Transferring?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Reed College
1

<p>I am... a very untraditional student and couldn't really give you stats. I attended highschool for freshman year and acquired a dismal transcript, got into a highly selective college program at 14, and then dropped out of it due to a slew of reasons (medical/wasn't the right fit), got a high school diploma by testing out, and have been going to a community college on and off for a couple years (medical/financial). In fact, I still have freshman status.
I would have tried transferring earlier, but I am now in Americorps for the coming year and am planning on transferring after my term is done.
I do have other schools in mind, but honestly, Reed is the place I most want to be.</p>

<p>I know this is broad, but can somebody elucidate for me what the process is? Do I have a chance at all? Advice?</p>

2

<p>I am also looking to transfer to Reed with unusual academic circumstances. I have talked to Reed Admissions staff on the phone, and they instructed me to apply as a transfer student since I have college credit, albeit very little. This is true even if you are applying for First-Year standing. </p>

<p>The Transfer Admission coordinator said explicitly that the best way to improve your chances of consideration and admission is to tell them as much as possible in detail in your application so that they understand exactly what happened and what you have been doing since you left high school. Also, you need to provide transcripts from any colleges you've attended in addition to your secondary school transcript(s) and report your standardized test scores. </p>

<p>They also want at least one recommendation from a teacher/instructor/professor and a letter from a college official stating that you're leaving from there in good standing (this is not evaluative, this is just procedure). </p>

<p>Furthermore, they ask you to provide a graded sample of recent written work (term papers, essays). If you no longer have access to something like that, they said that they can definitely compromise with you, as long as you can provide something equivalent they can evaluate. </p>

<p>Finally, I was told that and interview with Reed; either from an alumnus/a, via telephone, or on campus; is extremely important and should be conducted. </p>

<p>If you can do all of these things, then you'll be OK. As I understand it, Reed partakes in a holistic admissions process. They will not discount you automatically if your record is irregular or even if your college GPA is too low (transfer admission at some colleges requires a certain GPA for consideration; as far as I've been told, Reed does not). </p>

<p>My advice is to write outstanding, informative essays that tell a lot about your life and educational aspirations at Reed. Let them know about your extracurricular achievements, and be open and honest at your interview. </p>

<p>Transfer admission is always tough, so we'll just have to do our best until we're notified in May.</p>