than professors?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Since I do not wish to incite a dispute, I implore you to search the forum for stats and you will find many that cite politicians as a source of their recommendations.</p>

<p>
[quote]
I used my boss for one of mine. Of course I've had the same job for uhh almost six years, so she knows me very well. I feel it will probably have more impact than my professors rec, being that she's a nurse and I'm going to nursing school.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>That is wrong, you are incorrect, do not ever do that again:P:D</p>

19

<p>I used recs from my internships and from the Dean. </p>

<p>The Internships were in a Law firm and a Finance firm, where I was the youngest intern at both places and performed independent research for both suits and the credit card industry.</p>

<p>I've been representing International Student Interests for the past year and am an advisor to the Dean, so she gave me a good recommendation as we know each other pretty well.</p>

<p>And about not being able to know professors well enough if you're a freshmen, well that depends on what kind of person/student you are. I didn't bother to know any profs in my first sem, but in the second semester quite a few of them got to know me and began to advise me on which school I should transfer to if I really wanted to.</p>

20

<p>This is all speculation...</p>