<p>I’m interested in narrowing down my current list of potential schools for transfer: </p>
<p>UChicago, Penn, Tufts, Emory, Georgetown, NYU, GW, UVA (out of state), American, UMD College Park, Brandeis, Fordham</p>
<ul>
<li>Did well in HS, (~3.8 gpa, with one F senior year though)</li>
<li>Was a Congressional Page in high school</li>
<li>2110 SAT (V 670 M 690 W 750)</li>
</ul>
<p>College: Upward trend, fought depression late HS, early college
1st Semester- 3.45 (At UPitt)
2nd semester- 3.8 (CC)
3rd semester - 3.73 (CC)</p>
<p>In Honors Program at CC, got full scholarship. All Bs are in subjects not relating to my intended major.</p>
<p>ECs, essays, and Recs are all strong, with political focus (my major/concentration)</p>
<p>My questions are:</p>
<li>With my stats, which schools are realistic reaches, matches, etc?</li>
<li>Would achieving a 4.0 my final semester significantly help my chances</li>
<li>Any other advice? </li>
</ol>
<p>a 3.45 from pitt and a 3.75 or so from a cc are probably going to be a little low for u chicago, penn, gtown, and tufts...you may have an outside chance getting in if you have outstanding ec's and app., but these schools routinely turn away people with 3.7's (not to mention 3.45's) from more "established" programs...uva, brandeis, and nyu are more doable, but again, you have to really have your stuff together...umd, fordham, and american seem to be low matches/high safeties if one factors your gpa at pitt...</p>
<p>if your applying for the fall '09 semester, the grades you receive this semester will not be seen by the schools unless they ask for midterm grades, which is fairly rare...so getting a 4.0 this semester wouldnt mean much, probably</p>
<p>Do you plan to tell colleges & universities that you suffer/suffered from depression? If so, will this adversely affect your chances for admission? Common sense suggests that an explanation for leaving Pitt to attend community college will be necessary & caution regarding depression might cause concern among some admissions folks.
Otherwise your stats are good enough to apply to all of your listed schools. Virginia, Chicago, Penn & Georgetown are tough for every transfer applicant. You have a great chance at NYU & most of the others.</p>
<p>Your high school stats are outstanding but like dufflebagjesus said your college transcripts bring you down a little bit you should be able to get some of the mid level schools on your list but UPenn and Uchicago is going to be tough</p>
<p>Thank you guys for your replies. Would applying to Northwestern be more likely for me than UChicago? My list is still changing, and any advice would be so helpful.</p>
<p>Since I transferred from Pitt to a CC, will I have to explain the reasoning for this on my app? Is the fact I did not like it there enough?</p>
<p>I'm confused, are you transferring in as a junior? It definitely makes it harder that this will be your third college.</p>
<p>They probably won't look at your HS grades at all. I would absoluteely not mention depression, that combined with a second transfer would serve as a red flag that could keep you out everywhere.</p>
<p>I think you're a good candidate for all but Penn, Chicago, NU, Tufts, Vandy and Emory may be tough too.</p>
<p>Is money an issue? You've got lots of schools not known for good aid.</p>
<p>Yes, I am applying for Junior standing. The reason I left UPitt is because my dad teaches at a CC, so I could go there for free, and money was tight at Pitt. I will not mention depression, but is it okay for me to have left pitt for CC because the CC was free? I had no idea that would hinder my chances.</p>
<p>I am aware of the aid issue, and I am ready to take out loans in case of little to no aid.</p>
<p>I get it now, actually it's better than I thought. A reg flag would have raised had you done the traditional route from a CC to a 4 year and then wanted to transfer again.</p>
<p>What's your major? The only common threads I can see between some of these schools is IR.</p>
<p>I am not entirely sure what I will major in, but it is between Political Science and IR, with a strong interest in English/writing as well. Ideally, I will go into public service and possibly law school.</p>
<p>My ECs are all really political and my Recommendations are going to be really strong, including one from a notable figure (former rhodes scholar and political candidate, penn grad) who i have known for a long time, through volunteering and working for him.</p>
<p>Which of my reaches are most realistic (im trying to narrow my list):</p>
<p>I do alumni interviews for Penn. To be honest, I can't see you getting in there, it's just so competitive now and both GPA and SATs are somewhat shy of who gets in. UVA is probably the most formulaic on the reach list, seems possible stats wise, but look at the numbers for OOS transfers for a better idea than what I can offer.</p>
<p>Would you even consider LACs? Other locations? Are you male or female?</p>
<p>I am a male. Penn really is incredibly hard to get into, so I may scratch it from the list. I really am looking for a school in a city, and I figure with my career plans, American or GW would be my top picks even if I got into a decent LAC. I also really like DC, hence my focus being on that general region. </p>
<p>Would william and mary be a good school for political science? I appreciate your help by the way, I can use all the advice I need.</p>
<p>Don't know W & M's strengths. Another reach, but maybe more reasonable would be JHU, their IR program is truly fabulous.</p>
<p>In California if you'd venture that far Claremont McKenna also has an excellent program, and Occidental which is a solid match for you does too.</p>