<p>I truly enjoyed my time at Duke: great teachers, nice weather, good group of friends. Unfortunately, due to circumstances out of my control, I am being forced to leave and transfer elsewhere. With that said, this transfer process has kind of taken me by storm. I don't really know where I can transfer based on my stats and what schools are looking for for transfer. The only limitation I have is the need to stay in the Northeast, but I have strongly considered Georgetown and the DC area. </p>
<p>HS GPA: 4.0
SAT: 2200/2400
Duke GPA: 3.425 (this could be my downfall)
Plenty of HS awards and activities
A decent amount of college involvement</p>
<p>Anyway, any help or guidance would be fantastic.</p>
<p>What is your major? It is easy to chose where to attend college when you have a major selected and know what college most interets you. (close to home) (far from home). Whatever YOU feel you will do best in.</p>
<p>I was on the pre-med track majoring in Biology. I was taking a rigorous schedule so my main concern is my GPA. I'd like to go to Brown, but that seems like a long shot at this point. Georgetown would be a close #2.</p>
<p>I would be returning as a sophomore. I'm currently on a medical leave working at a non-profit organization (I applied to Cornell Spring '09, but was rejected), which I will continue to do probably until June. At that point, hopefully I will be admitted somewhere and can start taking summer classes in an attempt to catch up. My biggest fear is actually returning at this point...I feel that being away for that long may not be the best thing.</p>
<p>Your stats look pretty good. I don't think the 3.425 will hurt you too badly - it's not catastrophic by any means. I think Georgetown and Brown are very possible, so I wish you the best. Tell them what's up with you (the medical leave), put together some good essays, and coming from Duke I would say you have a decent shot.</p>
<p>One of my friends from my school, Dartmouth, came over as a transfer from Duke just a few months ago. I was given the impression that the Duke student body isn't as close or tight-knit as he would've liked, but the Southern Frarority mindset was also a turnoff for him too I guess.</p>
<p>I'd say...try to find reasons for wanting to transfer other than your personal hardships. That could help tip the scales in your favor.</p>
<p>i disagree with stewart, 3.425 will almost assuredly keep you out of brown and gtown...brown rejects applicants who get 4.0s in college everyday, a 3.425 will not be at all competitive for those kinds of schools....if you really want out your going to have to lower your expectations, perhaps significantly</p>
<p>Your best bet is to beg for permission to graduate from Duke. With 3.4, it will be difficult to get into a decent school considering that you are "being forced" out (this will matter a lot for schools with dean's cert asking whether your current school would take you back). Oh, and if you do transfer, you may have to disclose it every time that you were forced to withdraw from an academic program.</p>
<p>I don't think the 3.4 will keep you out of Georgetown or Brown. But with the number of people they accept, it's always impossible to know. I got the feeling from playing around with transfer apps that the criteria they are evaluating you on is different than for freshmen[in terms of the lower(3.4 is by no means low, but you know what I'm saying) GPA would have kept you out]. It once again never hurts to apply, but if you can't return to Duke, make sure you have safety transfers where you can go in case the other two don't work.</p>
<p>Best of luck on the process.</p>
<p>Edit:[The forced out will hurt you though. I don't know if this is a literal force out, but you have to be in good standing[i.e. shown by the required forms] where you are to go to most of these other top schools.]</p>
<p>I assume that your being "forced" to transfer is because of some sort of personal/family circumstances, not anything in the way of Duke asking you to leave. If Duke is, in fact, not allowing you to come back... I don't know that any of us can advise you.</p>
<p>While a 3.5+ is better, a 3.4+ should not keep you out of any school, especially coming from a school of the caliber of Duke. DO NOT PAY ATTENTION TO THOSE WHO SAY THIS WILL KEEP YOU OUT. UNLESS THEY HAVE SPECIFIC INFORMATION TO BACK THAT UP, YOU CAN DISCOUNT IT. There is a lot more to the application than the GPA and less-than-4.0 GPA's transfer into top schools all of the time IF their recs, essays, scores, etc. are strong.</p>
<p>Read the Transfer Admissions 101 thread (sticky) if you haven't already. It should help you understand the process, what schools are seeking, etc.</p>
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While a 3.5+ is better, a 3.4+ should not keep you out of any school, especially coming from a school of the caliber of Duke.
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<p>3.4 will make transferring to T10 schools highly unlikely. It will certainly not keep him out of ANY school. But I was under the impression that the OP wasn't looking for just any school.</p>