Transferring to Brown from Colby- do I have a chance?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Brown University
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I am considering transferring from Colby College after my freshman year. This year at Colby I had a 3.73 and made the Dean’s List. I have no sense of how much high school grades and extracurriculars matter if at all, but In high school I had around a 3.5 unweighted GPA with a 4.18 weighted GPA. My SAT scores were 690 math, 760 reading, 780 writing, and I got two 4s and one 5 on AP exams.

I was a lot more involved in extracurriculars in high school than I was at Colby (in high school I did Model UN, a cappella, honors wind ensemble, lacrosse, cross-country skiing, and fall plays- at Colby I was in a cappella, Enviro Co [environmental club], weekly mentoring with a local elementary schooler [Colby Cares About Kids Club], and I was a member of the Freshman Class Council). I am taking this upcoming year off and doing an internship at the Center for Food Safety in Washington, D.C. I am hoping to major in English and potentially minor in Environmental Science.

I am looking to transfer to a bigger school (medium sized, anywhere from around 3,000 to 10,000) with more opportunities to get involved in the arts, more clubs, etc.
I am thinking about Villanova University, Boston College, Tufts University, and potentially Brown as a big reach (I just don’t really have a sense of what it takes to get in as a transfer–I have friends that transferred to Brown that couldn’t have gotten in before transferring but I don’t know if this is the rule or the exception). Does anyone know how hard it is to get into Brown as a transfer and if I might have a chance?
Please advise!

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will chance back!!

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I regret I do not have the knowledge or information to be able to chance you. But I do have a question for you, since you are offering to chance back, and apparently you do have the requisite knowledge or information to advise people about their chances.

What if someone later in this thread responds to you with a chance, and posts stats/profile pretty similar to the one you presented. What chances would you give that person?

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Thank you for your advice! Normally I would treat myself like anyone else I might be chancing but I really don’t know enough about transferring…I wouldn’t feel adequately informed to chance someone else if they were asking about transferring only if they were applying as a first year student. Thank you though your advice is good and I appreciate the time you took to respond!

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Thank you for your advice! Normally I would treat myself like anyone else I might be chancing but I really don’t know enough about transferring…I wouldn’t feel adequately informed to chance someone else if they were asking about transferring only if they were applying as a first year student. Thank you though your advice is good and I appreciate the time you took to respond!

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No one else knows about transfers either. Just apply. You have a high college gpa, good U.S. Stats and an interesting year of job. Downside is you want more stuff but then say you didn’t do any stuff in college. Just write a good application. I don’t know how many sophomore transfers they take, maybe it depends on attrition. In any case you aren’t out of line to try.

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Thank you @BrownParent I appreciate your response!! The reason I want a school with more clubs and arts opportunities is because Colby didn’t have them, which is why I wasn’t as involved there as I was in high school (Colby doesn’t have club sports and there was only one orchestra, and the practices didn’t fit in my schedule). I want a bigger school that has more options so I can get more involved than I was at Colby. I think I will apply as I don’t have much to lose other than the application fee. Thank you again!

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Ug autocorrect–that is H.S. Stats. I understand your explanation. Good luck.

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Bumping

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Hi! If you were accepted to Brown as a transfer, would you be willing to give me some tips? I plan on applying to transfer as well!

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Have you looked at the current transfer thread: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/brown-university/1833116-official-brown-u-2016-transfers.html#latest

Or the previous ones: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/transfer-students/1746562-official-fall-2015-brown-transfer-thread.html / http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/brown-university/1605372-official-fall-2014-brown-transfer-thread.html

Anyway there seem to be a lot of threads about specifically transferring to Brown on here! Dig deep…

Can’t claim to be an expert for transferring, but I’ve applied for the Fall 2016 round and am waiting to hear back, so I’ll just give my two cents. In general the more distance you have from HS at the time of application, the less significant your HS stats. I cannot comment on how exactly Brown views it though, because on their transfer page they do put HS stats as one of the key components of how they will evaluate you as a transfer applicant.

I sympathise with your reasons for wanting to transfer to Brown, but for admissions purposes they don’t seem to be specific to Brown enough. A lot of other institutions can fit that description, and you want to make sure to emphasise in a focused and well-researched way exactly what resources at Brown and what parts of its experience you would glean from/contribute to. Having a strong and persuasive rationale is definitely one of the most important aspects, if not the most important, to your application.

Other than that, I believe transfer admissions looks for people who have excelled academically (a lot of what I’ve read point to 3.8 as a competitive benchmark/average for Ivy transfers, but I really don’t think it’s an absolute must in any sense) and contributed significantly to their current campuses/communities as a leader/peer. I think they also look for people who are resilient and full of initiative, who have a can-do and self-starting attitude. Brown’s intro paragraph on the transfer admissions website is actually pretty spot-on - take a look if you haven’t already!

Obviously there are more nuances to the whole process that are oftentimes outside of your control, like what specific class spots they are looking to fill in any given year, the very unfavorable odds and etc. The important thing at this juncture is really to do enormous amounts of research into Brown or wherever else you are applying to, and concentrate on significantly involving yourself at Colby and during your year off, using every resource and taking advantage of every opportunity available to you. Remember also, quality over quantity!

I don’t feel comfortable “chancing” anyone here because I don’t have a complete picture and I can’t speak for Brown or any other college. However I would echo previous comments and say that your H.S. stats and extracurriculars look promising. Good luck, and let me know if you want to chat more.