Hey. I am a freshman at NYU whose major is still undecided. My parents immigrated to California when I was little and we lived there ever since. I don’t have a keen interest in Nyu anymore due to multiple reasons, and I am considering to apply to transfer to some small LACs where they prioritize individual learning and close-knit community building (in contrast to the pre-professionalism here at nyc).
My reasons of transferring also include 1) my parents are new immigrants (still) to this country and their language barrier made them unemployed currently, hence, financially, staying at nyu would be difficult for me. 2) as mentioned earlier, I am looking for a more collaborative environment and a more integrated community (a physical campus also). 3) I want to go to grad schools afterward so honing my academic prowess in respective majors is essential, and nyu prioritize too much on career path and job searching.
My intended major is English/Journalism and I wish to transfer as an English major.
My current GPA is around 3.73ish. Took a 200-level econ and went not so well, and the freshman WTE is tough. But I do carry 36 credits (an equivalent of 11APs). And, I am only four classes away from getting a math major degree, and 8 classes away from an math & econ major joint degree. ACT is 35.
LORs were decent. I submitted four recommendations (two from nyu, one from brown and one from cmu). Yes, I requested from my hs summer school instructors. It turns out that one of the recommenders from nyu is a finalist for the national poetry competition or something like that. Pretty impressive.
ECs: US chess (candidate) national master (top 2% among all junior chess player in the us), part-time editor/contributing writer to several newspaper agencies, varsity tennis player at hs and nyu. Part-time tutor in math/ writing over summers(paid). Residential assistant, student body secretary, class representatives, long-term community service dedicator.
Hook: First gen, low-income family (since parents unemployed now)
I applied to several small LACs, like Davidson, Carleton, Cmc, Middlebury and really hope I can get into any one of these. I have my fingers across (so does my teachers and friends!). I am tremendously humbled if any one of these takes me.