2015 Official Transfer Decisions

Transfer Students
1

Open for Transfer Results!

PLEASE NOTE:

Wait to post FINAL results for ALL of the schools you applied to as that will make this thread a much more valuable resource for future transfer applicants. Partial results will be deleted by the Moderator.

If you want to ask another member a question PM them.

Comments, questions, discussion, etc. will be deleted and repeated OT posts will result in a warning & TO.

Best of luck to all applicants!

Here’s a template:

Current School:
Entering as:
High School GPA:
College GPA:
SAT/ACT Scores:
SAT II Scores:
Significant ECs:
Hooks:
US/Intl:

Applied to:
Accepted:
Waitlisted:
Rejected:

Attending:

Comments:

2

bump

3

It is a little early for this page.

4

Like two months early lol

5

Current School: The Ohio State University
Entering as: 2nd Year (but with 71 credits so probably junior? Idk, we’ll see how many credits transfer over)
High School GPA: 3.8/4.0 unweighted
College GPA: 4.0 first semester with 18 credit hours taken (and 4.0 on midterm report)
SAT/ACT Scores: 31 ACT
SAT II Scores: N/A
Significant ECs: Studied Mandarin Chinese in Deyang, Sichuan with NSLI-Y for the summer, I help out at a French Immersion school, did some ESL teaching at my local library and designed lesson plans.
Hooks: None
US/Intl: US (New Jersey)

Applied to: University of Michigan, University of Virginia, Tufts University, Cornell University, University of Pennsylvania
Accepted: University of Michigan
Waitlisted:
Rejected:

Attending:

Comments: Still have to hear back from the other 4.

It’s very early still, considering we won’t hear back until May. So I’ll update this then.

6

bump

7

Current School: a leading university in Thailand
Entering as: Sophomore
High School GPA: 3.67
College GPA: 3.75 (4.00 Midterm Report)
SAT/ACT Scores: 28 (25 in Science :F) – submitted, though.
IELTS: Overall 7.5 (8.5 in R 7.5 in L S&W are 6.5)
SAT II Scores: did not submit
Significant ECs: For high school, student committee and internship in public sector. Pretty much nothing except debate club and ModelUN in college. Oh I work as a freelance English tutor.
Hooks: Southeast Asia? Speaking 3 languages and read&write for another 2?
US/Intl: Intl (SEA – Thailand if that matters)

Applied to: Mount Holyoke College, Sciences Po Paris REIMS Campus
Accepted: Mount Holyoke College, Sciences Po
Waitlisted:
Rejected:

Attending: Still deciding

Comments: I guess the recs must be brilliant because I feel like my essay is okay-ish.

I don’t know if I could attend MHC. I really really want to go there but I’m negotiating with fin aid office because there is a mistake on my CSS profile. If they can bring the cost to the same amount as attending Sciences Po, I definitely attend MHC. If not, well, probably stay in Thailand or attend Sciences Po.

8

Current School: University of Houston
Entering as: Sophomore
High School GPA: 3.6 UW
College GPA: 4.0
SAT/ACT Scores: 2050
Significant ECs: political activism, debate, general volunteering
Hooks: low-income (efc = 0, QuestBridge finalist)
US/Intl: US

Accepted: Smith College
Waitlisted: Mount Holyoke
Rejected:

Attending: Smith College

Comments: The process was hard on the heart. My essays were perhaps a little underprepared, but they were specific to each college and I had strong interviews. I never read my recommendations. I’m ready to be a Smithie! Smith offered me an initial package that was incredibly generous and then went on to increase my grant after I put in a request; never be afraid to ask for more if there’s a reason you may need it. If anybody plans to apply to Smith (or anywhere really), I’d be more than happy to offer what little advice I can provide.

9

Current School: Moorpark College (CC)
Entering as: Junior
High School GPA: 2.4
College GPA: 3.08
SAT/ACT Scores: 1750
SAT II Scores: Did not Take
Significant ECs: Sports, Business Association member, Debate Club
Hooks: I guess African American, Raised by Single Mother, Low income
US/Intl: US

Applied to: UC Santa Barbara, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, csun, csu chico, sfsu, sdsu
Accepted: UC Santa Cruz, UC Riverside, csun, csu chico, sfsu,
Waitlisted: UC Irvine
Rejected: UC Santa Barbara, sdsu

Attending: Moorpark College

Comments: UC Santa Cruz, will attend UC Irvine if I get off the waitlist

10

Current School: Sauk Valley Community College (in northern Illinois)
Entering as: Junior
High School GPA: dropped out of high school and got a GED
College GPA: 3.93
SAT/ACT Scores: N/A
SAT II Scores: N/A
Significant ECs: President of the Math Club and one of the founding officers of the Science Club. I’ve also worked between 10-20 hours per week (depending on the semester) for the last two years as a tutor in my campus tutoring center. Prior to starting college, I owned/operated a tree care/trimming business with my brother for 6 years. I will also be completing an internship in Accelerator Science at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory this summer, which I had to add to some of my applications.
Hooks: Non-traditional student? I don’t know if I really have a hook aside from having a stellar academic record.
US/Intl: US Citizen

Applied to: University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, University of Illinois in Springfield, University of Illinois in Chicago
Accepted: UIUC, UIS, UIC
Waitlisted:
Rejected:

Attending: UIUC

Comments: I applied (at UIUC) for the BS - Specialized Curriculum in Physics. I plan to declare a second major in mathematics.

