Hi, I am a student at Bryn Mawr who is looking to transfer to a larger school with more scientific resources. My hope is to get into an Ivy–really any will do because they all have more scientific resources. However, I do like blending the sciences and humanities, so I think there are some ivies that better cater to my interests than others. Not many students in my current institution blend the sciences and humanities, so I think I might enjoy a different school. I was wondering if you might help me determine if I have at least a decent chance of getting in with a 4.0 and good teacher recommendations. Also, I was wondering if having a weaker high school GPA of 3.7 might hurt my application. Do I need to explain why my high school GPA was lower (I went to an extremely competitive high school), or rather why I did better in college? I have taken a rigorous course load of science classes and humanities classes.
Also, does race matter as much in transfer admissions? I know they only admit around 10-20 students, so I wouldn’t think that the race/ethnicity of transfer applicants will change the class composition by that much.
Your college track record usually trumps high school because it clearly shows that you can handle work at the college level. Of course it’s a lottery that’s based mostly on dumb luck. All you can do is apply and see what happens.
Don’t worry about your high school GPA; the application deadlines for most of the Ivies have already passed for this year, so you’ll be a sophomore next year when you apply and your college track record will be weighed a lot more.
The more important thing is to express why you want to transfer. What opportunities does the Ivy League have that Bryn Mawr doesn’t? Have you thought about non-Ivy schools that still have better scientific resources, like Duke and Vanderbilt?
With a 4.0, you’ll have a decent chance, but transfer chances are slim at top schools so it’s really essential to prove your intent to transfer is purposeful.
If Cornell is not on your list, look at it. Cornell is the most transfer-friendly Ivy. Granted, many come from NYS CCs and transfer into the state divisions. Of the Ivies, Cornell also has the broadest variety of offerings, so there are likely to be good options for someone who wants to mix depth in the sciences with depth in humanities. Major in Soil Science and minor in Medieval Lit? Yup, you could do that there.
As your back-up, take a good long look at what you can cobble together within the Quaker Consortium.
Back in the stone age, I started out at BMC in the sciences, but ended up with a major in the humanities. I knew several people who switched from one to the other, and a couple who managed to pull off double majors. Sorry to learn that you feel excluded for your dual interests. Things must have changed.
if you’re up for it, definitely look into vanderbilt… the transfer acceptance rate is triple that of the regular acceptance rate, so, statistically speaking, it’s much easier to be accepted as a transfer than as a freshman.
My friend, who transferred to Vanderbilt, regrets his decision. The students look at you differently when you tell them you are a transfer. The school was on my list, but I removed it once he told me he was so miserable there.