where can/should i transfer to?

Transfer Students
1

<p>i took a year off after i graduated from high school, moved to new york city where i explored and worked, moved back home, worked, spent spring semester '09 at a local community college, and was an intern for the barack obama campaign where i worked 9am-8pm everyday for 3 months.</p>

<p>my high school gpa is nothing i'm proud of...i never "fit in" because i was almost two years young for my grade and had the whole "eff you" attitude. however, i was highly involved in clubs in and outside of school, played drums, played rugby, and did a good bit of volunteer work.</p>

<p>high school gpa: 2.7
community college gpa: 3.8</p>

<p>i was accepted to prescott college (a small, private school in arizona) in the spring and up until this month i was planning on going there this fall. it suddenly hit me that i wasn't doing what i wanted to do.</p>

<p>so i'm enrolled at another local community college this fall, where i plan to take a full course load and hopefully strengthen my college gpa further. also, i am looking into studying abroad in thailand, cambodia, vietnam, and laos for spring semester because i am a cultural studies major, with an emphasis on asian studies. this means i'd be applying to colleges for fall 2010.</p>

<p>i can write a mean essay, interview very well, and have exceptional letters of recommendation. i feel as though i would be a unique addition to bard college, and am hoping they will feel similarly. after taking close to two years off from high school, i've truly realized how incredible being in school is. being in class, studying, and learning is where i've found happiness.</p>

<p>my top choice by FAR is bard college, but i don't know if i have a chance. what are some other colleges that are like bard in that they're liberal and have a similar student population? also, should i consider taking SATs again? or SAT subject tests? or ACTs? my SAT scores were mediocre...probably somewhere around a 1650/2400. but how much does high school gpas and SAT scores matter after a year at community college?</p>

<p>so, basically this is where i am right now:</p>

<ol>
<li>bard</li>
<li>???</li>
<li>???</li>
<li>???</li>
<li>???</li>
</ol>

<p>i would REALLY appreciate any advice, comments, or suggestions. thank you!</p>

2

<p>…anyone?</p>

3

<p>What about UCLA? You have good enough grades to get in</p>

4

<p>What about UCLA? You have good enough grades to get in</p>

5

<p>hmm, never thought about it. los angeles? i must say, i’m an east coaster at heart, but i’m always up for a change. what are the students like there?</p>

6

<p>what are my chances at schools like reed, vanderbilt, pepperdine, college of william & mary, wesleyan, or vassar? any of those within reach?</p>

7

<p>-Reed is tough for anyone, I’d say.
-Vanderbilt takes about 50%, so that’s worth a try,
-Pepperdine is within reach.
-CWM I don’t know much about.
-Wesleyan and Vassar, from what I’ve gathered, are competitive to get into. You can apply to these as your “reach” schools.</p>

8

<p>thank you!</p>

<p>can anyone suggest some safety schools for me?</p>

9

<p>I think Vassar only had 10 transfer spots for over 300 applicants. (Or some other ridiculous statistic). The collegeboard website lists transfer admit rates, by the way.</p>

<p>The problem with liberal arts schools is that they don’t have a lot of spaces for transfers. In addition, they are less likely to be need blind/ meet full need for transfers. On the other hand, if you are a full pay at Reed, that would be a huge plus. NYT article about this here: <a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/10/business/economy/10reed.html?scp=1&sq=reed%20college&st=cse[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/10/business/economy/10reed.html?scp=1&sq=reed%20college&st=cse&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>If you are female, the all women’s colleges, aka Mount Holyoke and Smith, have more statistically favorable admit rates. Hendrix, Kalamazoo, Oberlin, Kenyon, Earlham, and Beloit are all in the midwest but might be worth looking into. Also investigate the colleges listed in the Colleges that Change Lives book, and the LACs ranked below and slightly above Bard.</p>

<p>I’m pretty sure that Bard is test optional, but other schools may not be. You might want to take an ACT practice test, and see if you find that goes better. Obviously, retaking a standardized test shouldn’t distract from your studies, but it is another data point that could potentially be in your favor.</p>

<p>As a heads up, LACs generally require you to spend 2 full years on campus, so it’s good that you would study abroad before you apply. However, I’ve found that schools are super picky when they will let you interview (often they’ll make you wait until after the freshmen rush is over), so you might want to figure out interview logistics before you study abroad.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

