Transferring Harvard

Transfer Students
1

<p>Alright guys, I am new here and I have been reading all the posts, so I decided to join.</p>

<p>I have a question regarding transfer -</p>

<p>I am currently an undergraduate student at University of Sydney, Australia. I am doing mechanical engineering and have nearly done 1 year of full time study at the university.</p>

<p>Though, the university is really good, Harvard has been my dream university since high school. </p>

<p>My grades so far have been great. I have been getting combination of High Distinction and Distinction in all my units. Also I can definitely get a good recommendation from my professor as well as high school teacher. </p>

<p>So, I would like to transfer next year to Harvard.</p>

<p>Do I have any chance?</p>

2

<p>This has got to be the vaguest post I have ever read :)</p>

<p>More info please…</p>

<p>GPA/SAT/ # of credits, etc.</p>

3

<p>Australian GPA system is different compared to American. </p>

<p>My GPA so far is 6.4/7</p>

<p>SAT - 1950</p>

<p>So, do I have any chance? Interview is not a problem for me, I am good at it.</p>

<p>And, my bad I should have made my post more specific.</p>

4

<p>Any hooks or are you an athlete?</p>

5

<p>6.4 out of 7 equals about 3.66 on a 4.0 scale, that’s very low for H.</p>

<p>1950 is extremely low for H, it is well below their 25% level of 2100 for fr admissions:</p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Harvard College - SAT®, AP®, CLEP®](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board)</p>

<p>In addition, their fr admission rate is 7% and their transfer rate is about 2%.</p>

6

<p>There are many other good schools in the US other than Harvard. Are you sure you are just interested in Harvard because of its name, or have you properly researched other universities?</p>

7

<p>@entomom - I still got 2 units left and I m pretty sure my GPA will increase to 6.5 or 6.6 hopefully.</p>

<p>Yes, 1950 is not that good, even I was thinking but 1 of my mate got into toronto university with only 1700. Though, obviously Harvard is miles ahead but still Toronto is also 1 of the best in the world, and I thought 1950 should be good enough.</p>

<p>So, you reckon I should re-take SAT again or ACT?</p>

<p>@giantmidget - Well, I am interested in other schools as well but Harvard is my first priority.
I am gonna apply to MIT, Stanford, Berkeley and Caltech. They all are one of the best technical institutions, MIT being number 1 but I doubt I can make it there.</p>

<p>So, what do you reckon? Do I have any chance in stanford or berkeley?</p>

<p>I was also thinking to apply to Cambridge and Oxford, but they don’t accept transfer applications. So, I have to apply as a freshman, which In my opinion would be a waste of 1 year. </p>

<p>BurtonElitist - Elite Basketball - Played state level for 2 years.
Swimming - Competed with State level students.
Chess and Debate - Coming top 3 consistently for 2 years (year 11-12) in school.</p>

<p>Essays and Interview are no problem for me. And, I can definitely get a good recommendation from my professor.</p>

8

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<p>No, I don’t think you should spend your time prepping for the SAT/ACT with the college list you have given. Rather, I think you should take giantmidget’s advice and research other, more realistic schools to apply to.</p>

<p>Go back to the CB website that I gave you and look up the SAT ranges and transfer rates for the colleges you’ve listed (and remember, UCB takes mainly in-state transfers).</p>

9

<p>@eutomom - First of all, thanks for the website :). </p>

<p>The thing is - University of Sydney ranks 35 in the world. So, if I apply to a university which ranks 30 or 25, then I think I’ll be wasting my time and money. I might as well go to Melbourne university which ranks 28. That’s why I am only applying to universities which are top 10 in the world, otherwise there is no point coming US all the way from Australia, you know what I m saying?</p>

<p>Aboust SAT - I scored 1950 the first time, so I think if I do it again, I can get 2100+ or something [not trying to sound arrogant but I know if I have to do something important, I ll do it as I know what I am capable off :D]
So, if SAT is a problem here - I ll keep doing until I get 2100+. </p>

<p>For now, what do you think about my application? Do I even stand a chance or not? I just wanna make it to 1 of these universities, so is there “ANY” way? </p>

<p>Rest, any other good universities you reckon I should apply? </p>

<p>And, thanks for the help.</p>

10

<p>I applied transfer to Harvard this year. In the rejection letter (foooools! i’ll fax it to them when im a CEO someday) they stated that they made 12 offers from 1500 applications, which is a .8% acceptance rate. I was at UMiami, had a 3.75 is cumulative GPA for the year (3.7 ish when I applied) and a 3.7 ish in HS.</p>

<p>Put another way, more than 99 out of every 100 apps went into the NO pile.</p>

<p>I say definitely try and write great essays, but research other schools like others have mentioned!</p>

11

<p>wow, 0.8% is just ridiculously low man. Those 12 students would be either child prodigies or they must be having near perfect SAT and GPA. </p>

<p>I think I should just stop looking at Harvard from now onwards as I don’t wanna embarrass myself again.</p>

12

<p>No you’re not embarrassing yourself. I don’t think it hurts to try, it’s just extremely competitive. Wasn’t trying to discourage you, just giving you the facts.</p>

13

<p>Thanks man, but yea lets see what happens. If I can’t make it this year, then I ll just go for masters or something.</p>

14

<p>You do know that Caltech is ranked higher than MIT.</p>

15

<p>according to what ranking system? I see MIT as superior in most cases</p>

16

<p>Engineering Rankings -</p>

<ol>
<li>MIT</li>
<li>Stanford</li>
<li>Berkeley</li>
<li>Cambridge</li>
<li>Caltech</li>
</ol>