So I’m a current student at a 2-year college. I had to leave high school at the beginning of 10th grade (was a straight-A student my whole life) to take care of my grandmother because my mother couldn’t afford to get an around the clock nurse. I ended up having to care for her for multiple years and got my GED during that time. I also built an e-commerce business since I couldn’t leave the house very much, and it ended up doing about $60k in sales over 2 years. This year was my first year back in school in nearly 7 years. I took 5 classes both semesters, and I have a 4.0. The classes feel like on-level high school classes and they’re way too easy, however, they do require a lot of time-consuming “busy work.” I also took the SAT right before I started in August and scored a 1210. I took it again in November and got it up to a 1260 and then 1 month later a 1290 (all these scores were without studying btw, just learning math concepts I was missing). I was unable to apply to transfer to my state school because of credit requirements, so I decided to go ahead and apply elsewhere and see what happened. Here are the results:
Tulane: Accepted (can’t afford it)
Colgate: Waitlisted
Emory: Rejected
Washington and Lee: Rejected (no surprise)
Rice: Rejected
Wesleyan: Rejected
UChicago: Rejected
Vanderbilt: Pending
Davidson: Pending
I honestly didn’t think I would get in anywhere. I thought I might get waitlisted at one or two schools. I love Colgate so I’m hoping to get off the waitlist but I’m not optimistic.
My questions are these, what do you think I should do to boost my chances for admission next year? I should have over 60 credits with a 4.0. Should I study for the SAT this summer and try to get my score over 1400? I tried to get internships on my own but haven’t had any luck. My school doesn’t really have any clubs or organizations so EC’s and campus involvement are pretty much unattainable.
Additionally, does anyone know what top tier schools are friendly to CC transfers or Non-Traditional students? I’m interested in finance/econ but my EFC is about $3.5k so they must meet 100% of need.
Thank you to anyone who reads or offers help!
First, you should be very proud of all you have done to date. You have already succeeded. You took care of your family first, at great personal sacrifice, and that speaks volumes about your character. Your character, more than anything, will serve you well in life.
Next, should you not be pulled off the waitlist, I would recommend trying to pull up your SAT score. Those efforts are worthwhile.
Finally, I would strongly recommend communicating your non-traditional path and the reasons for it to AdComs. Yours are compelling circumstances in my view and shows who you are as a person.
Good luck!
@Perspectiver Thank you very much! I actually spent a very long time on my personal statements and had them proofread by a third-year Yale law student and a current Emory student. I think what hurt my application was the fact that I was applying with only 15 credit hours and only 1 year of high school. If my SAT scores were 1500+ they might have overlooked that, but they didn’t have a whole lot to go on. I’m taking summer classes so I feel like having a higher SAT score and 50+ credits when I apply next year will give me a very good chance.
I would advise anyone reading this that is a CC student thinking of transferring, do not expect to get accepted to top schools with only 1 semester of classes unless you have a strong high school record or very high test scores. If you want to do it just to see if you can get lucky, that’s fine. I just wouldn’t expect results. If anything I would use it as experience for the following applications.
I am in a similar situation you are in (neglected high school to take care of ill parent, came back to into college a few years late), and my advice is based off of the research I have done over the past ~8 months or so, so take it with a grain of salt.
I would argue that if you are applying next year after 60 credits, the SAT probably won’t matter much, as you’ve shown that you can succeed in college. If you still want to take it then go for it though.
What is your major? If it is STEM, then be sure to do research on the schools you want to attend and see what their pre-req classes might be, and take those. It is usually along the lines of Calculus 3, Linear Algebra, Diff eq, Physics, chemistry, etc if you are engineering/CS (I am CS). It is also good to take more rigorous classes like these if you do well in them, as it shows colleges you can take a hard work load.
When looking for colleges, be sure to run their net price calculators. You will notice that some NPCs ask what year of school you are currently in, or will be when transferring, these should be the most accurate as they will take into account that you are not a freshman (they tend to get more aid).
Overall I would say to look at any articulation agreement your CC may have with nearby/in-state schools, to have some safeties. Some more “top” colleges that seem to be pretty good with transfer students are Vanderbilt, USC, WashU, UCs if you are in Cali, and even uWash and uMich though they are public schools. Just be sure to apply to some safeties aswell, as admissions in general is a crapshoot, especially for transfers, and especially for these top schools.
Good luck!
@CStransfer123987 I’ve heard similar things about test scores not mattering as much with more credits. I’ll probably still put in the effort to raise my scores some, just because I think that kind of effort will look good in the eyes of an adcom. I want to major in finance or econ depending on what the school offers. I applied to Rice’s Sports management major because that’s honestly the career path I wish I could have, however, I would never major in that at a state school just because of the job prospects. Same with Vandy’s HOD major.
Unfortunately, I am in GA and our CC or Technical College system is awful. My school only offers up to Calc 1 and they barely have any science courses. You can tell the entire system is based on technical certifications and the state needs to completely overhaul it. It’s nothing like the CC systems in FL or CA. It was honestly hard for me to even design a schedule for next semester because of the limited course offerings.
Public schools are definitely a no go for me because of the lack of financial aid or the strict prereqs (UVA for example).
My safety will be my state school (UGA) next year, and as you said, everything else is pretty much a toss-up. Ill definitely re-apply to Vandy, and Rice, and then probably Emory and Colgate. I’ll have to start building my list and I’ll take a look at WashU.
Thanks for your input. I hope you’re able to have more success with transferring than I have.
If you are a woman, consider the women’s colleges. Bryn Mawr has a specific interest in CC transfer applicants. Some of the others do as well. Start here: https://www.womenscolleges.org/
Cornell also has an excellent record of admitting CC transfers, although most of them come from the CCs in NYS. Still possibly worth investigating.
Wishing you all the best!
@happymomof1 Unfortunately I’m a guy so Bryn Mawr would not be an option. I wanted to apply to Cornell’s Dyson school, but the acceptance rate for freshman is already so low, I figured it was better to put my effort into other applications. I’ll probably consider applying to Cornell’s CAS for next year.
Thank You!
Update:
Davidson: Rejected
Vanderbilt: Rejected
Will apply for Fall of 2020 and post results (hopefully much better ones) next year.