I am currently a student at The George Washington University. I’m unimpressed with the academics. In all my classes I am consistently doing 20% better than the average. I am a biology major with a 3.92 gpa. I study more than my peers and I want to be around students who share my same love for biology and that I can compete at the same level with. I am involved in Circle K and I have started a new club all by myself. I plan on applying to Duke, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Northeastern, Harvard, and Georgetown. Yes, I understand that some of those schools are very difficult to get into. Do I have a shot at any of those?
Also, I am very nervous about asking for letters of recommendation. I want to ask my English professor (the class is small, I get As on my papers, and I have been to office hours multiple times) and my psych professor (he taught at Duke for ten years, I have an A in his class, and I have been to his office hours a few times). Are those good ideas?
I am happy in GW in most expects, but I am very dissatisfied with the academics and I believe I can succeed at a more rigorous school.
If you are a freshman those schools will look at your high school GPA and SAT/ACT scores. They will not base a decision on one semester of college. A 3.6 and 30 ACT in high school will hurt your chances at most of those schools. Harvard will look at your high school record regardless of when you try and transfer. The transfer acceptance rate at Harvard is 1-2%.
If you were denied as a freshman then your chances are further reduced.
So do I have a shot at all of going to a more rigorous school?
At this point, I’d say no. You haven’t even complete one semester yet, you don’t have any course grades yet. If your courses aren’t rigorous enough for you, why don’t you take harder ones? Take one that’s designed for upperclassmen and see how you do.
I know my hs gpa was low, but it was mainly my freshman year that brought it down. Junior year and senior year every single grade I got was an A. So I showed an upward trend
Why don’t you take the high GPA, add some research experience to it, and parlay it into a good grad school or med school admission? Your GPA may go down at those other schools. A high college GPA opens a lot of doors.
Schools will take a dim view of an 18 year old applying for transfer because she’s “unimpressed by the academics” at a top 100 university. Challenge yourself by taking a rigorous course of studies, excel, and take advantage of the opportunities you have at the school and its exciting location. Then apply to top grad schools.
While I personally think it’s perfectly fine that you find GW’s rigor “unimpressive”, it’s a fairly shallow reason to transfer.
The schools you listed don’t have some kind of magical way to make you succeed in your respective field. Harvard, Duke, etc. are rigorous institutions indeed, but do you genuinely believe that simply having harder tests and faster paced courses will help you in any way?
It sounds to me that you’re thriving academically in GW. According to you, you’re involved on campus, and you’ve even created a club–don’t you want to build upon these experiences?
As people have suggested, since you’re doing so well, you should look into top grad school programs.
You are a bio major, but the people you want to ask for your LORs aren’t in that department. Why no letter from your bio professor?
What have you done so far to learn about the rigor of upper-level courses for your major? What have you done to get yourself into a research team in your major? What have your bio professors told you about their contacts at the NIH and/or in biotech companies in the area?
I think that you are going to find as you get into upper level classes that the classes get more difficult. Also, if you are biology major, then you are going to need some additional education after you get your bachelors – whether that be graduate school, medical school, veterinary school, or something else. As such you are going to need a high GPA and you are going to want to be in the upper half of your class in order to get accepted to whatever comes next. If you are only 20% above average for your classes then you are not much ahead of where you want to be regardless of which school you attend.
As such, I agree with other comments that have questioned your reasons for wanting to transfer.
You are at an excellent school and appear to be doing well. You have a very good GPA but also report studying more than your peers, which to me indicates that some degree of studying is necessary… the grades don’t just appear effortlessly. I think you are exactly where you should be- remember that the classes will get harder as you go further along in your major.
I would stay put, take advantage of all the wonderful opportunities that are available at your school ( research etc) and continue to maintain your high GPA. Your GPA may go down at those other schools- I would stay at GW and build upon your positive experiences… especially since you are otherwise happy.
Have you connected with your professors about research opportunities? Are you considering medical school, and if so… have you investigated volunteering with underserved populations in the community? Are you researching summer internships? These are the things I would focus on.
I intend to go to medical school. When I said I was 20% above the average, I mean that other students are getting grades near 73% (the professors share the averages) and I am getting 95s on my tests.
I am a bit frustrated with the pre med program here. I was unaware I needed to take chemistry in my first semester of my freshman year. Once some other students told me that, I tried to meet with a pre med advisor to get myself back on track. The school will not allow me to schedule an appointment with an advisor. I need to attend a pre-health info session first, but the available times for the info session conflict with my classes. I’ve explained this to advising and they will not let me meet with an advisor. I wish the advisors here were more helpful, but it seems like if I stay at GW, I need to handle my pre med track by myself.
Why would you want to transfer to a more competitive school when you are doing well academically at your current school… and you intend to apply to medical school?
Ask your regular advisor how to handle the scheduling problems.
Remember, medical schools (and grad schools) couldn’t care less where you’ve completed your undergraduate education.
Since medical school is the overarching goal, you are a pre-medical student, first and foremost. Being able to establish solid groundwork for your GPA is extremely important, because the material presented will only get more difficult from here.
What Are your actual classes if your LORs are from a psych and english prof? You are basing your intellectual superiority on freshman classes with no end of term GPA from the actual tests? You aren’t even taking chem?
Skip a class to go to the advising. You don’t have to do it yourself. You just need to prioritize and figure out solutions.
So, I think you need to do some serious thinking on all your future coursework. You say you’re hoping to go to med school but you never met with the advisors to put together your freshman schedule?
You’re getting your advice, secondhand, from other students?
You don’t have LOR from a pre med advisor, nor a bio or chem prof?
As the posters noted above, you’ve only been in school for a semester and your transfer record would be based on your high school records.
If you previously applied to those schools and were not admitted, they aren’t going to readmit you after a semester of college coursework.
^ good points!
OP who helped you make your freshman schedule? Did you express your interest in premed?
I doubt very much that if you stay at GW, you will have to handle your premed track by yourself. OP… That statement can’t be true.
So you’d feel more challenged if you were getting 73% also, or if everyone was getting 95%? You might be working harder or the other students may not have been as prepared. If you went to Duke and most were getting 95% but you weren’t, would you then feel you were with people who are challenging you?
You are being challenged and you are meeting the challenge! Be happy. If you can’t be happy, see what those schools require to transfer (grades, number of credits?) You might not be able to transfer until you have completed 1 or 2 years.
An advisor in the college of arts and sciences helped me make my first semester schedule. I expressed interest in pre med. Students are not allowed to schedule a meeting with a pre med advisor until September 25. I scheduled classes in June during my freshman orientation.