<p>Can we skip the " oh it is going to be very hard part" i know that, that is the reason why i am presenting my question to such knowledgeable folks.
I am a freshmen at a state school in Alaska( i have good reasons to leave). Did not want to go there in the first place. i never spent much time in the same place so i though that i could stay for a little bit.
But so far I have 4 classes but 15 credits
fall: precalc(6 cr), chemistry(3cr), honors(3cr), music appreciation(3cr). For spring i will have Calculus, biology, biology lab, chemistry, chem lab, English.
I started a shadowing with a neurosurgeon not too long ago. that's what i hope to become. I will be looking into some opportunities to volunteer at the same hospital.
My high school was kind of rough ended up with a 3.6gpa 4 AP classes. I will have the additional essay explain what happened ( there was a reason).
it has been 2 weeks since i have been cogitating about the essay.
I have not yet entered a club , because i am working but that is soon about to change( join one soon)
I will have to retake my SATs, because i was not ready the last time. Also I am only 17 so age wise, I dont not hold any advantage.
Also should i apply for transfer this year or the next, I guess Harvard would like to see a steady development. But If i stay another here, I will start working on my medical school stuff so transferring school wont be as beneficiary.
it is with great anxiety that i come to you, please help.
There are also some stats that i forgot to add but nothing amazing.</p>
<p>It’s basically impossible to skip the “it’s going to be hard” part of this thread. It’s going to be. Honestly, you don’t sound half as qualified as many of the other transfer students there. Your high school record isn’t spectacular, regardless of the reasons why. That’s not to say that it’s bad, because it certainly isn’t. But Harvard gets the pick of the litter. </p>
<p>Given your high school record and your need to retake the SATs, it would likely make more sense to stay at your current school for a whole year. That’s going to give them a slightly bigger picture of your college performance, and having a full year versus one semester is going to take a bit more emphasis away from your high school record. </p>
<p>Shadowing with a neurosurgeon is definitely a plus. That’s excellent experience to have listed on your application. </p>
<p>Why you have to transfer to Havard to goto med school? If you do nothing less than A+ in your current school and get 40 on your Mcat you will be in a top med school.</p>
<p>Look at LOTS of other schools.
Why Harvard?
Attending Harvard won’t help you get into med schools. Med Schools only care about your GPA, science GPA, MCAT, professional/research experience. Now, I get that staying in Alaska may not be optimal, but there are lots of schools outside Alaska that admit more than 1% transfer applicants and have very good record of getting students into med schools, from St Olaf in Minnesota to Juniata in Pennsylvania to Hendrix in Arkansas to Eckerd in Florida to St Edward’s in Texas. If you want to transfer to an Ivy League school, apply to Cornell’s Ag School for their Biology major, your odds would be MUCH higher than at Harvard’s.</p>
<p>You are all right. Harvard is not the only school that I am going to apply to, this thread is to provide me ideas and an assement of whatbi have already done. And trust me prestoge has nothing to do witj it, the environment in which I would like to be in seems to be the one prestigious schools offer. Ill stay where I am one more year then I shall see if tranfering is still a good idea</p>
<p>To have a shot, you need to be such an incredible, stand-out student that the professors say “of course you want to transfer”. For the highly selective colleges, though, I think it’s better to try and transfer during you first year to start sophomore year there, and of course you need straight A’s.</p>
<p>So you say I should go for it, I am on the track of a 4.0 and I should be able to score over 2000, I am also planing on aapply to SMEPD a premed summer program. I will be creating my club next year so, inwont be able to transfer after that. </p>
<p>For Harvard and other similar schools, 2100 puts you in the BOTTOM 25%. And you need more than a 4.0 - as I saidf, you must be exceptional, involved in research as a freshman AND making strides expected of upperclass students, etc.</p>
<p>Another delusional Harvard transfer applicant… oh dear…</p>
<p>I see, there is not much research happening here, it seems also very inaccessible. But I will try my best. Life resolves more around what you do with what you learned not where you learned it. Thank you. Do you think cornel might work</p>
<p>Maybe if you learn how to spell it first… “Cornell”. If you really want to go to Harvard, they have a continuing education school. Here is the link, here’s your potential Harvard degree. <a href=“http://www.extension.harvard.edu/”>http://www.extension.harvard.edu/</a> They’ll take anyone who pays the Harvard bucks.</p>
<p>If you are not going to say something good, then dont say anything. I am being very polite here. Asni said in my previous comment any good school would do, not just harvard.</p>
<p>Cornell and USC both admit a lot of transfers, but they prioritize students from their own community college systems. Other Top 25 universities and LACs admit only a handful of transfers making it even harder to transfer. Most of those are “lateral” transfers, students from 4-year colleges that have had stellar experiences there.
If you attend a university (not a community college), there’s research conducted. Look for it. Offer to participate.
That’s going to be very important for a transfer, beside a high GPA. Get involved on campus, take on responsibilities.
What’s your budget?
Because if you have money, you could transfer to a good community college in CA (DeAnza, Diablo Valley, SMCC, SBCC…) then transfer to a UC. But you’d have to pay full price (25K for 2 years minimum, then 55k for 2 years). You could also apply to one of the Penn State branches with dorms (Erie, Harrisburg… are moderately selective; Greater Allegheny is open admissions) then transfer to Penn State Main Campus after a year, but once again you’d be full pay (20k for one year minimum, 46k for two years.)</p>
<p>I am from a family of immigrants, so do not have that kind of money. Ill wait until the semester ends to see if I want to tranfers but ill take my sat in october and november if I want a better score. Thanks for your time</p>
<p>If you need financial aid, then your best bet, if you want to leave your college in Alaska, is to set your sights on to colleges that WILL offer some financial aid. More than SAT scores, straight A’s will matter to a college looking for Spring admits. Note that typically there are fewer admits in the Spring, and less financial aid. As a first-year transfer applicant, a good SAT or ACT score will help, of course.
How about you look at strong universities in states that many students consider “cold”, thus the universities offer good prices… but you wouldn’t be too fazed by the cold since you’re from Alaska?
Check out: South Dakota School of Mines as well as UMN-Morris (for engineering and CS in particular), Carleton, Macalester, St Olaf, Gustavus Adolphus, Concordia-Moorhead, UMN-Twin Cities. You could apply to several of them and see what they offer in terms of financial aid. Carleton and Macalester are highly selective, St Olaf and UMN-Twin Cities are very selective, the others are easier to get into.</p>