During the December board meetings at my institution, a student who displays excellence inside and outside of the classroom is recognized and a college official creates a presentation to showcase/highlight the students accomplishments. I was chosen this year!
Extracurriculars:
College English tutor
Meals on Wheels volunteer
Active member, Shakespeare Association of America
Manage a website that hosts my creative writing portfolio
Created a blog for the neurodivergent community
In the process of implementing a program that connects neurodivergent students in primary and secondary school who learn differently with college students who also learn differently
Honors Student Organization
Essays/LORs/Other:
Essays: I would say my essay(s) will really make my application shine. Writing is the one thing I’m good at (hence the English major). I sent one to a Stanford grad and they said I had an incredible writing style and that my essay was really unique.
LORs: I’m super close with my English professor, so I know I can count on her. I’m still deciding on who to ask for my second academic LOR. For a professional LOR, I will be using the individual who nominated me to be highlighted during the December board meeting. She is the Office for Students with Disabilities Coordinator/Tutoring Services Coordinator, and I’m pretty close with her as well.
Cost Constraints / Budget:
Preferably a private institution that provides great financial aid.
Schools:
Williams College (I was recently offered the opportunity to have my application reviewed by a Williams AO. In the email I received notifying me about this, it said this opportunity was offered to a small amount of students who they believe will be strong applicants to Williams. Not sure if this matters.)
Is UT Austin a guaranteed transfer for you? If not, are there any other 4 yr public TX colleges that have a transfer agreement with your community college? Because that is where you will probably wind up - make sure that you put in an application there, in addition to all your reach schools.
Not guaranteed transfer. Nope. Not interested in them either to be honest. You don’t think I have a chance at any of those other schools? I know several Williams and Pomona students who transferred in with the same stats.
Well, I currently have 24 credits from my CC. I attended an online school that graded with a Pass/Fail system, where I completed 13 credits. So, I guess technically I’m still a first year since all of the colleges I’m interested in won’t accept those other credits.
Remote chance of acceptance with enuf fin aid to go at any of these. Do you want to go to a 4 yr college after your associates degree? Then also make a financial and academic safety by also applying to a transfer agreement school.
Well it’s great that Williams reached out. Congrats.
Given you are rural and two years out (associates degree), I think that improves your odds.
But had you not mentioned Williams, I’d have been skeptical except maybe Sewanee and Pitzer in that order.
Best of luck
PS - don’t know your budget but given the size of UT vs. the others, you might try a Hendrix. For undergrad, they match in state. Would they for transfer? It’s not listed but you might ask if they match Tuition Advantage (same tuition as UT).
Or how about a smaller public like Truman State in Missouri, which is very well reputed and 4,000 kids and relatively affordable.
It’s $35K full price and has an $8K scholarship with your GPA - so $27K.
That might be a good UT alternative - and a safety that’s very well thought of.
There might be an instate version I’m unaware of.
So, what do I need to do to be competitive to these? Honestly, I thought Oberlin and St. Olaf were matches. Sewanee was a safety. Also, going to a public institution will require me to work full-time, which won’t be possible with my ADHD, so if I don’t get UT Austin then I probably won’t transfer.
Thanks for the reply! I will look into the schools you recommended. What can I do to increase my chances at these LACs? What about Oberlin and St. Olaf?
@benreed assume you’ve seen this link, and I’m sure there are others(with more current numbers). You’ll need a 4.0 to be competitive, all required pre-reqs, strong essay, min 24 hours, and they’ll also be looking at your high school grades/scores.
Transferring into UT won’t be easy or a given, you’ll need to stand out. Pay close attention to the applying deadlines. Don’t put all your eggs in the UT basket…it’s a long shot. I agree with the suggestion of applying to Hendrix in Arkansas.
Do you take medicine for your ADHD? Do you receive accommodations?
I understand what you’re hoping for. You’re hoping to be admitted by a private school that meets full need, so that you’ll receive a package that hopefully covers room, board, and tuition fully, so that you can concentrate full time on your studies without having to work to support yourself.
What I’m trying to tell you is that, while I do hope that you get what you want, it’s not likely. Community college classes are usually not rigorous, colleges know that, so anything less than a 4.0 shows your limitations, rather than your strengths. For this reason, if you want to continue your education for a 4 yr degree, you need to create a financial and academic safety, and for you, that would mean continuing to live where you have lived while attending community college (I presume with family) while commuting to the closest 4 yr public college, which probably has a transfer agreement with your community college. You’d have your Pell grant, could take a federal loan for something like 6500 or 7500 a year, and if you are able, work a part time job. I’m not saying that this route is your first choice, but you need to make this option because it may be your only way of getting a 4 yr degree. Oberlin, St. Olaf, and Sewanee are not seeking community college grads with less than perfect GPAs, low high school GPAs, and no standardized test score. You might get into Sewanee or any of the others, and they might give you a full fin aid package, but you might not get into any of these schools. You need to make a financial and academic sure thing safety, and if you don’t have to go there, great. But it’s better than sitting with no acceptances, and no way to move forward, if you haven’t also applied to your local 4 yr college transfer agreement school.
