<p>Hi,
There seems to be a fellow Electrical Computer Engineering major from Carnegie Mellon that's transferring a few threads down. I am a freshman and finished my first term with a gpa of 3.67, a little lower than I would've hoped. I am planning on applying to top ivy schools for transferring, and I would like you guys to assess my chances. My thread is a little lengthy, but I would greatly appreciate it if you guys could give me some feedback. I am very nervous about this whole process. Here are some of my stats:</p>
<p>College gpa: 3.67</p>
<p>High school gpa: A little more complicated; I went to a public school in rural Ohio my freshman and sophomore year, where I received a very high gpa (over 4.0).
Then I moved to a top prep school in New England, and received mostly A-'s and B+'s, and a few A's and B's, except for the last trimester when I slacked off and averaged a flat B. They calculate the gpa on an 11 point system, where 11 is an A, 10 is an A- and 9 is a B+. Mine was in the mid~high 9's.</p>
<p>SAT 1: M 800 R 800 W 740 = 2340</p>
<p>SAT 2: Math2c 800 Chem 770 Bio(M) 740</p>
<p>The reasons why I want to transfer: Long story short, I don't want to waste my parent's money. Our family is not obscenely wealthy: I was on financial aid in high school, and I am on financial aid now. I receive about half the tuition in grants now, but my parents have to pay off the rest, and I add a little by working a part time job.
I came to Carnegie Mellon because I wanted to study engineering, and Carnegie Mellon is one of the top schools in that matter. However, I realize engineering is precisely what I don't want to do, so I tried to switch majors. A big part of this mess is my fault; my decision to study engineering was based solely on the fact that I excelled in all my math and physics classes in high school.
Unfortunately, switching majors at Carnegie Mellon isn't as easy as they advertise, and I have to transfer to a different college within Carnegie Mellon. If I am going to do that, I thought I might as well go to a different school that has a consolidated undergraduate program where all Freshman are admitted to a single college and have the liberty to explore different areas of study. I would not like to waste another year's worth of tuition, so I would like to transfer. </p>
<p>Colleges I am applying to:
Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science, Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Dartmouth, MIT</p>
<p>Extracurriculars: 4 years JV and Varsity swimming in high school, Orchestra all thoughout highschool and freshman year, Member of the Ohio ARML team sophomore year(won a medal for scoring highest on my team in the individual rounds)</p>
<p>Leadership positions: Dormitory representative in high school, other minor positions in student-led clubs.</p>
<p>Volunteering: I worked as a teacher/dorm counselor at the only North Korean escapee school in South Korea. I also did some volunteer work at the Boston Southend Salvation Army, and in school clubs. </p>
<p>Once again, thanks to you all, and happy holidays =]</p>