ACT score for Ivy Transfer?

Transfer Students
1

I’m trying to transfer from a school that’s ranked within top 30 by USNWR, because my school doesn’t offer a major I wan to be in. I said “Ivy” Transfer, but I’m applying to three Ivys (H,Y,C) and the other three are non-Ivy. But I said “Ivy” just to make it simple, as all of the schools I’m applying to are in the same tier.

As a high school student, I got 3.8 UW and 32 ACT. I got 30 on Reading and Science (I screwed up science section of the Reading section) and 34 on English and Math. I think 30 on Reading is pretty low for the schools I’m shooting for, but I don’t think I’ll have time to prepare for ACT. I’ve been studying for SAT for the winter, but I’ve been getting something around 2100, which is same as or lower than 32 on ACT.

I don’t know my ACT will hurt my admission. Should I prepare for February ACT? Since I work and take music lessons and all, I don’t even know I’ll have time for it. But if my ACT score’s gonna hurt my chance, I guess I’ll have to study for it as much as possible.

Also, I got B in Shakespeare class in high school spring semester due to senioritis. Will this affect my application a lot? Just to note, English is also my second language–although this cannot be an excuse for most of courses, but I think Shakespeare is another story. (I’ve studied five languages, by the way, and two of them I speak like a native speaker). Also, my teacher was an old man from England who didn’t inflate grades at all. B from his course was solid. But I don’t think my high school transcript will include this info, and talking about this specific course on the app seems too trivial.

To sum up the questions and add one more question I have:

  1. Will my ACT score hurt my chance?
  2. Will B in the Shakespeare course in high school affect my chance? If so, should I mention that the course was harder to get As than other courses?
  3. Also, I got 3.89 for my first semester, but I only took 3 courses. My school lets students (actually recommends freshmen to) take 3 courses as a full time student. I dropped one course on the way, because I found it was not what I expected (not as in professor or teaching style, but what the program focuses on–this is one big reason I’m trying to transfer.). I’m taking 5 courses (5 is maximum) this semester, and I don’t know if the number of courses I took for this semester will work against me.

Ah I was about to forget this question–I’m thinking about switching one of my history courses to an English seminar that’s usually for juniors and seniors. But as they are usually for upperclassmen, the course topic is very specific. Does this mean that there is a way smaller chance of transferring the credit, or will this just count as a generic seminar class?

I’d REALLY appreciate some opinions and ideas. (I’ve posted similar questions and never gotten a response) Thanks for reading.

2

… X_x

If you think a B in a HS course with a 3.8 UW GPA and a 32 ACT will be the reason you don’t get into an Ivy then you really need to reevaluate your application. Those stats put you in the competitive range so you need evaluate why you got rejected out of HS and how you can fix your application this year.

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But don’t HY and C students have better stats in general? Low score on reading is also concerning. I saw posts on CC saying that you need 2300+ to be safe, if you want to get into Y aS a trnsfer, and since so many applicants will be over achieving students, I thought it makes sense. And fyi, I’m an Asian descent, so the Moe’s the whole aemission more selective. But that certainly is more hopefully to hear. So, thanks.

And I think my application as a HS student was very vague and generic. So this time, I wrote about very specific aRea I want to study and what kind of related program the school offers.

(Sorry for the all the typos. Typing on tablet is not my thing)