I’ll add…for a transfer student. Please check each of these colleges. Some colleges that meet full need for incoming freshmen do not do so for transfer students.
It’s great that Williams reached out to you…I think. But keep in mind, this college accepts a very very very small number of transfer students.
My opinion…you need to talk to the transfer advisor at your community college. You want to see where this school has articulation agreements. Otherwise, some of your CC credits might not transfer.
Re: the pass fail online courses, you will need to send that transcript everywhere you apply. The schools will determine your actual placement as a sophomore or whatever.
I think your list is top heavy for a transfer student, but that’s my opinion.
Did you apply to ANY of these colleges as a high school senior, and if so…what was the outcome.
How many credits that are likely to be transferable will you have completed by the time you intend to transfer?
If at least 60, you would be transferring as a junior, so your college record will be highly important while your high school record will be less important (or not considered at some schools). But if fewer than 60, then your high school record will still be significant.
What is your budget? Although a school like Williams is quite likely to meet it, it helps us to know what number you need to meet. Only a small number of schools guarantee to meet need, are financially generous in defining need, and are need-blind. Unsurprisingly, those schools tend to be the most selective in the admissions process. Depending on how much financial aid you need, that can end up impacting the admissions decision, too, at any school that says it meets financial need but doesn’t say it’s need-blind. (And if it’s doesn’t say it’s need-blind, it’s not.) It doesn’t mean that those schools are impossible for you to get into, but it does decrease your odds.
@Parentologist is right that it’s important to have safeties on one’s list. A safety is not just a school that is extremely likely to admit you; it also includes a school that is extremely likely to meet budget and that you would be happy to attend. All three conditions need to be met for a school to be a safety, and I’m not sure if you have one on your list.
It appears that you have a strong preference for a smaller college. Some schools that I would suggest you check out (including their Net Price Calculators) are below, listed in rough order of lowest to highest net price for lower-income families:
Trinity
U. of Dallas
Hendrix (AR)
Austin College
Oglethorpe (GA)
Saint Edward’s
Texas A&M - Corpus Christi: About 7800 undergrads and it had 7 students in the most recent graduating class who majored in philosophy…a decent number. And as a public institution in your home state, there may be additional financial aid and your community college classes will probably have the easiest time transferring.
In my last post, I focused more on schools that were closer to home, as that will also help reduce the costs of transportation. But your own list of schools is quite far-flung, with most in midwest or northeast, with a few other schools across the country.
St. Lawrence (NY): About 2100 undergrads and a net price lower than any of the schools on my previous list for families with lower incomes.
Lawrence (WI): About 1400 undergrads
Connecticut College: About 2k undergrads
College of Wooster: About 2k undergrads
Kalamazoo (MI): About 1200 undergrads
Allegheny (PA ): About 1400 undergrads
And since you’re open to Tennessee, I’d also consider Rhodes.
If you qualify for essentially full-ride need-based aid, you might consider applying to Berea College, which accepts only low-income students, waives tuition, and covers living expenses via its on-campus work program. Their transfer acceptance rate is over 40%. Their alumni network is fantastic at connecting graduates with opportunities. Both English and Philosophy majors are offered, and double-majoring in both is not unusual.
AustenNut already suggested all the others I was thinking of. Trinity (in San Antonio… although you could consider the one in Hartford too…) and Kalamzoo particularly came to mind. Conn College also has an interdisciplinary bent that could work well for you.
All of the colleges on your list sound great, but some are much more transfer-friendly than others. The need-blind ones are very tough admits, and the need-aware ones will be tougher because you need a lot of aid. With all of those variables in the mix, it’s hard to predict outcomes. So you just need to do what you’re doing, and apply widely, to schools with a range of competitiveness.
Okay, so I’m currently working with a Stanford grad who is mentoring me. He stated that many of these schools listed are “quite reasonable matches.” This guy has mentored numerous other transfer students who have gone on to Ivy Leagues, Stanford, and other T20 institution, so I
trust his judgement.
Furthermore, regarding your comments about Oberlin, Sewanee, and St. Olaf—I have talked to numerous students at each of these institutions, where I have shared my stats with them, and in return, have been told that it’s very, very likely that I’ll get into these colleges. So, I’m not sure what you’re thinking.
Additionally, I’ve been told by several Williams and Amherst students—who were admitted with the same stats—that I have a good shot at these schools. Now, of course, I certainly don’t think that I’ll get into Williams or Amherst, but they said my application is great and that I have a really unique background.
I’ve shared my stats with a great deal of others—all students who have either graduated from, or currently attend a competitive college—and they all say they I have a great shot at these schools.
