UChicago Transfer?

Transfer Students
1

<p>Hi, I'm a freshman at Oberlin (tiny, liberal-arts college in Ohio, great school, ridiculously hard, full of hippies), and I'm worrying myself to the point of obsession over transferring to the University of Chicago as an English major/concentration. Here are my stats:</p>

<p>College GPA: 3.75 (I got A's in three classes, but a B in Physics)
College Rank: I'm not sure, but I know it's fairly high. Most people are lucky to get B's here. Besides, most of the freshmen are really dumb.
SAT: 1550 Verbal 800, Math 750
ACT: 33 :(
Extracurriculars: Art - won awards, Piano - won awards, lots of community service in high school, Writing - I've written a lot and even wrote a novel (it could count for something), a bunch of awards in Academic Decathlon
SAT II's: Writing - 700, Math IIC 720, American History 780
AP's: 5's in AP American History, AP European History, AP Chemistry, and AP English Literature, 4's in AP Calculus, AP Government, and AP English Language
High School GPA: overall, it's not that great (3.3---), but my last two years were incomparably better to my first two years, I got 4.0's both junior and senior years. Moreover, my senior year weighted average was almost a 5.0.
Essays - I'm not sure. They were pretty well written, and they talked a lot about me wanting to be a writer, so I must have come off as ambitious. The essay asking why I wanted to transfer might have been a little too harsh about Oberlin and I might have sounded too desparate to get into UChicago. </p>

<p>Last year they waitlisted me (as a freshman applicant). Does this help in any way?</p>

<p>Also, I really haven't done anything major extracurricular activities since I got to college, and I've been focusing on academics. But even then, I still only got a 3.75. Will I look bad?</p>

<p>Finally, I had an interview with somebody there, and while it certainly didn't go poorly, he asked about my novel and I told him about it. The novel is pretty taboo in its subject matter, will this hurt me in terms of getting into UChicago? The writing sample I sent to the college was also preptty taboo, and then I sent them another - gentler - sample, both of which are pretty good (in my opinion). Will it hurt my application if I write about taboo materials?</p>

<p>Thank you so much for your help, please respond. Also, please be discriminating in your replies, be harsh.</p>

2

<p>looks good to me. much better than my stats.</p>

3

<p>Well, I think it depends on how taboo the samples are. I assume you didn't send them something offensive, like a narration of beastiality or the like. I think it's generally not a good idea to send ribald material to the admissions comittee. Your stats, however, are quite good. I would be surprised if you were not admitted, and might attribute the decision at least in part to the raunchy material.</p>

4

<p>i would think anything "taboo" wouldn't be approriate to send in for admissions but I'm not a writer so I don't know how they would take it... it doesn't sound like a good idea though.
also i've never heard of anyone talking about how bad their current school is as part of thier "why i want to transfer essay" so I'm not sure how they would take that. you could come off as a negative/bitter person.</p>

<p>but your stats seem great and I dont think colleges care as much about extra curricular activities as people think. So i wouldn't worry about that. I think they understand adjusting to college and life away from home is very hard and so a 3.75 your first semester is really good!</p>

5

<p>Taboo material incurs an unnecessary risk.</p>

6

<p>Ok, maybe I should clarify what I mean as taboo materials. The novel I wrote dealt heavily with child prostitution, and the writing sample I showed them came from my novel BUT I included it because I said I was showing how my voice was very powerful and personal, and it really was a good piece of writing. The second writing sample I sent in was a lot milder, it was about an Indian girl leaving India and coming to America, so it although it wasn't taboo by any means, it still had a feeling of hopelessness to it. Anyways, I had asked the college if they could substitute the two pretty early on, so they might not have even read the first writing sample. As for the interview, I asked the interviewer that if my novel material was offensive or too risky, not to write about it and he seemed ok with that. But even if it was risky, I'm pretty sure that the writing was very good, especially for a short excerpt.</p>

<p>As for sounding bitter about my current college, it was only a small part of my essay. Anyways, everything bad that I said about my college I wrote that UChicago had the more desirable opposite, and thus I presented their college as antithetical. In other words, I wasn't ranting aimlessly about how bad my college was, I was setting it against the University of Chicago.</p>

<p>Thanks for all your replies, please keep replying! Also, if anybody knows how being waitlisted last time affects the process, please tell me about it. Thanks.</p>

7

<p>
[quote]
As for sounding bitter about my current college, it was only a small part of my essay. Anyways, everything bad that I said about my college I wrote that UChicago had the more desirable opposite, and thus I presented their college as antithetical.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>That is not always the best thing to do.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Also, if anybody knows how being waitlisted last time affects the process,

[/quote]
</p>

<p>If anything, it helps since it demonstrates your interest in the college as you applied previously and are appling again.</p>

8

<p>'As for sounding bitter about my current college, it was only a small part of my essay. Anyways, everything bad that I said about my college I wrote that UChicago had the more desirable opposite, and thus I presented their college as antithetical. '</p>

<p>As long as you limit your discussion to you and your experience, that should not pose any problems. I think it is when you go on to talk about "the other kids" or the "teachers here" that you begin to sound bitter and disconsolate. I also agree with nspeds, that re-applying shows that you are extremely interested in the school, and that you are likely to make the best of your experience there, as you clearly yearn for it ardently. </p>

<p>As for the taboo material, supposing the material is moving and not viscerally repulsive, it shouldn’t damage your application. It may even paint a portrait of you as truly bold and certain of your ability. If you had asked before you sent it, I would likely have advised you to send a sample that was less riskay, but according to your description, I don't think you're in dire straights. Again, great school, great grades, great scores, and a good reason to transfer. </p>

<p>I don't know too much about UChicago's english department, but I do consider myself to be a critical and fair judge of English literature (I risk being haughty to be helpful). If you’re stressed about the samples, I’ll gladly give them a perusal and give you an unbiased opinion of whether I think they are likely to have a positive, negative, or neutral effect on your application. </p>

<p>In short, great stats for a great school. I think we have ourselves a match.</p>

9

<p>The sad face next to the 33 ACT is reprehensible though =).</p>

10

<p>Oh, that would be great. What's your email address? Or you can just email me at <a href="mailto:gkatta@oberlin.edu">gkatta@oberlin.edu</a> and I can just reply to that.</p>