<p>Hi im new to this forum and would like to say thank you for anybody that read this thread.</p>
<p>so here is my situation, i currently have a 3.87 and a branch pennstate campus hoping to major in engineering science which gives me the opportunity to graduate with a masters degree in 5 years. But my parents are consistently nagging me about applying to a better school and stuff, which i completely have no problem with transferring. So here are my current stats
gpa:3.87
took really hard classes both semester with 38.5 credits completed. some classes are for example calc 2, engineering statics and chemistry 220 which is the one right before organics. </p>
<p>HS
HS extra curricular : varsity football, varsity wrestling and track. I also worked during highschool at a clothing store and have helped out in my parents family restaurant at least 20-30 hours a week since i was 12 which is couldn't really report that as anything.
my HS gpa was pretty bad i had only a 3.34</p>
<p>Sats:
i took it twice and my highest stats are 550 on reading and 600 in math with a 550 in essay.<br>
Took a satII math 2c test and only scored a dismal 640.<br>
as you can see i'm get a nervous breakdown whenever i take large tests like the sats, my heart starts pound and i get all cold and sweaty.</p>
<p>College:
going to be a sophomore, still planning on taking hard classes:
Ecs: laboratory assistant at college, almost done with the project that i've been working on and likely getting it published by the head of chemistry if it gets completed like i hope. I lift about 15-20 hours a week. and thats about it i really cant do too much with 19 credit semesters and still do other stuff along with the research. Oh and im also in the asian students club and fencing club. Also will have excellent recommendations plus im the first person in my family to go to college and im chinese so i hope that helps too....</p>
<p>so heres my question, if i were to apply for transfer for spring or maybe fall of next year as a junior what are my chances of getting into a top 30 school or maybe even an ivy such as MIT. and any advise as to what i should do to improve with be greatly appreciated </p>
<p>It is doing but it is very difficult. I would suggest that you apply for junior admissions so your high school records and SAT will not be as emphasized. You are really going have to shine in your college years, your college GPA, your essay, and ECs. It is very difficult to transfer to MIT and to other ivies.</p>
<p>Not going to happen. If you transfer with under 60 units they consider your high school record. And your high school record is not good enough for top schools. Wait till next fall and apply.</p>
<p>Transfer as a junior. Your college record seems solid and it will likely mitigate your high school issues. Your SATs are very weak, so you should consider retaking them IMHO. </p>
<p>PS: MIT isn’t an Ivy; just the ones below ;-)</p>
<p>Harvard
Princeton
Yale
Penn
Columbia
Dartmouth
Cornell
Brown</p>
<p>oh ok… thanks for the greats advises, so just wondering if i were to apply to Mit or Penn or Berkeley and Umich maybe Cornell for my junior transfer would i need to up my SATs scores or can i just sit on that? and if i do need to up my scores should i concentrate on 2 subject tests? or the reasoning test? I have to know because i just recently tried to read a few books and they are excruciatingly boring.</p>
<p>i don’t know why everyone always says retake the sat. you are out of high school.whats the point? can’t they see the date?If i retook the sat/act now I would do way better.everyone who has been to college should…it just doesn’t make sense to me</p>
<p>If you want to transfer to an MIT calibre school, your SATs will have to improve significantly. Even when transferring as a junior, scores matter. You won’t be chosen over another applicant just because your SATs are better. Rather, the goal is to be in range with the other applicants to avoid disqualification.</p>
<p>Right now, you are not in range for any of those schools. You can change that with some work.</p>
<p>I went to a Penn State branch campus as well before transferring to the University of Maryland after my sophomore year. I definitely recommend waiting until after your second year to transfer. With most universities, high school records and SAT scores will not matter after two years of college.</p>
<p>1) Don’t retake your SATs. It is a waste of time and if you don’t do significantly better it will look horrible.</p>
<p>2) Have a fall back school like Maryland, Rutgers, or Vanderbilt. They are good schools that you have a much better chance at getting into. The schools you mentioned are hard for even the most elite students to transfer into so don’t count on getting into those alone. Finally, being a first generation student is great but being Chinese is actually a disadvantage in for some admissions boards.</p>
<p>It’s just one of those funny little things many colleges still care about, including all ivies other than Cornell. For schools that don’t care–look to state schools for the most part although there are exceptions such as USC and the aforementioned ivy.</p>