<p>I'm a freshman at a southern state school that I went to mainly for in-state tuition/full-ride and because I really had absolutely NO direction in my life last year at this time.
I'm a business major right now, which is what my college is known for, but I'm wanting to major in psychology, but the department here is.....less than impressive.</p>
<p>High School Stats:
3.9/4.0 GPA, hovered around top 5% of class
Really active in band, made All-State three years, a couple of leadership and volunteer experiences.
AP's: BC Calc 5, Psyc 5, Physics 5, US History 5
ACT: highest was 33/36
SAT II's: Chinese 800, Math 1 740, Math 2 740</p>
<p>College Stats:
3.8/4.0 GPA, all a's but made a B in an upper-level antropology class taught by a former Harvard professor.
I currently do research for a professor and I'm about to get my name on one of her publications. REALLY hoping that that'll add major brownie points for me.
Fluent in another language. Extensive participation in a service club.</p>
<p>I hate to be brutally honest but you have absolutely nothing at this point to set you apart from the dozens of other transfer applicants with almost identical stats to you.</p>
<p>you need to find a hook or forget it and apply to other top schools you have a shot at.</p>
<p>I would have to agree. Also, based on your chinese score, i would have to say that you must be asian and your ethnicity is overly represented at Harvard.</p>
<p>that's not a hook of the caliber you would need for Harvard. It's quite admirable,to be sure, but you better believe that plenty of applicants from other top schools have the same experience if not better.</p>
<p>A good example was the kid on here a couple years ago whose father was a citizen of some middle eastern country(Afghanistan? don't remember) who died as a result of the conflicts which are ongoing over there. Apparently he had a pretty compelling story to go along with it, even though he wasn't a particularly strong applicant as far as stats go he still got in.</p>
<p>For business I would look into Cornell AEM(make sure you have prereqs. especially bio.), Georgetown Mcdonough, Stern, Ross and maybe a couple other similarly ranked schools. Psychology I have no idea, sorry.</p>
<p>Apply to JHU and Berkeley, supposedly their psych department is pretty strong but I have qualms with psychologists, especially this lady from JHU who came for a speech -_-</p>
<p>the reason i'm applying to harvard (and now penn) is mainly for their financial aid policies. i was accepted to a top 10 schoollast year but i couldn't go because of financial reasons. i'm taking the act's again. do you think that will help with my chances at penn?</p>
<p>and stoneimaculate, as far as that kid who's dad died...my dad was diagnosed with cancer three weeks ago, and using that kind of story as your "hook" to get into a good college is probably the most shady thing i've heard in my life.</p>
<p>sorry to hear about your dad but you must be quite naive to think that those sort of sob stories--if presented in the proper way--don't get kids into good schools. </p>
<p>There was an article about the chick who got into Stanford and one of her big hooks was how she took care of her sick mother while going to CC. She also had connections, but still, it happens all the time.</p>
<p>I'm not saying that makes it right but it happens.</p>
<p>Not to be a bastard but the way you put it, stoneimmaculate, almost makes it sound like people such as shen523 are given an unfair advantage over other applicants for having tragedies brought upon their families. I'm sure that's not what you meant, but lets just remind ourselves that most people would rather not have a tragic incident that can be used as a "hook" for college admissions =]. Of course those who fabricate such stories or use them simply to get into college are the real bastards.</p>