<p>No offense, but the University of Virginia is not incredibly difficult to get into and you already have the benefit of being in state applying to a public school.</p>
<p>For the schools we are suggesting, including Harvard and Columbia, a 3.6 is a bit low, and a 3.15 would never cut it.</p>
<p>Did you have in-state when you applied to UVa as a transfer? (I only ask cuz your profile says you're from MA.)</p>
<p>don't go to umich.</p>
<p>i go to umich.</p>
<p>and i want to transfer.</p>
<p>to PENNN!N!!!!!!</p>
<p>If you are looking to get away from pre-professionals...I'd suggest not venturing to Harvard. It is basically a lot of i-banker and consultant wannabes....(not that it's a bad thing...)</p>
<p>consultant? There is no business school at harvard...how to be a consultant...?</p>
<p>major means little to many potential employers - especially in consulting. you could major in romance language and become a mckinsey consultant.</p>
<p>Consultant Wannabes= people who aspire to become consultants.</p>
<p>I think UChicago would probably be your best bet.Its an amazing school with a super bright student body and the quality of education is tremendous "the life of the mind". 3.6 is a very solid GPA but you will need compelling essays to get you in as well. </p>
<p>Also consider a liberal arts school. best choice would probably be swarthmore. Brown is also a good pick, but slightly tougher. mabye consider amherst or williams. those schools would love a transfer from an ivy. I am at georgetown its full of preppy stupid kids so probably not worth it. try for H or Y but they are extremely tough, especially Yale. best of luck.</p>
<p>Penn is frat-dominated? I am surprised :(</p>
<p>
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If you are looking to get away from pre-professionals...I'd suggest not venturing to Harvard. It is basically a lot of i-banker and consultant wannabes....(not that it's a bad thing...)
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</p>
<p>...I was just about to say.</p>
<p>The paradigm examples of anti-pre-professional schools are Swat, Chicago, Reed, and Brown. Harvard is a very intellectual place, but it has its fair share of pre-professionalism, though I would argue that it is not nearly as bad as UPenn, given that the latter has Warton and several other outstanding pre-professional programs. </p>
<p>One thing to be careful about, though, it that while it is not always good to be concerned about your grades, all the schools I listed above, with the exception of UPenn, Brown, and Harvard, are places known for grade deflation. If you intend to attend a top professional school upon graduation, it is in your best interest to stay in an environment that balances both intellectualism and friendliness of grade distribution.</p>
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I am at georgetown its full of preppy stupid kids so probably not worth it.
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<p>This is simply not true. While I do tend to look down on many aspects of the student body, I am surprised by the amount of brilliant students I have encountered. They are hard to find, but they are there. Not everyone is getting wasted on a Village A rooftop on Thursday nights.</p>
<p>But to touch on a problem with Georgetown, a problem that is predominant at many schools in the top 25, is that it is also very pre-professional. Some schools that are overly pre-professional in the top 25:
MIT
Caltech
UPenn
JHU
Rice
Georgetown
UVA
Carnegie Mellon
Duke</p>
<p>Note that while MIT is definitely pre-professional, given the dominance of its science and engineering programs, the school itself actually manages to maintain a very intellectual atmosphere pretty much because any student willing to put him or herself through an MIT education pretty much must love to learn. The same, I would think, applies to Caltech.</p>
<p>I have heard from some profs that Princeton is also very pre-professional, but personal experience contradicts this, and Princeton is not an option for anyone here anyways.</p>
<p>that's good that you disagree with that nspeds because I was close to not applying. I hear that from so many people and that is definitely NOT the environment I'm looking for.</p>
<p>Well, there is no doubt about it: when it comes to preparing students for professional school and the job market, Georgetown is tops; however, I've met plenty of nerds and unique students. I chose to stay at Georgetown for a reason, and that is because there is a lot of hope here and the office of admissions is making a serious effort to admit an intellectual student body. I've already seen a huge difference with the admitted frosh this year. I'm very impressed.</p>
<p>My cousin worked as an advisor at the McDonough Business School for a couple of years. Let's just say she didn't find the students particularly friendly.</p>
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I've met plenty of nerds
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<p>That's very good to hear. Random question, but have you been to Wesleyan or Brown? I know you've been to quite a few schools...</p>
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but have you been to Wesleyan or Brown?
