<p>I am going to be a freshman at case western
I will study poli sci/social sciences and plan to go to law school.
The poli sci department is small and I should manage at least a 3.8.
I have tested out of 4 classes, 2 history, 1 english, 1 math.
Basically, case ended up not offering as much aid as I thought, so I would need to pay/take out loans for $35,000 a year.
Pitt and psu were way too big for me, even though Pitt honors is a bit smaller.
I got a 2040 on the SAT without studying or taking classes, taking them a few months after my last math and english class.
So, I want to transfer somewhere that I would receive better aid then case, prefferably paying $20,000 a year, with a student body less than 10,000.
I plan on retaking the SATs in the winter, and if I study could get a 2200.
Where should I look, and what would I need to do to get into an Ivy?</p>
<p>Regarding the Ivies, that is a pointless goal. Only 6 of the 8 accept transfer applications in the first place, with the 2 others being Harvard and Princeton. Yale and Brown have exceptionally low rates. And truth be told, the transfer acceptance rates for the rest of them aren't much better. The one exception is Cornell, though this is because of certain schools within it, such as HumEc, with accept over 75% of transfer applicants. As a PoliSci student, you'd want CAS, whose acceptance rate is around 12% from the latest data I've seen. Moreover, the Ivies are a fairly random group, and should not be applied to as a group purely for the prestige attached to their names. Look for fit, not brand recognition. After all, the purpose of your degree isn't to impress the schmuck on the street.</p>
<p>Having said that, I think that perhaps I can shed some light on your situation, as I just finished my Freshman year as a PoliSci major at Case, and am transferring to Washington University in St Louis in the fall. </p>
<p>Penn CAS - Rejected
Cornell CAS - Rejected
Rice - Waitlisted
WashU - Accepted</p>
<p>I'd have also applied to Emory and URochester, but I decided WashU was a better fit than either of those two. So, once accepted at WashU, I stopped applying. I expect I'd have gotten into both schools had I completed my applications.</p>
<p>Stats:
HS GPA: 3.5 (slightly weighted, no idea of unweighted)
HS Rank: Top 20%
Honors: AP Scholar with Distinction, Honor Roll (3 of 4 semesters possible)
AP Courses: AP English Lang, AP English Lit, AP Biology, AP Environmental Science, AP Statistics, AP US History, AP World History, and AP US Government. (8 courses)
ECs: Model UN - 2 years; 3 awards. Also had a few minor ones, such as a year in "Diversity club" and other random crap.</p>
<p>College GPA: 4.00 (based on both semesters)
Honors: Dean's High Honor List - both semesters
Credits earned: 28 (25 transferring, as 3 taken P/F)
Courses: 1 bio, 1 classics, 2 sages, 2 posc, 3 history. 3 @ 300 level, 4 @ 200 level, 2 @ 100 level.
ECs: Founded a major student political organization that brought in thousands of dollars of outside money to host events, wrote a regular editorial column for the Observer, and was somewhat less involved in 4 or 5 other clubs. </p>
<p>Take that for whatever it's worth.</p>
<p>Wow what a coincidence. We have fairly similar HS stats.
The big reason I am considering transferring is do to FA reasons, and the Ivies and Stanford would offer me much more aid, if the same aid is given to transfers as freshman
What made you decide to transfer from Case, and did you recieve more FA from WashU?
Thanks!</p>
<p>Regarding my motivation for transfer, there were many factors at play. First and foremost was what I would regard as the increasing level of hostility against the campus' Jewish community and Israel supporters, and administrative indifference, in spite of strong pressure from the outside. Second was a question of academics. While the teachers in the POSC department are decent, the offerings are rather limited. Case is not the school to attend if you plan to study a non-science/engineering subject. There were of course many other things I disliked about Case, but they were less relevant in compelling me to transfer elsewhere.</p>
<p>Regarding financial aid, I cannot provide you any insight, as I never applied for it at Case or at WashU, since I do not qualify for it. Most people I know at either school have been satisfied with their aid there. However, it is important to realize that there is usually much less aid available to transfer students, so you may not get the better deal that you once had.</p>
<p>I really am curious though, if the aid was better, why turn down Stanford/Ivies for a craphole like Case?</p>
<p>The only Ivy I applied to was Penn and , off course, the record application year really hurt, and I was rejected.
My parents also played a huge rule in my decision, basically saying I couldn't go to Tulane. They were convinced the POSC was better than it is. The professors are nice and engaging, but I would like to go to a school with more class offerings, and felt if I didn't like it I would transfer.
I figured if I worked my ass of Freshman year and re take the SAT, maybe I can get in to an Ivy or need blind school, because its not worth going in to debt for my major at Case. I could always transfer to Pitt, but would rather get out of Pittsburgh.</p>
<p>Pitt is a fairly popular transfer safety option for Pennsylvania residents at Case who want to get out. And managing the stats to at the very least ensure a spot there should be no problem given the courses you'd logically take during your first semester. The problem with an Ivy of course is that most of the weight will fall on your HS numbers given when you intend to transfer. So, while the college GPA will count quite a bit, even a 4.0 will not compensate for HS numbers like yours and mine (as my record would suggest).</p>
<p>Anyone have ideas on schools to apply to that have a solid social science/poli sci and offer good aid(more than case) other than my state school?</p>
<p>If you want to have decent financial aid I'd try Duke, UNC, and possibly Vanderbilt. University of Chicago, I have heard, is not horrible either with financial aid. </p>
<p>If you really are a PA student then Pitt would not be bad at all...or even Bucknell. The instate tuition would REALLY help for Pitt and then you'd also probably get some PA state money depending on financial circumstances.</p>
<p>Thanks. The only issue with pitt is class size the 1st 2 years, even in the honors college.
