*** UChicago 2016-17 Transfer Applicants ***

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
1

Hello! I’m going to be a sophomore at a top 10 LAC whose name I’m keeping private and am considering transferring to UChicago as a junior majoring in political science or public policy. Currently, I loathe my school’s location, extremely small student body which I do not get along with, relative lack of diversity, lack of academic challenge, and lack of career prospects. My parents also believe the listed schools are a better financial investment, which I completely agree with.

HS GPA UW/W: 3.89/4.51
HS Rank: top 5%
College GPA: 3.85 (two B+, rest A)
SAT: 2260 (M: 740, CR: 740, W: 780)
SAT II: 710 (US History), 700 (Literature)
AP: five 5s, three 4s
HS Courses: 8 AP year-long courses, 5 semesters of community college courses, rest honors, Korean, or PE
College Courses: 2 major-related, 4 GE courses, 2 intermediate (I’ll be taking almost exclusively intermediate-level courses my sophomore year)

Honors:
-National AP Scholar
-NMSQT Commended Student
-Dean’s List at college and at community college dual enrolled in during HS
-Recipient of a few local scholarships, one minor national scholarship
-Turned down 10 college-specific merit scholarships ranging from $5,000-$30,000 annually to attend my current college which does not offer merit awards
-Selected for global leadership program in East Asia

HS Extracurriculars:
-Interned for a university-affiliated NGO conducting research on global educational policy and transitional justice
-Interned for state senator conducting legislative research and working on constituency outreach programs
-Class senator
-Assistant Editor-in-Chief for school’s education journal
-Member of award-winning orchestra that toured internationally
-Volunteer at medical clinic
-Volunteer tutor assisting in SAT prep, English, Korean, and college applications

College Extracurriculars:
-President and founder of nonprofit specializing in diversity and policies relating to it, which has received awards for our advocacy and activities, has chapters in a few high schools nationwide, and works with a few universities
-Interned in Korea for an education nonprofit
-Employed as an overseas editor by a Korean university journal
-Employed by my college’s history department in their office
-Founder and main choreographer for my college’s intramural, multicultural dance team

Miscellaneous:
-Multiracial (Asian/White)
-LGBTQ-identified
-Upper-middle class
-Top public HS

Any help or suggestions regarding my chances, what I should/shouldn’t include, would be most beneficial!

2

Chances?

3

I think you have a good shot because you’ve demonstrated you can handle the work at a top 10 LAC and your reasons for transferring are logical and compelling. Now when I say good shot I do not mean 70%, but it would be higher than the overall admit rate of UChicago.

4

Thank you, @kaukauna. I was wondering if my attending a top 10 LAC would be an asset in admissions. I’ve read elsewhere it can, but then again many transfer applicants will be other students at top LACs and universities as well.

Just an aside, but as a student at a LAC I have no issue securing great letters of rec as I know my professors very well.

I’d love to hear others’ opinions, too!

5

I’ve heard that transferring from peer schools can actually be harder–you’ll need to /really/ clearly state why you’re not satisfied at your current school, and why UChicago would be different. It looks like your scores, where you’re transferring from, the volume of ECs, and letters of rec will all put you in the competitive category. To actually get one of the 20-30 spots, you’ll just need to focus on making your essays stand out.

I was accepted as a transfer last admissions cycle and will be attending this fall, so if you have any questions about the process I’d be happy to answer them. Where are you applying, other than UChicago?

6

@Vesperan, thanks for your comments. That’s a great point to make. As someone interested in IR and public policy, internships are of great interest to me, and there are none in the small, rural town in which my college is located, which is another factor. And despite being a top LAC, it’s resources are surprisingly limited, and those it does have apply mainly for those who are of great financial need.

I am considering applying to Brown, Duke, Georgetown, and Johns Hopkins, though it’s too early to know for sure. I might narrow it down to 3 schools, contingent upon transfer credit issues and some financial niceties.

7

Also @Vesperan, what was your reason for transferring?

8

I have a concern about the core curriculum and transferring. What types of courses would be deemed transferable?

9

My reason for transferring is a bit of a longer story. I was accepted to uchicago (which was my #1 choice) on the Z-list, but decided I didn’t want to take a gap year, so chose to go to a different college for a year and then apply to transfer. The year at the other school was really good for me, but uchicago remained the place I really wanted to be–it was the only place I applied to transfer. The other school was also right outside Chicago so I got to spend a fair amount of time on uchicago’s campus, which solidified the desire to end up there.

I guess you could say it’s been a matter of fit, and knowing which school will be the right balance of challenge/support for me based on where I am as a person.

Some of the information for transfer credit is on the website, and actually the finalized version of credit isn’t made available to us until partway through fall semester, apparently. Only semester long classes transfer, and they have to be classes that have comparable uchicago equivalents. I’m entering as a second year, so it might be different for you, but it does seem that I’ll easily graduate on time with 2019.

10

OP, you have a lot of work to do. You aren’t likely to get any credit applicable to the core of the Core (Hum, Sosc, Civ, except maybe you could talk yourself into some arts or Civ credit if you have taken really appropriate courses, which chances are you haven’t yet). Because of that, I believe its effectively impossible to transfer into the University of Chicago with an expectation that you will meet your graduation requirements in two academic years (six quarters). But if you are serious about possibly transferring to Chicago, you may want to explore this question with them ASAP, since it could affect what courses you take at your LAC this coming year.

Meanwhile:

Um, sorry, but that’s hogwash, at least insofar as it talks about something other than subjective feelings of specific people. I know a ton of people who have gone to small top 10 LACs in loathesome rural locations, and their career prospects have been fine, easily equivalent to what you would get at Chicago. No, you are not going to get a term-time international relations internship in Amherst, Lewiston, Northfield, Middlebury or wherever the heck you are, but you are sadly mistaken if you think that is going to be a serious drag on your career long term (or if you think that lots of Chicago students have such internships during the school year, either). What you do at an LAC is work closely with the faculty during the year, and use the school’s network to get internships during the summer, or often summer travel opportunities. And you prepare yourself for graduate or professional school, which is what you would be doing at Chicago, too. An AB in public policy is not going to get you far in the world on its own. And the places where it can get you farthest – state capitals, political campaigns in the hinterland – are likely to make wherever your LAC is located look like Paris.

As for IR – you understand, don’t you?, that Chicago does not offer a bachelor’s degree in IR. It has a fairly popular joint AB/AM program where you get a simultaneous masters degree in IR with your AB in something else. But it would be extremely difficult to qualify for that program as a third-year transfer. (Also, the kids I knew who did that sure didn’t do any term-time internships their last two years, or even really any term-time extracurriculars. They were working 24-7 on meeting the program’s academic requirements.)

11

Hey thanks for that great reply! I’m not applying here thanks to your wonderful reasoning! So helpful you are! Thank you SOOOOO much :slight_smile: :slight_smile: :slight_smile: :slight_smile:

12

Again

Thank you.

13

:slight_smile: