<p>Hi, I am an international student currently studying in the University of British Columbia, Canada, and I am thinking about transferring to another university next year. I was actually accepted into Notre Dame for the Fall '05 Term, but due to a severe error in judgement, ended up at my current location. I am currently considering the feasibilty of applying again as a transfer student.</p>
<p>I am taking the full first year course load in the Faculty of Arts in UBC, and will be able to have credits for the following courses by the end of the academic year. So far, I have been maintaining my grades at a 75%-90% range, and I hoped to major either in Literature or Asian Studies. If I manage to make it to Notre Dame, I will try for the Program of Liberal Studies.:
6 credits of first year Literature
6 credits of first year History
6 credits of first year Philosophy
6 credits of first year Asian Studies
6 credits of first year Japanese</p>
<p>I do not know what this will be equivalent to in ND, but I do understand that I will be at a disadvantage because I have not taken any Science or Math courses this year. I am wondering if I will be able to use my GCE A Level results to make up this deficit:
Math C: A
Literature in English: A
History: A</p>
<p>I have been unable to participate in as many ECs as I would have liked to, due to a general apathy that seems to pervade the attitudes of many of the clubs and organisations here. I am currently involved in the Student Newspaper, their Catholic society and a few of the smaller student groups. I do not know to what extent the ECs I had in high school will be able to supplement this dearth:
8-10: Girl Scout Patrol Leader
10-post 12: Catechist volunteer teaching at local parish
11-12: Canoeing: 3 medals at national u-19 level, school colours
11-12: Dragonboat: 2 medals at national level
11-12: Editorial Board
post 12: Dragonboat volunteer coaching
Representative for '04 alumni Dragonboat team
Relief Teaching job in various schools
Secreatarial job in top insurance company</p>
<p>The reasons why I wish to transfer out of UBC are manifold, but I can safely cite religious reasons and campus involvement as two main factors. I was raised as a Catholic and attended Methodist high schools - I find that attending university in a secular setting where main item of worship are booze and marijuana is anathema to what I value, not to mention that my spiritual life has ground to a virtual standstill. Furthermore, the size of the campus (30 000) leaves little room for school spirit or a sense of belonging. Many of the locals clique together, and it is rather hard to break into their social circles unless one has the same propensity for clubbing and wild life, or the same high school. </p>
<p>I am hoping that ND will give me another chance to find my niche, and as long as this post has been, I will be extremely grateful for any advice or information that will help me to make an informed decision. Thanks so much.</p>
<p>I am not familiar with the GCE and how things work with foreign universities, but I do know ND transfer admissions very well as I transferred in 2 years ago and my roommate transferred in last year. Before I start with my answer, I want to make sure you know you can email me to talk more about your case specifically if you wish. If you click on my user name it should give you my email.</p>
<p>Getting into ND the first time will help you, but unfortunately only so much. A lot is going to depend on your classes and your GPA. You should ask admissions about those GCE scores because I have no idea about how they would transfer, but I bet they will give you some credit for them, especially if they kept you from taking intro classes in those courses.</p>
<p>That being said, the class requirements are very important and they are part of what separates those whom they accept and those whom they reject. They want to know you are serious about transferring and they want you to graduate in four years so they are strict with them. However, you still have time and definately should get in touch with admissions before you register for next semester! If you are close, admissions will still accept you and let you make up the class during summer school either at ND or at a college by you.</p>
<p>I am not sure what your GPA would be but the critical threshold that pretty much (but not always) holds true is you need the equivalent of a 3.5 GPA. At most universities, a 3.5 would be essentially having as many A-'s as A's so it would be about a 93-94% I would guess, I really am not sure, but the grades definately have to be high.</p>
<p>I am not sure how locked into your schedule you are but definately try to get a science course next semester because it is goign to be very hard to transfer without it. Also, talk to transfer admissions as they know what they are looking for a bit better than I do.</p>
<p>I wish you the very best of luck and I apologize that I don't know more but I just am not familiar with Canadian universities. Let me know if there is any way I can help or get in touch if you have any questions.</p>
<p>irish - what were your options regarding fin aid and housing like as a transfer. hopefully these are issues i'll soon have to address and a heads up will be nice.</p>
<p>For better or for worse, I can't comment too much on financial aid because I do not qualify :(. However, I believe that they will still meet your demonstrated need, I am almost sure of that. I do know transfers who are getting financial aid so I think it is the same as any other student.</p>
<p>As for housing, well, I am probably not the most optimistic person on that. In the lottery for housing, out of 65 males I got number 60 so it took me a whole semester to get on campus. While this sounds horrible (and it was hard being off-campus for my first semester at ND) it really wasn't as bad as it sounds. I was able to meet lots of people and I stayed close with my transfer friends, and in the end almost broke even living in a single apartment as compared to living in the dorm. When I look back on it, while it stinks that I had to do it, I learned a lot from it and grew a lot from it. It is not something I would change.</p>
<p>Most of the transfers I would say will get housing from the get go, but there is a chance that you will be off campus. It is not ideal, but if ND is really where you are meant to be, it is very much worth the hastle. </p>
<p>If you want to talk more about the process, your chances, or just ask more questions please feel free to geti n touch with me. My email should be available to you if you click on my user name and if not I believe my AIM is in my profile. Post if you have any problem getting those and I will message you with the info.</p>
<p>I wish you luck in transferring. I can assure you that despite the difficulties, if ND is the right place for you, you will never for a moment regret your decision. It is amazing here and I hope you get to experience it! Good luck!</p>
<p>Hello irish68178, thank you for your earlier words of advice.</p>
<p>Although this thread has lain dormant for a while, I have not yet given up on my hopes to apply to ND this fall as a transfer student, although by now, I have decided to focus on English as my major.</p>
<p>An update on my situation following the end of the Fall term:
G.P.A: I am not sure how to convert this to US standards, but my grades are currently holding at an A- overall, 82%
Credits that will be given at the end of the year:
6 credits English (course in progress)
3 credits Math (transfer credits from GCE results, equivalent to Math 100)
6 credits History (course in progress)
6 credits Philosophy (course in progress)
6 credits Japanese (3 awarded for 100 course, 101 course pending)
6 credits Asian Studies (3 awarded for 100 course, 101 course pending)</p>
<p>I am still unsure whether to drop my Asian Studies 101 course in lieu of the Math 101 course in order to better fufil the suggested ND transfer requirements. I also realise that I still do not have any natural science courses, and to take one on would be to overload my courses for this term. Can anyone advise me on the feasibility of actually overloading: which means I would fufil at least half the ND requirement (3 out of 6 semester hours), or ought I leave it as it is in order to concentrate on doing well in the course which I do have?</p>
<p>I would email transfer admissions and ask about the math but my guess is that you are going to be alright right where you are. However, the science is very important and I do think it is worthwhile to change things up in order to ensure that you have at least one of those natural science courses (chances are good they will let you take the other over the summer if your grades are good enough) so I would definately do that. Talking to transfer admissions will give you the best idea as to what ND is looking for, however, but I do think that the science is important for you to switch into becase the subjects they care about the most are the math and the science. I hope that helps; shoot me a PM if you need more help!</p>
<p>Hey missbean, by the way, are you from singapore? Canoeing sounds like the nationals in july, and dragonboat sounds like the SDBA.... year 11 and 12 sounds like jc :P Hmmm so what medals you won? which jc?</p>