So here’s the deal: I know it is way too early to think about transferring now, but I’m still keeping it as an option.
I am a rising college freshman and want to apply to Dartmouth, Penn, and reapply to Brown and Tufts.
I am doing a major overhaul of my ECs and will certainly work my butt off my first 2 semesters to get an awesome transfer app ready. However, I am afraid my standardized tests may not be up to par for these schools.
I have a 31 ACT (34E, 33M, 28R, 27S; 35W). Superscored, it is still a 31, but with a perfect score on the English section (superscored includes also a 29C: 36E, 29M, 26R, 24S; 30W). Do I send both so I can show them the perfect 36 on the English section or no? Should I retake this? I’m definitely not studying for that new SAT, I simply don’t have time to rewire my brain to a new test.
I also have a 2080 SAT (580CR, 700M, 800W with 10 essay) and a 680 on the Molecular Biology Subject Test. Should I bother sending these?
Thanks for your help everyone.
How about if you give your college a chance first? I assume you are at BC. Why are you suddenly so bent on leaving it when you haven’t even started? Based on your past thread on it, you seem to be pretty volatile and impulsive – don’t go off to college so sure that it won’t work out.
You need to review the website if each college you might transfer to. Some want your HS grades still, and will want test scores. If they want test scores, I suspect yours are too low still (what likely kept you out the first time around). You’d be a lot better off striving to succeed where you were accepted.
You must be kidding me? Getting into the ivy league is even HARDER as a transfer than as a freshman. Get over it… Truly, move on and live in the moment. Focus on Boston College.
BTW, retaking the ACT as a college freshman will show how you compare to sophomores/ juniors in high school. So big deal if you improve… You won’t get any bonus points on your app. The ACT is a test for high school students. You will be a college student. Get straight A+ at BC… That is more impressive.
@intparent Yes, I will be starting at BC this fall.You’re probably right, I should give college a chance. But at the same time, I want to try again.
All four need my standardized test scores and HS grades. The reason I want to transfer is simply because of the fact that I can do better. Not to mention that a recent survey published by the AAMC showed that medical school adcoms perceive the “prestige of a private institution” as very important. This is bit worrysome in my current position, no?
lol no dude. med schools care a lot about your gpa, more so than the prestige. it’s better to get a 4.0 at a state school than a 3.2 at an ivy…
Frankly, your test scores are not going to get you into any of those schools. Transfer acceptance rates are lower than freshman rates at all of them, too. You will find them more competitive than BC to get the GPA you would need, so transferring does not seem like a good idea.
Since MCAT scores are also key for med school admissions, I would also be worried from looking at your test scores to date. You should go ahead and take the premed classes, but have a backup plan – major in something you can fall back on if you don’t get into med school. Give it your best shot at BC – if you do well and can get a good MCAT score, you have a shot. But transferring to a harder school seems unlikely and ill advised.
@intparent Thanks for the advice. So is there a negative correlation between my specific test scores and my future MCAT score? i.e., Am I already set to do badly on the MCAT?
"The reason I want to transfer is simply because of the fact that I can do better. "
Are you the top student in your high school? Or In your town? I don’t think so since even your GPA barley puts you in top 10%. Being the top student is only one part of getting into those schools. After reading all those ivy results threads, you still feel you are perfectly qualified for ivy? You can “do better”.
Get straight A+ at BC, and stop thinking about ECs, ACTs and transfers.
@suzyQ7 I am in the top 10% of my class, but that’s beside the point. I hope you realize that:
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Top 10% is different across different high schools, and
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getting straight A+'s is close to impossible
Never said I was “perfectly qualified” either, don’t put words in my mouth. I am saying I can do better than what I currently have.
The MCAT is another standardized test. In specialized topics, so it makes sense that students who did well on the SAT or ACT will do well on the MCAT. Here is a study on it that bears this out (old, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t still be relevant).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/8466617/
That said, there are certainly students who buckle down in college and improve their knowledge base and test taking skills. You could be one of them. But have a backup plan.
You’re not going to be screwed for med school if you don’t go to an ivy or higher ranked undergrad. Do well at BC and stand out. You seem to be overly consumed about this idea of prestige based off your past posts. Also, test scores don’t matter that much for transfer admissions the further down the road you are. A person with a 31 ACT got into stanford as a junior transfer. The admissions process is holistic and the prestige of your university is one aspect of many things that med schools look at.
And also, you never know how well you’re going to do in college till you’re there. Friend of mine with a 2200 sat is struggling at her state school despite her hard work ethic. At the same time, friends with lower sats are thriving well at their new colleges. I’m not saying you’re not going to do well. You seem like a hard worker but I would slow down and prepare for how well your gpa at college is going to be before you think so far ahead about transferring.
I’d spend my summer getting ahead in the textbooks for your first semester courses instead of worrying about transferring.
@llegeAcceptanc Wow, good point. Thanks for the help!
@intparent That’s an excrllent idea, thank you. Premature thinking on my part, plus its not really healthy to have this sort of mindset before starting college.