I also took honors sections of nearly all of my math and science courses. I also had a very strong essay in my opinion.

11

Current School: State flagship
Entering as: Junior
High School GPA: 3.4
College GPA: 3.8
SAT/ACT Scores: 2320
Significant ECs: university newspaper, literary magazine
Hooks: none
US/Intl: US

Accepted: Emory, William & Mary, Vanderbilt, Middlebury
Rejected: Bowdoin

Attending: Vanderbilt

Comments: I definitely regret not applying to Brown, UChicago, and Swarthmore. Overall, I’m satisfied with how the transfer application process played out.

12

Current School: Georgetown
Entering as: Sophomore
High School GPA: Top 20% (HS doesn’t do GPA)
College GPA: 3.6
SAT/ACT Scores: 2240
Significant ECs: finance internship, environmental clubs, graphic design. (total of 3-5 leadership positions)
Hooks: Legacy to Penn (father went to the law school, not sure how much that matters)
US/Intl: US

Accepted: JHU, Penn, Dartmouth, Cornell, Brown, Barnard, NYU, Wesleyan
Waitlist: Swarthmore (pretty surprised)
Rejected: UChicago (terrible app), Yale, Harvard

waiting on Columbia and Williams

Attending: Penn or Brown (Probably Penn)

Comments: Honestly disappointed by Swarthmore–I would have strongly considered turning my other schools down to go there, and I thought it was a really great fit. Oh well. Anyway, my essays definitely got me in, I think. It’s a really good idea to show a consistent passion throughout all of your essays, and to show how you have grown since you first applied to college.

Also, I was previously accepted in Barnard and JHU, turned them down, and applied again, so hopefully someone in a similar predicament can see that schools you have turned down probably won’t hold it against you! Just write good essays and show that you regret turning down those opportunities the first time.

Overall, far happier with how this round turned out when compared to last year!

13

Current School: Nova Southeastern University
Entering as: Junior
Intended major: Physics/Mathematics
High School GPA: 3.4 unweighted, 5.67 weighted; was top 10 at a top magnet HS in the U.S. (for whatever that’s worth)
College GPA: 3.7
SAT/ACT Scores: 2090 (was depressed during senior year of HS, didn’t study or care; never retook)
SAT II Scores: 600s range for chem and literature (same as above)
Significant ECs: Quit my gaming addiction and took on some leadership roles with the fellowship that helped me; vice president of the Society of Physics Students at my university, and involved with setting the chapter up last year; kept up with fine arts since HS (it was my division); self-learned some programming languages and got involved with open source projects during college years
Hooks: My university doesn’t have my major. Also, upward trend and being fairly well-rounded?
US/Intl: US, Florida residency

Accepted: UMichigan-AA, Vanderbilt, UF
Rejected: Cornell, JHU, Caltech, UPenn, Carleton, Duke, Brandeis, Rice

Still waiting on Reed but I won’t be going.

Attending: UMichigan-AA

Comments: Michigan’s acceptance was the first response I got. It was, ignoring prestige rankings, the university I felt the most excited about; I remember feeling proud of the essays I wrote for them.
They also offered me a full tuition grant! I never expected such generosity for an OOS junior transfer!

After their decision, I was mainly waiting with curiosity to see who else would take me; I’d only consider if they offered similar or better finaid. I was fairly indifferent about the rejections…which is great!

If I were to do it all over (just for the sake of advising future transfers):
Now that I think about it, I should probably have retaken my SATs. I read that I didn’t have to since I was in college, and I would show competency through acing a rigorous courseload, but even doing that didn’t turn out to be enough (and I also didn’t feel challenged enough).
I would also probably have spent more than a week or so on essays (lol). I thought they were great, but I didn’t give myself much proofreading time.
I really believe I did the maximum I could for recommendations, rigorous courseload + grades, and effort towards ECs.
My family thinks maybe our financial situation might have had an impact on decisions, but I’m not sure. Vanderbilt also offered me an excellent package (only 2k more per year than at Michigan), and I’m in-state for UF and would most likely go for free.

Jeez, what a ride this whole process was. I was planning on transferring since my junior year of HS! I’m so glad I can finally move on and look towards grad school.

14

Current School: University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Entering as: Sophomore
High School GPA: 3.4
College GPA: 3.82
SAT/ACT Scores: ACT of 29
Significant ECs: Heavy volunteer work for various organizations through a nationally recognized sorority
Hooks: From day one I had fantastic grades at UTK, and schools could tell I was looking for a more challenging and diverse college experience - I practically begged them for an opportunity like that!

US/Intl: US, CA resident

Applied to: Fordham, Boston University, New York University
Accepted: All 3
Waitlisted: N/A
Rejected: N/A

Attending: New York University

Comments: I feel that a big factor in my acceptances to all 3 schools was that I didn’t need financial aid and I’m very fortunate that my family can afford to put me through college with no financial help. My transfer experience leads me to believe that maybe high school grades and test scores don’t matter for transfers as much as I originally thought if your college grades are way stronger!

