<p>I'm an asian student studied in Canada</p>
<p>I'm thinking of sophomore transfer from Waterloo (in Canada)</p>
<p>my SAT scores are</p>
<p>C/R: 760 Math: 800 Writing: 690 (69/essay 9 bad)</p>
<p>Math IIC: 800 Chem: 800 Physics: 800</p>
<p>my major was Biotechonolgy / Economics (joint degree)</p>
<p>already finished freshman year with GPA 3.84w/4.0uw</p>
<p>I am currently in active duty </p>
<p>decent ECs, strong recommendations (one from one of the highest officials</p>
<p>in the army)</p>
<p>I really want to study in System Designs Engineering</p>
<p>in Stanford,Columbia (I'm also thinking Harvard/Brown)</p>
<p>Should I retake my SAT b/c of my essay score or should I concentrate</p>
<p>on personal essays? (apparently, my sat report says with 11-12 essay </p>
<p>I could have got 780-800)</p>
<p>I think schools like Harvard and Stanford are incredibly competitive for transfers and that you should apply to more matches and less reaches. Also if you think you can improve your SAT score it couldn't hurt to retake them.</p>
<p>Jess... He has a 3.84 gpa, why shouldn't he apply to the top schools?</p>
<p>Haha I am probably a loser, but I have never heard of Waterloo and comparatively his Sat scores are on the low end. It just seems like he should apply to more matches/safeties but he should also apply to his ideal school (I just don't think we shouldn't get his hopes up) Harvard, Stanford, etc., are very fickle when it comes to transfers and so he should definitely round out the schools he is applying to, to account for all possibilities.
I am definitely not saying he couldn't get in to any of these school I was just struck by the fact that all the schools he listed were very competitive.</p>
<p>Edit: Actually I just looked back at his stats and they are better than I remembered. I think maybe seeing all these overqualified people (on CC) being rejected from top schools has made me a little pessimistic.</p>
<p>I guess my advise is to apply to the schools you want; you have the stats...but I would also follow Jess' advise- getting into those schools transfer's really crap shot. </p>
<p>I was lucky this year. Got into both Harvard and Williams and I had similar stats. (I think you mean 3.84 uw?)</p>
<p>Do apply to those schools you want, but don't hesitate to apply to some less selective schools to make sure that you have some place to go. Of course if you don't mind to stay where you are now...thats ok too. </p>
<p>Jess, I do have to say this though, there were alot of people who go into Harv. this year with lower stats. So don't give up yet khj...</p>
<p>You're GPA and SATs are fine; what I can tell from my studying the CC board posts is that what works for transfer admissions is a serious and well-communicated need to study at the school you're trying to transfer to. So if, say, Stanford has a program (or even a single course or professor) that no one other school can compare to, cater to that. Good luck!</p>
<p>dude---apply all over, it will do wonders</p>
<p>biggest regret: not doing Harvard, Stanford, and Dartmouth</p>
<p>thank you guys for advices..</p>
<p>ne suggestions on what could be my safer choices?</p>
<p>cornell/northwestern/johns hopkins/uchicago <-- these should be your safeties</p>
<p>hmm thanks guys i really appreciate it</p>
<p>any other suggestions or chances?</p>
<p>lmao no cornell should not be a safety school...</p>
<p>northwestern's acceptance rate went down a lot last year so it's more like a safety/match</p>
<p>johns hopkins is at like 15% </p>
<p>UChicago - grades are certainly up to par but its more a/b the essays for that one so it can't really be considered a safety.</p>
<p>The thing that really makes none of those schools safeties for you is the fact that you're an international transfer...and if you plan on applying for aid, they don't give it.</p>