I’m planning to transfer from my community college in 2021. I’m an English major but I’ll probably be transferring into English Lit. I dropped out of highschool for health reasons (psychical and mental) and my GPA was probably below a 3 or thereabouts. I admittedly didn’t do the best in high school but made significant improvements in CC. I have a 3.93 gpa (4.0 for my major) and will have 60 credits for transfer. I don’t know if this matters or not, but the community college I’m currently attending is one of the top ranked CC’s. I’ve never taken a standardized test but will take the ACT because some schools require a submission.
I’ll have recs from my English Profs and my mentor (who’s a writer). In terms of extracurriculars, I honestly don’t have much other than volunteering at my library and writers workshop. I do have work published on some smaller websites (mostly short form prose fiction) and I’m planning to submit a short story to The Paris Review - I’m sure these won’t play a factor when applying to colleges, but I thought I’d include them lol. I know I have glaring weaknesses but if I were to get an interview, I’d like to think I’d stand out. On paper, the only things I have going for me are the rec letters and a sufficient college gpa…
I’m a minority and come from a middle class, single income family.
In terms of a social fit, I’d say I’d probably vibe more with the Reed/Bennington crowd more so than with Cal/NYU. I went to a hyper competitive STEM focused highshcool and would not like to repeat that experience. I’m not saying I can’t handle the stresses of an intense program but I tend to thrive in creative, flexible, untraditional environments.
However, I’m open to anything as long as it’s a right fit in other departments (cost/proximity/curriculum/etc.). I live in California and will probably go to UCLA if I get in but I’m not sure about Berkley - they have a historically respectable English department but I’m not sure I’d enjoy that type of environment. .
I made a list of a few schools I’m considering and believe I have a shot of getting into. What do you guys think my chances are ? What schools do you think best fit me ?
Use these to respond or feel free to add your own !
(Great chance/Good chance/Slim chance/Don’t bother)
Schools on my list:
Brown (Hail Mary)
Reed
Pitzer
Mcgill
UCLA
Cal
NYU
Bennington
Rutgers
The New School