15

Current School: Top 20 LAC
Entering as: Sophomore
High School GPA: 3.6 Unweighted, straight A senior year
College GPA: 3.8, above average course load and rigor
SAT/ACT Scores: 2330
SAT II Scores: 800 US Hist, 780 Chem
Significant ECs: -Leadership in education nonprofit
-Leadership in smaller nonprofit
-Research with a professor in the major I applied for
-Data Internship with local nonprofit
-National writing awards from High school
Hooks: antihook, overrepresented state, ORM
US/Intl: US

Applied to: Brown, Penn, Yale
Accepted: Brown, Penn
Waitlisted: None! (I’m rather happy about this)
Rejected: Yale

Attending: Ahhhhh not sure yet!

**Didn’t apply for fin aid
Comments: I had a hard time breathing after each acceptance, since I was not expecting to get into any of these schools. I remember obsessing over Brown for most of my high school years and bawling my eyes out when I was rejected for freshman admission. It’s so surreal to be in a position where I may or may not be going…Penn had accepted me almost two weeks earlier so I had already thought a lot about going there. I think what helped for me is that all of my ECs were related to what I wanted to do and I had…it’s something I realized I was passionate about since high school, and I poured my heart into my essays and making sure they all were very thorough in what I wanted to do. I did everything I could to make every part of my application stellar because I wanted to leave so badly. I raised my hand in class often and met with professors in office hours. Also I will admit, my intended major is a bit unpopular, so I think that pulled things in my favor. The best advice I can give future applicants is to think of the academic reasons you want to leave and work towards getting as close to meeting those needs as you can wherever you are. I petitioned for a language that I wanted for my major that my school normally doesn’t offer and it was successful.

This has been such a stressful process, especially getting results during finals week! I’m so grateful for it all though

16

Current School: Top 10 LAC
Entering as: Sophomore
High School GPA: N/A
IB Score: 42/45
College GPA: 4.0 (Mid-Term 4.0)
SAT/ACT Scores: 30
Significant ECs: President of Amnesty and Green Team at my school and some other things here and there

US/Intl: Intl

Applied to: Columbia, Brown, Tufts, Vanderbilt
Accepted: Brown, Tufts, Vanderbilt
Waitlisted: N/A
Rejected: Columbia

Attending: Brown University

Comments: Completely shocked to find out I was admitted to Brown and so glad this stressful transfer process is finally over! And for all future transfers try and enjoy your college experience first - that’s how you do well but if you don’t at least you will have good connections with your professors. Good Luck everyone!

17

Current School: Top 50 National University
Entering as: Sophomore
High School GPA: Not sure, around 3.7 I think
College GPA: 3.95
SAT/ACT Scores: 32 ACT
SAT II Scores: Didn’t submit
Significant ECs: Varsity cross country, have had three jobs, Society of Women in Engineering prominent member
Hooks: Grew up abroad, went to three different high schools, can speak French, caucasian female studying engineering
US/Intl: USA

Applied to: Swarthmore, Columbia
Accepted: Columbia SEAS
Waitlisted:
Rejected: Swarthmore

Attending: Almost definitely Columbia

Comments: I have no clue what factors led to both decisions, but I’m thrilled to have gotten into Columbia.

18

Current School: UCLA
Entering as: Junior
High School GPA: Didn’t have one. 40/45 IB
College GPA: 3.95
SAT Scores: 2240
SAT II Scores: Chinese 760, Literature 690, Math II 790
Significant ECs: writing and translating? not too sure
Hooks: beats me
US/Intl: US citizen (Dual citizenship)

Applied to: Harvard, Yale, Stanford, UChicago, Columbia, Brown
Accepted: Yale, Brown, UChicago
Waitlisted:
Rejected: Harvard, Stanford, Columbia

Attending: Yale!

Comments: Looking forward to this fall! Hopefully I’ll be able to maintain my grades until the end of this quarter :slight_smile:

21

Anyone else?

22

Current School: University of Maryland University College, Asia
Entering as: Sophomore
High School GPA: 3.8 W (Don’t know UW)
College GPA: 4.0
ACT Scores: 33 (35E, 34M, 33R, 30S, 33W, 11Essay)
SAT II Scores: Didn’t submit
Significant ECs: Newspaper internship; I teach myself Japanese; I run half marathons (training for full), Mu Alpha Theta (Highschool), Job teaching English to local Japanese students
Hooks: American living overseas (Don’t know if that counts)
US/Intl: US

Applied to: Yale, Brown, UPenn, UCB, UCLA, UCSD, Reed, Davidson, Cornell, Stanford, Duke, Occidental, Georgetown
Accepted: Yale, Brown, UPenn, UCB, UCSD, Reed, Davidson, Occidental (Honors Scholar)
Waitlisted: Georgetown
Rejected: UCLA, Cornell, Stanford, Duke

Attending: Yale

Comments: Essays matter. Start early.

I wrote a more lengthy post about my application:

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/18520113/#Comment_18520113

Post #184