<p>I was a senior in the class of '08 applicant pool and was originally waitlisted at Northwestern.</p>
<p>I had a 3.7, 1430/2180, good rec, tons of great ECs/leadership.</p>
<p>I am from Chattanooga, TN and currently a freshman at UNC-Chapel Hill. I loveeeee UNC, but Northwestern has always been my dream, and I definitely want to apply to transfer, even if I ultimately decide not to.</p>
<p>What sorts of stats do I need to be very competitive? What GPA? I am already getting pretty involved. Does that matter?</p>
<p>Also, I remember when I got my letter saying that I had NOT been taken off the waitlist at Northwester, it mentioned that the admissions committee kind of "looks out for" waitlisted candidates in the transfer process. To what extent is that true, if any?</p>
<p>I would like to bump this thread, being that I am in a really similar situation. Northwestern was my top regular decision choice last year (I regretted not applying there early) and I wound up getting waitlisted and ultimately not taken off of the waitlist. I have similar stats as well. 3.7 GPA, 1460/2230, decent ECs/recs/etc. I currently attend Vanderbilt. How hard is it to transfer into Northwestern, especially since I was waitlisted as a freshman applicant?</p>
<p>I'd advise you (or anyone) to think long and hard about transfering if already as happy where you are as you say. </p>
<p>mrchipmunk90:</p>
<p>Something in the range of a 3.5 + GPA should provide you a real opportunity. I'll call out to anyone from this year's transfer group to provide specific examples. But give yourself a chance at Vandy. Holding on too hard to last year's top choice may thwart any hope to enjoy a great school. Give it a real chance.</p>
<p>I think you both would get accepted as a transfer if you both maintain a A-/B+ average, provided that Northwestern keeps their past transfer admission standards. I transferred from Emory in 07' with a 3.6 GPA and significantly worse SAT scores.</p>
<p>I do question though why you would consider transferring at such an early point in the school year. If there is a specific program or major that NU offers that is not offered at your college, I would understand your eagerness to get to NU, but if the reason for transferring is because of an affinity for the NU campus environment or a desire to attend a higher ranked school, or any of those types of reasons, then I would say the same thing as Bala said: you should give your college a shot before rushing to transfer. Both UNC and Vandy are great universities that offer a lot in their own right. To boot, they're both in locations with warmer winters!</p>
<p>Actually Northwestern does have better programs for my major and also there are some things about the Vandy environment that I don't like. I don't hate it by any means but I am remaining open to the idea of transferring.</p>