<p>I'm just looking for some advice. I'm currently going to be a freshman at Drexel U for the 2008-9 school year. My high school record is not exactly what I would call impressive. I had a death in my immediate family during my sophmore year and I lost focus on my school work. Not surprisingly, I got rejected from Yale for freshman admission. I truly did fall in love with the school when I attended their summer session and so I am hoping to apply for transfer admission. For anyone who was successfully transfered to Yale, tell me how you did it. I also wouldn't mind seeing how the freshman this year got in. I'm just looking for some inspiration and hopefully I will find just that. Thanks a lot!</p>
<p>I've written a bit on the transfer boards recently about transferring successfully (to Yale, specifically, but also generally). You could look there if you want, but I'll briefly reiterate some of the general tips. If you want anything more specific, I suggest scanning those boards or PMing me.</p>
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<li><p>Do well in college. Get as close to a 4.0 as possible. While this certainly won't get you into Yale by itself, it's a pretty important qualifier unless you have something else that is absolutely amazing. </p></li>
<li><p>Don't spend all your time at Drexel thinking about how you're going to transfer to Yale. Go out and enjoy what your university has to offer. You'll make more friends and generally be happier... and who knows, maybe you'll decide to stay.</p></li>
<li><p>Get involved! This is SOOO important. I feel like a parrot sometimes when people ask for advice... because this is usually my main response. Find something at your university that you really love and devote a lot of time to it. If it's competitive, that's even better (in my opinion, at least, as it's easier to show your dedication on paper when it's accompanies by a load of medals and first-place awards). If not, that's ok. Yale doesn't want people with perfect SATs and GPAs. While that helps, they really want people who are interesting and have a life outside academics.</p></li>
<li><p>Make sure your essays are compelling and provide excellent reasons for why you want to transfer. Don't just give them reasons why Yale is awesome, either; tell them how Yale would uniquely contribute to the growth and goals that you seek during your college years. If you have specific issues with your university (large classes, impersonal, don't have X program), tell them. However, don't harp on it! They don't want to see you whine about x, y and z problems with your old school. If anything, use those short-comings as a launchpad to talk about how Yale would solve them. For example, my old school has huge classes, giant waitlists, and impersonal settings. Yale has an awesome residential college system, small classes, and a shopping period. Basically all those old problems are non-existent at Yale. A generic essay isn't going to cut it.</p></li>
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<p>Uhh, there are some more... but unfortunately I've got to run</p>