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<p>I've visited Brown. Yes, the school is very intellectual, but there is still an aspect of pre-professionalism and... gasp... a huge hippie scene. If you want hardcore rigour, nerd-dom, intellectualism, and learning for the sake of learning, Brown is not the place. Brown chooses to emphasize learning for the sake of learning by taking emphasis off of the grades, while other intellectual institutions try to promote that attitude by making a greater emphasis on grades, thus ensuring that the applicant pool is more self-selecting and so on and so forth.</p>
<p>I haven't visited Wesleyan, though it is worth noting that my room-mate was admitted at Wesleyan, but chose to come here. He loves it here.</p>
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Let's just say she didn't find the students particularly friendly.
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<p>I guess I will perpetuate your friend's opinion with this statement: your post didn't contribute the slightest to this thread. Does student friendliness correspond with intellectualism or pre-professionalism? No! So drop it.</p>
<p>A huge hippie scene! Brown really is perfect.</p>
<p>So did you notice a big difference between the student body at Brown and Georgetown, or are the differences exaggerated?</p>
<p>As of now, the only thing I've had to go off when creating a picture of G-town in my mind (as in the school atmosphere) is propoganda and what others say about the school. I'm really trying to shake the idea that it's more preppy, close-minded, and cliquey than I'm looking for.</p>
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So did you notice a big difference between the student body at Brown and Georgetown, or are the differences exaggerated?
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<p>I think there is a pretty huge difference, but that need not be a negative aspect. Even though Georgetown is very pre-professional, this aspect also means that the student-body is motivated, driven, and highly ambitious. This is not to say that Brown students are not as well, but I definitely feel as if the student-body's motivation at Georgetown is largely because of its being extremely goal-oriented. This atmosphere is contagious, and though I too love to learn, I've also been motivated in large part by my peers drive for success. Some of my friends were recently admitted at HLS, and I cannot say that that did not motivate me to work even harder.</p>
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more preppy, close-minded, and cliquey than I'm looking for.
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<p>That's bull. I have friends who are homosexual, transgendered, and are diverse in many other ways, and they have not encountered any narrow-mindedness from students. The students themselves seem to be very tolerant – though I do warn you now that there is a difference between tolerance and acceptance – and though it is cliquish here, it is very easy to enter a group of friends, from my experience. The student club scene, classes, parties, parties associated with clubs scene, and various events make possible a tremendous amount of socialization. As an introvert – hardcore, actually – and misanthrope, it was difficult for me not to make friends – and that says A LOT. In fact, I might be rooming with three students I befriended during NSO.</p>
<p>Yes, there certainly is a difference between tolerance and acceptance. It would seem I've grown very fond of Brown and Wes because they are known for their acceptance and diversity, whereas, as you seem to imply, the people at Georgetown are nice but still merely tolerant. Which is fine - wouldn't want to force anyone to believe one way or another, but I feel the other more liberal schools would be more "befitting for my social interests." :D</p>
<p>Thanks for clearing that up though. That is at least very good to hear that G-town is not the conservative, WASP bubble people make it out to be.</p>
<p>I really don't think I would like being an environment that is more accepting than tolerating; I would find the former rather oppressive: students are not obligated in any way to endorse or approve of the activities or dispositions of others. In a school that emphasizes acceptance, students who choose "merely" to tolerate are ostracized, which is contradictory to that school's stance, and is also imposing a belief-set on other students. </p>
<p>I consider myself to be extremely liberal, but I am also disturbed by the intensity of enforcing politically-correct forms of speech, gender neutral expressions, and so forth. There comes a point where emphasis on such factors detracts from the overall point being made, and serves as a detriment to the unhindered expression of ideas.</p>