I’m a freshman at UW set to graduate with the class of 2020. As the title suggests, I wan to transfer from UW to another college. I did well in high school and was waitlisted/rejected at many of my top-choice schools. Unfortunately, it looks like it just wasn’t in the cards for me when I applied as a senior. Many of my interviewers said that I was qualified for their schools, but it’s just small things that make or break an applicant - sometimes an applicant just isn’t what they’re looking for that year. I know I was at least a strong applicant, because I was deferred from Stanford. I’ve learned a lot about myself in the last year, and I really think I could write something that stands out from the pack. I also have very specific reasons for wanting to transfer, I’m not chasing a school for prestige.
Schools I’m looking at (roughly in order of preference): Columbia, Brown, Cornell, Yale, NYU (Gallatin specifically), Duke, and Boston U.
One major thing I know I need to improve is my SAT score, I only had a 2100 from high school and I’m pretty sure I need to retake it (I know I can do way better). Any opinions? Should I retake subject tests as well? I haven’t looked at each school’s requirements in a while, but I don’t think they require subject tests.
Does anyone have advice for preparing my applications for these schools?
Thanks!
For some reason I can’t edit my original post anymore, but I realized I forgot to add my EC interests and intended major.
I will also be applying to Vanderbilt. Any other schools I should consider or remove from my list?
Major(s): Marine Biology/Environmental Biology/Ecology, Journalism, Fine Arts (Photography, Theatre), potentially on a premed track, but most likely sticking with environmental biology. My ultimate goal is to pursue a career in photojournalism, focused on environmental reporting and conservation efforts.
ECs I am in and would like to continue to have: Theatre, photography, school newspaper, conservation/environmental clubs, undergrad research in biology & marine sciences, hiking, ASL club, LGBT+ center of some kind, access to the city (a primary reason for choosing several colleges near NYC), strong study abroad program
What are the non-prestige reasons that you want to transfer to those schools?
What is wrong with Washington? It is true that many majors there are competitive admission, but if your grades / GPA are uncompetitive for those majors, it is likely that they will be uncompetitive for transfer admission to the other schools you named.
Honestly, I recommend spending the year trying to bloom where you are currently planted. UW has almost all the things on your list, so dive in. Don’t waste this school year reliving last year’s college applications and studying for the SAT.
Meet with the pre-major advisors in the College of the Environment and the schools of Drama, Art, and Communcations and make sure your sense that you couldn’t do anything interesting in those fields at UW is really true. Take classes and refine your interests. You still have too many possible majors. Transfer students are sometimes evaluated based on which programs have slots and your interests seem all over the place.
If you write transfer applications now, you have no new experiences to write about. You’re still the same person you were as a high school senior. Dive in to getting those experiences. You may find that the relationships you created with your professors to get good letters for your transfer apps develop into appreciating where you are. Or not. Either way you will be able to show in your transfer apps that you really tried at UW and you made the most of what you had.
Finally, read up on the Common Data Sets of the schools you want to transfer to: the competitive landscape for transfers is sometimes quite different than for freshmen. And check in with your parents about money matters. Some colleges treat transfer students as cash cows and offer them less aid than they give freshmen.