<p>I'm thinking of transferring to Yale or Duke next year. Here's my stats:</p>
<p>High school:
SAT CR: 2310
SAT Math 2: 800
SAT Molecular Biology: 800
SAT Chemistry: 780
A lot of extracurricular and leadership activities, Intel International Science and Engineering Fair Grand Award & numerous science awards at state level.</p>
<p>College
Dartmouth College: 3.9+ GPA, top 5% of class of 2012
I have only participated in a leadership training program last spring. I may pursue leadership positions in clubs I'm interested in this year.</p>
<p>Reason for wanting to transfer:
I really like Dartmouth. The small classes are amazing. And life is pretty laid-back. The weather is really hard for me though because I have asthma, and this is the main reason I want to transfer. I often get asthma attacks when I have to walk 15 minutes outside to classes, which is very annoying. After some research, I found New Haven has a much more mild climate, and Duke's winter weather is perfect. I wouldn't apply to Stanford though because I would like to stay on the East Coast.</p>
<p>Completing a transfer application is a lot of work. Therefore, I would like to have a general idea of my chances before deciding whether or not to apply for transfer. I personally think not many students in top 5% at Ivies, Stanford, MIT would transfer and give up super high GPA they worked one and a half year for (since GPA gets recalculated after a transfer). I may be wrong. So, please chance me. Thanks a lot.</p>
<p>Adding to above:
I have 5’s on 4 APs. My course load at Dartmouth is not extremely hard, but it’s definitely above average since I don’t take easy classes.</p>
<p>For most people my instant reply would be…your chances are low. </p>
<p>However, for you, I think you are a VERY competitive applicant. Just try to find a reason you want to attend those schools specifically, maybe relating to your field of study.</p>
<p>You definitely have a shot but the reasons for transferring are going to be what moves your application out of the pack of other good ones. I wouldn’t rely solely (or mostly) on the health issues you’re having for Yale. I’ve lived in NH my entire life and spend a lot of time in NY/NJ/CT–the changes in weather from Hanover to New Haven are not very drastic at all. Some would probably argue that the air quality in Hanover is far better than the air quality in New Haven since one is rural and the other is urban. Duke is, of course, a much different story in terms of weather, but regardless I wouldn’t put that at the forefront of your reasons for transferring. Good luck!</p>
<p>Would lack of doing research during my first year hurt my transfer application? Since I’m interested in pursuing a career in finance, there hasn’t been any research I can do yet.</p>
<p>Honestly, if you write a good essay with a compelling reason for transfer, then your chance is as good as it can get because your current credential is as good as it can get for a transfer applicant.</p>
<p>However, I wouldn’t recommend transfer in your case for two reasons.</p>
<p>First, getting asthma attacks from cold weather is not a compelling reason for transfer. It is hard for a person to like everything about his/her college. Since you like everything (or mostly everything) except the weather at Dartmouth, it’s a good match. As the person above mentioned, how do you know your asthma wouldn’t be triggered by pollution at New Haven or Durham?</p>
<p>Second, you are right that “not many students in top 5% at Ivies, Stanford, MIT would transfer and give up super high GPA they worked one and a half year for.” You shouldn’t either. Dartmouth is at least as good as Yale and Duke for one interested in a career in finance. If you keep your GPA as high as it is now, you will have a lot of research and internship opportunities during sophomore and junior years. Keep up the good work and chances are you will end up working for a top investment bank or private equity company after graduation. However, your GPA gets recalculated if you transfer, and you will have to rebuild a high GPA in your junior year before getting research opportunities at your new school.</p>
<p>Therefore, you chance is as good as it can get (if you write a good essay for transferring), but I wouldn’t recommend transferring.</p>
<p>One thing to remember about Dartmouth is you can “skip” the winter. I had a good friend who literally only spent two winter terms in Hanover - one winter he did an LSA in Mexico and the other he did thesis research in the Southwest. Either way I think if you are creative with Dartmouth you can make it work.</p>
<p>No transfer application is sure to be accepted, but yours is as close to being a sure deal as it can be. Top 5% at Ivies, Stanford, MIT usually don’t transfer unless they absolutely hate their school, since they have the most to loss and littlest to gain of all transfer students. Since you like Dartmouth, I think you are also one who has a lot to loss and nothing to be gained through transfer because you will find other problems at Yale, Duke, etc. that Dartmouth doesn’t have.</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses. I have decided to not apply for transfer after reviewing them. Now I see wanting to transfer due to breathing problem is not a good reason, because I can still have breathing problem at Yale or Duke due to pollution instead of extremely cold weather at Dartmouth.</p>
<p>Actually your main issue at Duke would be pollen, its pretty aggressive in North Carolina in the spring and summer - cars even turn yellow after being out a few days. But anyway enjoy the rest of Dartmouth!</p>