Advice please - Tranferring

Bala
Sat, 12 Jan 2008 03:19:02 +0000

Hanmyo

With a 4.0 at RPI you should be in good stead to transfer to a selective school. Given your interest in a midsized non-tech campus with strong sciences and a diverse social life, I’d strongly recommend reapplying to Northwestern and WashU. I also agree that Rice is an excellent choice and would add Hopkins to the list. Cornell would be another option with its strong physics program, but you’d still be in upstate NY and I don’t know how you feel about that. I’m focusing on these schools in particular because all take reasonable numbers of transfers. Rice is in the process of gradually expanding its student body by about 30% but I don’t know how this will play out in transfer acceptances. You don’t mention money except in explaining how you ended up at RPI. Obviously, that may well prove to be a major factor once again.

MWC/Sam Lee:

The poster has secondary interest in a music program but I don’t think this should weigh significantly into her decision making. She actually cannot gain entry into Shepherd (Rice) if majoring in anything other than music. Their undergrad program (as MWC knows) is superb but tiny, accepting only about 30 kids a year and very much acts like a conservatory. Rice’s major performance groups and most music classes are reserved for undergrad and grad music majors. You cannot even minor in music as an undergrad if majoring outside Shepherd. Northwestern’s program is small but still 3 times this size. Double majors exist between the music school and Arts and Science and the Engineering School. Minors are available. The instrumental program is a local strength with top teachers recruited from the ranks of the CSO. Performance facilities are excellent. The weak link of the school is its practice facilities. A new music building has been promised for years now, but the president has refused to proceed with the project until he can get a major donor to commit. Rumors suggest that with the recent infusion of 100’s of millions of dollars to NU from its Lyrica windfall (drug formulated there) this project will finally happen.

Hope things work out for you Hanmyo. There really are a lot of options out there.