<p>Because I've gotten so much help from the people on this board, and given so little back... </p>
<p>I was admitted yesterday to Northwestern University.</p>
<p>HS stats:
2.5ish GPA in rigorous courseload
Class Rank in bottom half
Few activities- varsity tennis, quiz bowl, etc...
1500 SAT</p>
<p>College stats:
Northeastern University
3.9 GPA after Freshman year
Probably a 4.0 GPA for this semester
Few activities (I had great ones, but they were hard to express in writing)
One really good teacher rec from a teacher who barely speaks english****
**** I've seen people on here discouraged from getting a recommendation from a teacher who doesn't speak english well. In my opinion, as long as they can successfully express the jist of their feelings towards you, it really isn't a problem.
A pretty good essay
I made a few (pretty bad) grammatical errors and typos which I didn't notice until after I had submitted. For all those worrying about this- It doesn't seem to be the case that admissions people will punish you too harshly for these.</p>
<p>Now at Northwestern University in Evanston, Il.</p>
<p>I should note that I was waitlisted after Freshman year to Wesleyan University. I chose not to accept my spot, and am now very thankful for this. I want everyone else to understand and really believe that a poor four years of high school won't haunt you the rest of your life (just a year and a half or so).</p>
<p>Edit: feel free to ask any questions about the transfer process, and I'll try to get back to you soon.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I should note that I was waitlisted after Freshman year to Wesleyan University. I chose not to accept my spot, and am now very thankful for this. I want everyone else to understand and really believe that a poor four years of high school won't haunt you the rest of your life (just a year and a half or so).
[/quote]
</p>
<p>This point needs reinforcement! From Maize&Blue who earned a 2.x in high school only to be admitted as a junior transfer at Brown and Rice (and others?), Kipling with a 2.x only to be admitted as a junior transfer to Rice, Brown, and Harvard (and others?), to me who earned a 2.4 and was admitted as a sophomore at Georgetown.</p>
<p>This thread is wonderfully encouraging. So, two (or one and a half) years of college can wipe out a poor HS record -- I hope one year can improve a decent one! (3.5, 1480)</p>
<p>Now I'm anxiously waiting on U of Rochester. I'm a Tulane student but after visiting U of Rochester Monday before Thanksgiving, I instantly felt I should've belonged there. The transfer interview went well, and I talked to another admission officer and that went well too. And I'd been in contact with another admission officer who handles transfer admission. Keeping my fingers crossed now... Thank you so much, guys, for sharing your great achievements. Now I'm inspired.</p>
<p>Gomestar, it was actually quite easy. It was no work at all, literally.</p>
<p>Zhou, if you were able to express that same sentiment towards Rochester in your application, you should be fine. I'd say you're in great shape with those numbers.</p>
<p>Nspeds is right on, btw. And it goes without saying that anyone with the zeal to find and post on a website like this surely has the tenacity to work hard enough to get into wherever they want.</p>
<p>To screenname: your stats are EXACTLY like mine when I was accepted to some very good schools as a sophomore transfer (didn't go as it turned out... but that's a completely other story). Best of luck.</p>
<p>Alright, folks, one of the admission officer I spoke to the other day called me today. He told me the good news first, which is that I'm accepted. But... they're only giving me a 5000 worth of scholarship, which is a meager amount of what Tulane gave me. The good part is that they didn't reject me downright because they felt it hard to close the gap between what they can offer and what I can offer. The admssion officer left a voice message on my cell, asking me to call him back so "we can try to bridge the gap". But I don't know how successful that would be. I'm really frustrated now. I really really really want to attend U of Rochester and the only problem right now is the financial matter. My parents say they're gonna pay whatever if I'm gonna be happy at U of Rochester but I do not want them to pay that much cos I already felt like I owed them too much... Gosh... I'm gonna call him tmr to see what kind of deal I can get... I'm totally in desperation now... Any kind of input about the art of negotiation about financial stuff?</p>
<p>You said that you had an OK high school record...do you guys think that the opposite might work the same way? I had a 4.29 in high school and in college I think that I'll have around a 3.3. I had a 1270 on my SATs, but that got me into Tufts and Wellesley.</p>