Where could I transfer with my stats?

Transfer Students
1

<p>I'm currently a freshman on a full ride to Caltech. Where can I transfer with my stats?</p>

<p>Why transfer: Caltech professors are notorious for their "fire-hose" teaching style. In practice this means you get very little time to learn fundamental material. In high school I'd learn by reading the textbook and doing the odd problems. At Caltech I'm lucky if I can finish their homework sets on time. I've been trying to read the textbook before doing the problems so I can actually understand the stuff, but whenever I do that I don't end up starting the actual problem sets until really really late. So basically I've ended up mostly just doing problem sets and not actually remembering the material. I think I'd learn a lot more in a slower-paced class. Even if the professors weren't so great, I'd probably just end up teaching myself like I did with the college classes I took in high school.</p>

<p>(What this translates into is I woke up this morning and realized I'd forgotten how to diagonalize a matrix. This must be fixed.)</p>

<p>Where to: I'd like to transfer to a small liberal-arts school known for its teaching. I am currently a declared math major and would like to transfer somewhere with strong programs in math and computer science. Suggestions anyone? :)</p>

<p>**The problem:<a href="a">/b</a> The first two terms at Caltech are on pass-fail, so I don't actually have a college GPA. (This could be...a problem.) Caltech is on the quarter system (three terms per year), so I haven't actually completed freshman year. (b) From the websites I've looked at it seems most schools don't accept lower-division applicants. But I've taken a good number of AP classes, if that counts. (c) I'm taking a year off on medical leave, but I should be reinstated in April.</p>

<p>But at least I have a really good high school record?: GPA 4.0 (unweighted), SAT 2390, SAT II Math 800, Physics 800, Biology 780, published a paper in Science, will have another paper coming out in a few months (I'll be first-author), USPhO semifinalist, USChO semifinalist, AIME 7, Siemens AP Scholar, National AP Scholar. I also got the Lingle scholarship at Caltech, if that counts for anything. Got 5's on AP Physics, Calculus, Chemistry, Biology, and Statistics (among others) and took multivariable, diffeq, and linear algebra at FAU.</p>

<p>I wanted to transfer fall 2009. But maybe I should wait until April 2010 to transfer instead? Then I'd be applying as a sophomore, so that'd solve problem (a). But I'm scared the longer I stay at Caltech the weaker my fundamentals will get, so I'd like to transfer as soon as possible.</p>

<p>Thanks for any advice :)</p>

2

<p>go for cornell engineering! or the ivies man ur sats are high!</p>

3

<p>You’d have a chance at any school except Harvard.</p>

4

<p>only coz harvard doesnt have transfers til 2009 of course!</p>

5

<p>write a super well explained essay!
you’ve got a valid reason to transfer</p>

6

<p>Cool! So not having a college GPA isn’t a problem?</p>

7

<p>It shouldn’t be a problem, admissions people know that Caltech and MIT don’t give freshman year grades. However, since you won’t have grades, you will want to have excellent letters of rec from instructors.</p>

8

<p>i think they’ll make you get letters from your professors saying what grade you would have gotten, i know some schools do that</p>

9

<p>caltech is definitely the dream school. I think if you stay there for another year… maybe you will like it.</p>

10

<p>wow im sure youre in just about any place you want. i have nothing constructive to offer on the issues you brought up, but im sure any school would be glad to have you around. and geez, if you find caltech to be really hard, the place must be pretty ridiculous.</p>

11

<p>laplace- Try Pomona College (the “Harvard” of the West) Small classes, nice, clean, safe campus, extremely difficult to get into as a transfer though, only 10-14 transfers are accepted every year. The professors are also readily available (I have a friend who goes there) and having dinner with them is not an unusual or awkward experience. Plus you have excellent HS stats and I agree with BK, just make sure that your letters of rec are stellar. :)</p>

<p>P.s. Most of their graduates go on to really prestigious Graduate schools, Ivy Leagues and schools of that caliber.</p>

<p>Only downfall: Name recognition. Most people think its a community college or something but I’m sure the important people in your respective field recognize it and will be impressed.</p>

<p>Hope this helps. :)</p>

12

<p>woohoo go pomona
I’ll let you know if I get accepted lol</p>

13

<p>majoringbio-
Forrrrrr suuuuure!
It’s a great school, no doubt.
I shoulda applied but my SATs are dismal. & my entire schedule for the past 2 years has been tailored towards USC requirements! woohoo!</p>

14

<p>knowing so many people with perfect stats get rejected from pomona,
I really don’t think I have a great shot… but… who knows!!!
they might be having a superduperhallelujah day and decide to accept me at the spot without even considering the consequences (of lowering their amazing student profile)</p>

15

<p>They’re holistic, don’t forget. :slight_smile: & transfer students are always a bit different but still ready to contribute to their college.</p>

16

<p>Thanks :slight_smile:
I hope I am one of what they are looking for.</p>

17

<p>Thanks guys, I’ll definitely look into Pomona :slight_smile:
Are there any other liberal arts schools out there with good math programs?
One more question – am I going to have to explain why I took a year off? If so, how can I bill “attempting suicide” in a way that will not make colleges think I’m completely insane?</p>

<p>And on the topic of recommendations, is it okay if my recs come from research mentors and not people who’ve actually taught me?</p>

18

<p>I PMed you :)</p>

19

<p>Try Swarthmore. It has an excellent math program, and the chairman of the math department there, Steve Maurer (on leave this year, evidently), is seriously committed to teaching. I know he’s a great teacher because I had him many years ago at another institution.</p>

20

<p>I’m currently in a school that does not have freshman grades recorded on the transcript. It’s just pass/fail, satisfactory/unsatisfactory, credit/no credit (whatever you’re familiar with)</p>

<p>When I applied to transfer, my advisor signed a release form to hand into the registrar / transcript office allowing my grades to be revealed on the transcripts sent out for my transfer applications. Your classes likely aren’t exclusively for freshmen, and your professors likely don’t bother to check who’s in what year, so they probably did submit grades.</p>