economics92

Hi! I am currently a freshman at a LAC in Texas. I always wanted to go to an ivy league school and was on the right path, until about my junior year in high school. I began to really slack off and not care much about school. Anyways, I was wondering what are some good ways to boost up my resume in order to have a real shot ( or any possibility at all ) to transfer to an Ivy league school. I am an economics major pre-med
My stats:
High School GPA: 3.6
SAT( I only took it once, and it was in my junior year ): 1960
College Midterm Grades:
Microeconomics A-
Government (Polysci) A
LAC core A
LAC core A
Portuguese A-

Background/ Extracurricular:
Spanish was first language ( fluent in it )
National Hispanic Scholar (PSAT)
Varsity Baseball Captain in High school ( 4 year letterman )
AP Scholar
Come from an area that is considered one of the poorest in the country... ravaged by spillover cartel violence ( a friend of mine was killed ) and close to the border with Mexico

perfect36

since you're a freshman, your highschool record will carry more weight than one semester of college grades. your SAT and highschool GPA are pretty weak for ivies, so it would probably be best to attempt to transfer during your sophomore year of college when your college record will hold more weight

which ivy league schools in particular do you want to transfer to? they each have unique qualities and environments, and vary considerably in terms of selectivity.

the essays are very important, and you need to have a clear reason for wanting to transfer to a school. simply saying "i've always wanted to go to an ivy league" isn't compelling. if you eventually decide to transfer, in the essays you must articulate what that particular school has that you can't find at your current institution (or anywhere else)

itransferred11

Like the post above, I'd say wait until the end of sophomore year. Also, the Ivies receive a lot of applications and they can tell who has an actual reason for wanting to transfer, and who just wants to go to an Ivy. You should keep that in mind. Also, since your major is econ, you'd be applying to eh A&S programs, and if I'm correct, all the Ivies have acceptance rates around 5% or below. (Aside from Brown, I think).

And, depending on the Ivy, you'll need a near perfect GPA. I would know, I got rejected from 4 (I had ~3.9 GPA at a top 35 University after my sophomore year).

ridgway

I think Penn CAS has an acceptance rate of 18% and Cornell has an even higher acceptance rate for transfers although the number is probably distorted by GTs. There's certainly a possibility here, although you need a very compelling reason and some good ECs to back up your relatively weak current application.

economics92

Well I'd like to go to Yale, Columbia.. maybe Penn.. I just really want to go to a top school with an economics degree. I think the doors it could open would be almost endless. What could I do, beside taking my SAT again and keeping a high GPA, to become a good candidate to transfer? Also, what other schools have great economic departments?

perfect36

this is true econ92, you make a good point

in my opinion your best option is to wait it out a year and get as high grades as possible. i think you could probably get into some decent schools if you decided to transfer this year, but probably not ivies if that's what you're aiming for. if you wait until your sophomore year your highschool stats will be virtually a non-issue. try to get involved in activities and organizations that you enjoy at your college. doing research for a professor in economics would also be a pretty good thing to do. try to get to know your professors by going to their office hours and doing well in their classes, because for most schools you will need one or two letters of recommendation. your background is certainly unique and will help you in admissions

for economics, besides ivies, there are a lot of well known schools. off the top of my head i can think of UCLA, UC berkeley, NYU, northwestern, carnegie mellon, duke, university of michigan, university of chicago, university of minnesota, and a bunch of others

economics92

thanks y'all. it really cleared up a lot of things, and gave me a new perspective. Do y'all think studying abroad in brazil and becoming fluent in spanish will boost my resume tremendously (especially because of the bright future of the brazil and their economy?)

hotdogseller

you mean Portuguese?

economics92

yes. my bad. becoming fluent in portuguese*

robertrulez

I'm guessing your mexican? What is your sat cr+m?

itransferred11

ridgway is right about Penn. But, Cornell A&S (minus GT) is 5%.

cordova1992

Penn is actually overall more competitive than Cornell, as is UChicago. You're best bet is to go with Cornell since they have the highest admittance rate. Focus on the essays, they are far the most important component. yes, grades do matter, but ivy leagues care more about who you are, where you come from, and how you can fit in.
best of luck

itransferred11

A&S at Cornell accepted 7.3% in 2010 (probably less in 2011 because the incoming class dropped from 88 to 66)

Penn may be the safer bet, unless you want to go to one of the land-grant schools.

http://dpb.cornell.edu/documents/1000457.pdf#zoom=100
http://dpb.cornell.edu/documents/1000156.pdf#zoom=100

economics92

my sat cr+m is 1310.. but then again I only took the sat once and it was during my junior year.

itransferred11

Retake your sats.