Viable schools for me?

Transfer Students
1

<p>I am curious as to what schools I would have a fair chance of getting into. I am <em>absolutely (freaking) clueless</em> as to the process, and the advisers at my school don't really provide me with the kind of guidance I am looking for. </p>

<p>Let me prelude this with some background information, 22 years of age, did horribly in H.S.; like, I might as well have not gone, but I somehow managed to graduate. Currently am attending a CC in Arizona. </p>

<p>Here are my "stats":
The good (I think): I am projecting a 3.9 GPA (currently 3.8ish) by the time I am finished with this upcoming spring semester. My course load has been 17+ credits per semester, and I am going to try to take 20 for this upcoming one to make the 60 credit mark. I also maintain honors status if that matters at all. My courses have pretty much been keeping in line with the criteria for an Associates in Science, minus the single communications class. </p>

<p>The bad:
-No SAT or ACT, I have no objections to taking the SAT if it will help my chances.
-As I mentioned, H.S. grades were horrendous. Though I think my grades in CC prove academic diligence, or at least I hope it does.
-No mentionable E.C.s. aside from the 4 jobs in between HS and beginning of this year, I have pretty much been vegging out in the interim. I am very ashamed...
-I really am not familiar enough with any of my professors to feel comfortable asking for a L.O.R. or anything of that sort. They really couldn't say anything about me either then, "worked well, got an A."</p>

<p>I would really like to go to a big city university far far away from Arizona, primarily because it's so hot here. I <3 snow (I think, never seen it before). Also, close proximity to a hospital for volunteering opportunities would be a plus. My primary goal is to become a doctor, so an undergrad with a recognizable name would probably make me more competitive in that regard. Lastly, my EFC for financial aid is around 3-4k, so a large financial aid package would be nice. Actually it's sort of necessary. Yeah, money is actually the prime concern.</p>

<p>Finally, my question: Considering my "stats", would I be viable for any schools that meet the above criteria and would they give me a generous fin-aid package?</p>

2

<p>thats asking for a lot</p>

<p>a reputable school thats going to take you in AND give you fin. aid....highly doubtful</p>

<p>a 3.8 one semester into cc after a failed hs experience, no sats, no ec's, and no meaningful (unless it was) experience is not going to get you into what may be called a highly "reputable" university</p>

<p>i might be looking at some of the state universities in the north east if i were you, although i don't know if they would fit your ideal of "reputable" and getting fin. aid for a transfer is always hard</p>

<p>perhaps look at the SUNY's, uconn, umass-amherst/boston</p>

3

<p>Thanks for your candid response.</p>

<p>Though to clarify, I don't think I used the term "highly reputable". But I can see I wasn't clear enough: by recognizable, I did not mean schools like Harvard or Yale (I am not deluded), but ones that would be recognizable in name by admissions officers of medical schools, which I assume Uconn and Umass: Amherst\Boston are. I just would ideally want to avoid Podunk U, primarily for the sake of application competitiveness.</p>

<p>Also if you would be kind enough to reassess by the criteria of the following hypothetical:</p>

<p>If at my current CC, I were to have earned 60 credits with a GPA of 3.9, that included honors coursework, and if I were to take the SAT and score around 2200; what would be my chances then, say for a school like UofChicago\UofBoston\Boston College\UofRochester\Tufts?</p>

4

<p>you still would have significant weaknesses in your application...ec's are VERY important to getting into schools and they are not something you can really just pick up in the upcoming months...rec's are also very important in getting to know you as well</p>

<p>if you are applying from a cc into a "recognizable" school, it is going to be assumed you have a very strong gpa or else they likely wouldnt even consider you</p>

<p>while you have a solid gpa, most applicants to places like uchicago/bc/even rochester have done things throughout their life to distinguish themselves from other applicants...you have done little, and have that huge 2 year hole in that application...right now, i think, you are banking a bit too much on your college gpa</p>

<p>at this point taking the sat's is not necessary and not of major relevance...taking them when youre 5 years older than when most people have taken them and already 2 years into college isnt going to mean much...</p>

<p>uchicago/bc/tufts i think are out of the question...however, urochester/u boston you will have a shot at if you can really pretty up your application in the upcoming months </p>

<p>gl</p>

5

<p>Hey, I really appreciate the response, and I promise this will be my last question.</p>

<p>Firstly, part of the hole can be explained by helping out the family business in a time of need, but yeah, there is a sizable hole I need to explain. Though perhaps this explanation can mitigate the negative implications of the gap.</p>

<p>I am looking in to volunteer opportunities at the local hospital, with my load, I don't think I can manage more than 50 hours by the time I start my heavy load in January. Ah, oh well.</p>

<p>So by my estimation of your advice, so called "reach schools" would be those schools scoring(not ranking) around 60 on this list, and "safety schools"(assured admission) would be scored around 40; would this be an accurate assessment?</p>

<p>National</a> Universities Rankings - Best Colleges - Education - US News and World Report</p>

6

<p>i'm not positive i read the link correctly, but i think i did</p>

<p>the schools scoring around 60 on that list seem to be mid-reaches, and the schools that rank around 40s i wouldnt consider safeties for your app., perhaps they fall in that "match" range
just my opinion</p>

<p>helping out the family is a pretty good way to explain the hole in your app., something youll certainly want to bring up in your essay</p>

<p>gl</p>

7

<p>At your age, ECs are not as important as they would be if you were still in HS. ECs are important then because HS kids haven't had many real-life responsibilities yet. Since you have been out in the world a while, you need to be able to explain how you used the time between HS and your CC, and how you have supported yourself while studying at your CC. This puts you into a completely different category than a 19 or 20 year old transfer who has been in school without a break since Kindergarten. You are almost old enough to be classified as a "non-traditional age" or "adult" student, and some schools may put you in that category now based on your life experience.</p>

<p>If the transfer office at your CC is decent, there are folks there who can help advise you on the whole process. They should have records of where their grads have gone on to finish their bachelor's degrees. If no one in your transfer office can help you with your questions, ask them which CC in your state might be able to. Remember, their WHOLE JOB is to help you find the right transfer-to school!</p>

<p>The most important thing to know about a pre-med program is that the coursework can be completed just about anywhere. Getting into Med school will be heavily dependent on your grades and your MCAT scores. Attending a famous or semi-famous undergraduate school can be nice, but it is by no means critical for Med school admissions. For more ideas, you should go read some of the threads in the Medical School forum. You can reach it by clicking on "Discussion Home" in the upper left of this screen, and then scrolling down to the Graduate and Professional School section.</p>

<p>Wishing you all the best.</p>

8

<p>^^^brings up a good point that i did not consider</p>

<p>while i do not completely agree with it, i believe schools will still want you to show involvement and distinguish yourself at your current school, they may classify you as a non-traditional applicant and view you in a different light and place emphasis on your ec's</p>