<p>Hey Im pretty sure Im going to try and transfer to NU next year...various reasons. Just wondering what my chances are/what I should be doing</p>
<p>High School GPA:3.85 UW
Class Rank:Around top 10%
ACT:30
SAT:2040
Extracurriculars:Top 200 in the country tennis.
Work:15 hours a week
Ethnicity: African American
At Penn:Im taking pretty easy classes I think but a couple are curved so I still have to do better then anyone else but my GPA this semester should be around 3.8/3.9. Im taking Astronomy, Intro to Sociology, Spanish 3, and Jazz History. </p>
<p>Wondering if I should take harder classes next semester or if Ill be ok to transfer in.
Thanks</p>
<p>i started my application but i never finished it. so no i didnt. i had wanted to go there for a long time but I wasnt good enough to play tennis there so I came to Penn. but now im not even sure if im doing tennis here so I want to go there</p>
<p>You will need to apply to one of six schools at Northwestern University. The two most important aspects of your application are your Penn GPA-which appears to be quite good- and your reasons for wanting to transfer into the specific school at Northwestern to which you applied. This is fairly easy for Journalism, Acting/Theatre/Communications, SESP, Engineering & Music, but not as easy, typically, for Arts & Sciences. Do you have specific reasons for wanting to transfer?</p>
<p>I would be applying for arts and sciences. Mostly I just dont like the feel at Penn. I just get a much stronger sense of community and togetherness at NU and I also like the location a lot more. I feel like I could write a pretty good essay giving specific reasons. Do you think I should take harder classes? and would I have a good chance?</p>
<p>If you are going to take easier classes, make it less obvious by taking those that are more related. The four courses you listed are (or sound) not only basic but very much all over the map. I understand you can argue that's what a liberal arts education is about but people can still wonder and you don't want to create such doubt. In many schools, upper level classes usually have generous grading. You may want to look into some of them. Then you can get good grades while intellectually challenging yourself.</p>
<p>Ok, I mean next semester I'm planning on taking econ, spanish 4, some history class and some poly sci class. Im planning on majoring in history or poly sci but I was told to take a variety of classes so I did. Do you think this is a negative thing?</p>
<p>To me, econ/poli sci sound more mainstream and likely more challenging than astronomy (unless this isn't a baby course) and jazz history. So you are fine then.</p>
<p>For what it's worth, in my first year I took classes in only 3 subjects (4 English, 2 Religion, and 1 yearlong language), which are generally considered easy (though I disagree), and I'm at NU now. Good luck =)</p>
<p>I will probably end up not taking multiple courses in one field this year, would this be looked at as a negative thing in my application? Astronomy isnt actually all that easy, the material is easy but all tests are curved so you still have to do significantly better then everyone is in the class to get an A, which I have been doing. Also, I do want to take econ, but it definitely has the potential to be a B/B- if things dont go great. Would it still be worth it to take it and have it bring my GPA down a little?
Also would transferring from Penn help my application?Since it is a really prestigious school</p>
<p>I would say B/B- would hurt you more. Intro econ tends to be competitive in many schools, including Northwestern. If you are not comfortable, pick something else. I think I didn't convey what I really wanted to say. I don't mean you need to take multiple courses in one field. What I meant was don't spread it out like you are cherry picking the easy courses to bump up GPA (I don't mean I assume that's what you were doing but you were wondering if you should take harder classes in your first post). It's fine to take variety of courses in different fields.</p>
<p>Yes, coming from Penn would definitely help. Your ethnicity is also gonna help too (in fact, NU is currently having an issue of disappointingly low enrollment of African American students; I think NU did try admitting as many as it can but many didn't matriculate). If you keep that GPA, I'd be shocked if you don't get in.</p>
<p>Ok, ill look to take some slightly tougher classes but ones im comfortable with then. I think I will have a good chance. Does anyone know what the finaid situation is for transfers. I only have to pay 7k a year at penn need based but would it be significantly less then that at NU if I were a transfer? Would there be any way to bargain at all based on my aid at penn</p>
<p>NU website says NU scholarships (grants from NU) are "generally" not available to transfers during their first year. But I recall someone on CC said he/she got a nice FA pacakge as a transfer.</p>