Never thought of bucknell.
I would think duke and uchicago would be very difficult, hopefully I have a chance.</p>
<p>Actually, dont even think about Duke. It'd be almost impossible...they accept like 12 per year. </p>
<p>UChicago would be a possibility and so would Pitt+Bucknell+Carnegie Mellon.</p>
<p>I dont think you should really be that particular with class size. You'd certainly get a good education as well as have it be inexpensive. I chose against both Carnegie and Pitt but if you could get into those it would not be horrible to choose them.</p>
<p>I would really look at schools in PA so that you can get some govt money if you are able.</p>
<p>They match my families money through TAP, not exactly sure how much. I have enough APs to have a semester done.
I will def. Consider pitt again. UNC sounds like a nice option, I will apply to Tulane again, but they offer mostly merit aid. Cmu would be tough, only got a 660 on math.
Is it true that state schools, even if you're OOS, offer good aid? Such as OSU?
I was also thinking of McGill.</p>
<p>McGill? In Canada? LOL...that's a long way from home. </p>
<p>I would really consider UChicago, Pitt, Mellon, and Bucknell...and maybe even Vanderbilt. UNC would not be horrible. CMU is not all about the math scores at all.</p>
<p>And no, if you're out of state you'd be mostly screwed at most state schools. UNC actually has a decently competitive financial aid package, but other schools? Not so much. For example, UMich would have cost like something around 35K for me...which is basically your current situation. </p>
<p>So, again, I would look at UChicago+Mellon+Pitt+Bucknell+Vanderbilt+maybe UNC...I think Tulane would be expensive. Rice might not be bad, but I think it'd be VERY difficult for you to get into, a lot like Duke. Maybe Baylor...but I'd think about the ones I listed above.</p>
<p>I was also thinking of haverford, wesleyan, davidson, penn(slim chance), rice..
Still trying to compile a list of matches w/good aid.
I think when I am at school I'kk have a better understanding of size and how far, so now just a list of 10 to 15 and narrow it down in the fall.
Thanks for all the help!</p>
<p>10-15? Well:
1. Bucknell
2. CMU
3. Pitt
4. Haverford
5. U.Chicago
6. Vanderbilt
7. UNC
8. Davidson
9. Wake Forest
10. Wesleyan
11. Boston College
12. Swarthmore
13. Northwestern
14. U. of Rochester
15. Georgetown University</p>
<p>There are 15 good schools to consider with a large group that are "full need met" schools.</p>
<p>Depending on how well you actually did at CW I'd apply to:
Davidson, Pitt, Vanderbilt, Wake, Wesleyan, U. of Rochester, Swarthmore, and Bucknell. </p>
<p>That gives you a good group of schools. Reach schools of Vandy+Swarth+Wake...More guaranteed schools such as Pittsburgh and maybe U. Rochester...and Good chance schools Davidson+Wesleyan+Bucknell.</p>
<p>Thanks so much</p>
<p>No problem. Its good to keep perspective. Apply for transfer to a couple reach schools...couple good match schools...and a couple safe schools and you should be ok. That's why I would probably apply to those I listed as the "apply to" schools.</p>
<p>Full Need Met colleges:
Davidson
Vanderbilt
Wake
Wesleyan
U. of Rochester
Swarthmore</p>
<p>In State:
Pitt
Bucknell</p>
<p>You will get instate tuition at Pitt which will equal=12,106+Room+Fees. Depending on how much you get via the FAFSA you might get enough to make it half that much or less which would be very good for you. </p>
<p>Bucknell you wont get in-state tuition, but you will probably get (again depending on financial situation) some govt money from PA to go in-state and the cost at Bucknell is not as much as where you are currently. </p>
<p>I think for you to get into Law School, Pitt would be good as they have an ok law school as it is. Vanderbilt has a good law school so they would be a good choice. Wesleyan, Wake, and Bucknell would also be a good group. The others are also ok that I mentioned. </p>
<p>Again, Good Luck.</p>
<p>Oh and I might add and think about Villanova in PA as well.</p>
<p>So I made a preliminary list of schools which supposedly match need 95-100%(except for some in state schools)</p>
<p>Penn
Swarthmore
Haverford?
Bucknell?
Pitt</p>
<p>OOS:
Georgetown
Wash U
Cornell
Northwestern
UNC
Davidson
New College of Florida
Tulane
Wesleyan</p>
<p>HS stats- 3.9 w, 3.7 uw 1320/2040. 5 APs, 1 honors. 3 AP credits, 1 CIHS.
Class 2012
I will narrow it down substantially. Probably 2 reaches, 3 matches and a safety. Any school out of my league?
Solid list? Any particular school which won't offer as good of aid/more than $15,000 per year?
Or just any type of input in general.</p>
<p>Out of your league? I'd guess Penn is highly unlikely. For Cornell, if you can find a suitable major in HE, is much more probable than if you go the CAS route. And Georgetown's SFS is going to be tougher to get into than other schools at the university. And of course some, like UNC and NCF have low OOS acceptance rates relatively speaking. Still, the fact that you have Pitt as a safety is good, as is the inclusion of more match-oriented schools like Bucknell and Tulane. So all things considered, a fairly good, if overly large, list.</p>
<p>tiff, don't listen to gprime... if you have drive and passion and a track record to match you are a candidate for ivies (so what if H and P don't take them). Reach for YOUR goals (not the statistics others try and throw at you).</p>