Transfer

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

Looking for advice on transferring to Harvard.

My background: I’m a freshman Applied Math/Stat major at JHU, ended first semester with a 4.0 in traditionally difficult classes including organic chemistry (A), linear algebra (A+), and differential equations (A+). In high school, I was top 5% of my class, 3.9 UW GPA, 4.68 WGPA, SAT superscore 2380 with the 780 being in reading, 800’s in both SAT II’s for Chemistry and Math II. I took 10 AP tests, scored eight 5’s on “difficult” subjects including AP chemistry, both AP physics C exams, AP CS, etc. and my two 4’s were on Macro and Micro, which I’d self studied.

Did a bunch of academic contests in high school too. I was a USA Math Olympiad qualifier and attained Distinguished Honor Roll for the AMC’s 4 times (top 1%), also scored in the top 50 on the US National Chemistry Olympiad, and achieved semi-finalist standings (usually top 10%) for other competitions like USA Biology Olympiad, NA Computational Linguistics Olympiad. I also did competitions on a team: I went to the National Science Olympiad tournament where my team took 9th place overall (I got 7th and 9th on my events), my Science Bowl team won the local tournament and represented the NJ/PA area at the national competition, my ARML team won 3rd place in the A-division, and my Ocean Science Bowl team won the state tournament to represent the NJ region at the national competition.

In terms of EC’s, in college I am the treasurer of the Go club, and a to-be officer of the Hopkins Undergrad Society for Applied Math. I am also on the A-team for ultimate frisbee. In high school, I was captain of my ultimate frisbee team for two years, and brought the team from a last-place finish at states to a 3rd place finish. I was also an active member in math club and science club, representing the school in the team competitions I mentioned above.

So that leaves my main topic to be addressed: motivations for transferring.

I read some people’s advice on CC, and it seems the most important part is having a “compelling, academic reason” for transferring. I’m having a hard time, since Applied Math/Stat isn’t exactly an esoteric subject, and both schools have pretty big departments for it. The only thing I could come up with was that I wasn’t being academically challenged at JHU (I breezed through my classes, probably putting in maybe 10hrs or less of studying a week), and I think I’d fit in much better at Harvard. I know this sounds kinda wishy-washy, would this fly at all with admissions? I’m also interested in the connections Harvard graduates have, especially at Wall Street, but I’m not sure if that’s “compelling” or “academic” either.

Thanks in advance!

2

Transfer student here. I think that while academically you are a qualified applicant for transferring, you lack the most important thing that Harvard looks for in transfer students - as you said, a “compelling” reason for transferring specifically to Harvard. You said that you think you would be more challenged at Harvard. Then why didn’t you choose, say, MIT, whose math classes are generally harder than those at Harvard? Is there a specific course or program at Harvard that is not given anywhere else? A specific professor whose research you are very interested in? These are the kinds of things that, in my opinion, qualify for a “compelling” reason. Also, Linear Algebra and Differential Equations are standard freshmen courses for math majors. If you say you find everything easy, why don’t you try courses for advanced undergraduates or even graduate courses at JHU?
To be honest, in terms of undergraduate classes alone, my opinion is that most top schools (which JHU certainly is) are about the same. Your program, whether at JHU or at Harvard, can be as challenging or as easy as you want it to be.
That said, your stats are comparable to those of other transfer students I know.

3

Did you only take 3 classes your first semester? I think the number/rigor of classes is important too.

4

@CharlieTransfers I also took Gen Bio I + lab, and another freshman seminar for a total of 17 credits. I do plan on taking 23 next semester, and will be meeting with the Dean to get approval.

@Curaniti Thanks for the feedback. I’ll definitely think harder about why I want to transfer. The thing about my current position is that I’m taking pre-med classes since I went into JHU entertaining the possibility of becoming a doctor eventually (hence why I took orgo, bio). But on the other hand, I’m not set on that, and Wall Street is a definite possibility for me. However, I don’t really want to sound like I’m undecided in my essay.

5

@rofllolcopt My older sister tried that at her college but the dean refused to approve it because of credit restrictions. JHU might have those too, so don’t stress yourself about it if you can’t (especially if you’re applying this year). You don’t want to overload yourself and risk your midterm grades since those get submitted too.

6

@rofllolcopt, Did you apply to Harvard when you were a senior in high school?