10

<p>thank you–that was incredible helpful. and what an interesting article! reed seems similar to bard, which is why i’m attracted to it, but i feel as though it’s definitely a reach school…probably too far of a reach.</p>

<p>what can people tell me about hampshire college? do you think i could consider that to be a safety?</p>

11

<p>If Hampshire appeals to you, you should definitely apply. It is very, very rural. However, it is close to North Hampton and Amherst and has the 5 college thing going for it. You sound like the sort of self motivated, creative, design your own major…for social change person they like to see. You could probably do a lot with your education there–and their narrative approach to evaluating students might suit you. Do you smoke? Cause you’d fit in there for sure.</p>

12

<p>haha, i’m one of the few people i know who actually doesn’t. but it certainly isn’t offensive to me.</p>

<p>hampshire sounds interesting…i’d like to visit it and get a feel for the people there. i like hippies, but i’m much closer to nyu’s hipsters than hampshire’s hemp-lovers. is it anything like bard? i’m beginning to worry i’m getting too attached to the idea of going to bard when there’s such a slim chance that i’ll be accepted. it truly is just the perfect fit for me. they said on their website that because of the year’s curriculum they almost never accept spring transfers, which means applying for fall semester of 2010 is my only shot. the expect transfers to attend bard for 3 years, so if i don’t get in, i won’t have another chance. i may just go ahead and apply for spring anyways. it doesn’t hurt, right? …or does it?</p>

13

<p>also, it just occured to me…should i consider staying in cc until junior year? i know a lot of colleges won’t look at your high school transcript (which is what’s really bringing me down) if you’re two years into cc. like, cornell for example.</p>

<p>and one more thing…i had a lot of ECs in high school, but have none so far in my college career. i was looking into becoming a research assistant/intern, but have no idea where to begin. if that doesn’t follow through, could anyone suggest anything that would really help out my application? thanks!</p>

14

<p>If you like Hampshire, check out Bennington. Antioch is ungraded too. Maybe you’d like Ithaca? Sarah Lawrence? Boston U? Boston College? Northeastern? Syracuse? Fordham? Skidmore? Union? Saint Johns? Lewis and Clark?</p>

<p>Some of the Midwestern schools I mentioned previously might have an acceptance rate higher than Hampshire’s 43%.</p>

<p>I think you’ll find that LACs generally will require your high school transcript no matter how much college you have. In theory, the more college you have, the less high school grades will count, but if you enter your new LAC as a junior you probably won’t be able to study abroad during the school year. Applying to Bard for spring semester probably won’t help you because you don’t have a long enough college record yet. </p>

<p>I think that extracurriculars aren’t as important for transfer admissions as they are for admissions the first time around. Ask your professors if they have any suggestions on how to become a research assistant. Interning, working, and volunteering are all good ways to show that you are passionate about something.</p>

15

<p>Nona, if you like the NYU vibe better than the Hampshire hippies, you might like Eugene Lang College–the New School of Liberal Arts. Its right in NYC and has more forgiving admission stats. Might be closer to a match school for you.</p>

16

<p>thank you both for your help! i briefly looked into applying to eugene lang out of high school, but one of my closest friends actually went there and absolutely hated it. but who knows…i should definitely check it out for myself. my very, very best friend goes to parsons and from what i’ve noticed, the new school attracts many INCREDIBLY wealthy foreign students who are accepted based on their ability to pay for 4 years worth of tuition in full and NOT on talent. lame. </p>

<p>anyways…on college_ruled’s (oh! the grammar) suggestion i checked out oberlin it seems super rad. definitely got that hipster vibe. and what can i say…as much as i hate to admit it, i’m a hipster at heart.</p>

17

<p>Definitely look at SUNY New Paltz…liberal arts school with a down to earth and offbeat population. I prefer it to Bard myself. Great location 1 1/2 hours to NYC and a really fun and funky college town.</p>

18

<p>i will check it out…what’s cuny hunter like? what makes it so hard to get into?</p>

19

<p>I don’t know about getting into Hunter, but it seems to have a lot of problems as expressed by students on the website students review dot com.</p>

20

<p>interesting…i considered applying there, too, way back when but i’m happy to see that i didn’t. i’m definitely going to check out new paltz, though. did you/do you go there?</p>