Hi,
I go to a private university somewhere in the top 30-40 of the US News and World Report ranking and I am trying to transfer. I am wondering what kind of chances I would have given my GPA and academic background.
College: Top 40 US News
Transferring for: Fall of Junior Year ( I am entering my sophomore year)
Major: Finance or Econ
First generation: No
Ethnicity/Race: White
Gender: Male
High School Stats + Awards:
I attended a highly competitive HADES boarding school.
- GPA: ~86/100 but with strong upward trend (Junior spring/Senior fall around ~88/89)
- Rank: school didn’t rank
- ACT: 30 (32 superscore)
College Stats + Awards:
- Overall GPA: 3.3,
- Dean’s List spring 2017
- I had mono my first semester of college, which messed with my GPA. I was wondering if there was any way I could explain that to admissions officers when applying. I had a 3.0 in the fall and then that went up to a 3.6 in the spring. Hoping for around a 3.6-3.8 this fall again.
High School EC’s: VP of our Radio club, Manager of Varsity Lacrosse Team, Tour Guide, Move-in guide, Investment club, Young Republicans.
College EC’s
- Investment Club, Concert programming.
I am thinking of applying to:
- Umich
- UVA
- USC
- Northwestern
- Duke
There is one caveat: I know my GPA as of now is fairly low in order to apply to these schools, but I think I would be able to get a letter of recommendation from either alumni/trustees/donors to 5 out of the 7 schools on that list. Some obviously would mean a lot more than others. (ie: one’s donated a building to that particular school.) I was wondering how much this can help in the transfer process, and where exactly you think I stand in terms of getting in given the fact that my academic background has been very rigorous from the get-go. Thanks.
While rigor is definitely factored into transfer admissions, and recommendation letters certainly help, there’s still the glaring problem that is your cumulative GPA.
It’s VERY low for all schools you’re considering. You won’t get away with a 3.3. You need to focus on boosting your GPA to have a solid shot at getting admitted any of the five schools you’ve listed.
Also, on the topic of your college EC’s: have you done anything else? If not, I suggest you pick up another EC.
@TransferStalker yeah I have other things I’m involved in, I just don’t want to post my entire resume haha. I know I need to focus on getting my GPA up, that is my main concern as of now.
@ucbalumnus There is a pretty big party culture at my school and that seems to override a majority of the students passion for learning. No one really seems to care about their academics. It’s a non-target school for the field that I want to go into. The social life relies heavily on greek life. The sports aren’t what I thought they would be. The list goes on and on…
Another possible option is to focus very hard on academics, seek out friends who are focused on academics, find a living arrangement that is with others who are focused on academics, and try to find a different school for graduate school (such as a Master’s).
With a 3.3 it is going to be difficult to do better than “top 40”. However, by the time that you graduate you will have had lots of time to overcome a poor first semester Freshman year.
@egarnhb A big disclaimer: there’s always a prominent party culture at every school, no matter how far up the ranking latter you go. Greek life always tends to be the social center of a college / university.
Believe me, I TOTALLY understand being in an overwhelmingly mediocre academic environment. However, do not think that you’ll be getting away from the party culture and Greek presence by transferring. Just a heads up.
That being said, in order to reach a competitive GPA for these schools, you’d most likely have to perform better than a 3.8 next semester. Assuming you got a cumulative 3.8 for your sophomore year, simple math states:
3.3 + 3.8 = 7.1 / 2 = 3.55 (this number isn’t precise, but gives you a good idea of what you’ll end up with.)
A 3.55 is fine for UVA, but as for UMich, and ESPECIALLY USC, Northwestern, and Duke, a 3.55 is well below their dead average college GPA.
How many credits do you have? If possible, I’d recommend you take summer classes, but it may be a bit too late.
If you REALLY want to transfer out of your current institution, you should add some less selective institutions to your list. You may not want to end up getting stuck in your current college.
I’m trying to wrap my head around the idea of someone who purports to dislike a heavy party culture and strong Greek presence listing USC as a transfer target.
@PurpleTitan Yeah. That reasoning is SO flawed. USC is a top school, sure, but it is BY NO MEANS exempt from party culture and Greek life.
…but UMich is way more into Greek life and partying that USC (at least now). And UVa is the epitome of “frat.”
If you were denied at any of those colleges as a freshman you would really need to stand out as a transfer, which your freshman stats do not show.