Chances at Some Schools

Transfer Students
1

<p>Hey there,</p>

<p>I’m currently a Freshman at Vassar College, looking to transfer to several other places. They are: Duke, Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Brown, Penn, Yale, Columbia, and Dartmouth. At colleges with multiple schools like Duke,Penn, and Columbia, I’m applying to their Arts and Sciences college. My academic interests are Arabic Language, Middle East Studies, Poli Sci, and History. My reasons for transferring are that I really want to study the Arabic language and world. I can’t do that at Vassar since they’re Arabic program is only 2.5 years, there’s no permanent Islam scholar, and the Poli Sci department has nobody specializing in the Arab World. Beyond that, I also want a more cosmopolitan place than Vassar, which means a place that’s more globally focused and diverse. My first semester GPA was 3.92. My first semester classes were 100 levels in political theory, Art History, U.S. history, and Arabic Language. Next Semester I’m taking a 200 level course in political economy, and a 100 level course on Russian Literature, as well as continuing Art History and Arabic (they were 2 semester sequence classes).
My high school GPA was 3.8, on a weighted scale. My SAT scores were reading 800, writing 720, and math 720. My SAT II’s were Math II 670, U.S. History 800, and World History 790. I took thirteen AP courses and exams in U.S. History, World History, European History, Art History,Statistics, Physics B, Chinese Language and Culture, English Literature, English Language, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, U.S. Government, and Comparative Government. I got a five on all these exams except for Physics B, English Language, and Chinese Language where I got a 4. I lived in Singapore, Shanghai, and Paris before coming to America. Additionally, I founded and ran the student Democrats at my high school, and was part of the Chinese Honor society, the extemporaneous speaking, and impromptu speaking teams. I also attended a summer program at Fudan University in Shanghai in 2007 and received a certificate of completion there. I’m not applying for financial aid. My question, given all this, is what do you think my chances are at the schools I’ve applied to? Thanks to anyone who replies, and I sincerely appreciate your time and thoughts.</p>

2

<p>As I said, I’m currently a Freshman at Vassar College, looking to transfer to several other places. They are: Duke, Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Brown, Penn, Yale, Harvard, Columbia, and Dartmouth. At colleges with multiple schools like Duke,Penn, and Columbia, I’m applying to their Arts and Sciences college. My academic interests are Arabic Language, Middle East Studies, Poli Sci, and History. My reasons for transferring are that I really want to study the Arabic language and world. I can’t do that at Vassar since they’re Arabic program is only 2.5 years, there’s no permanent Islam scholar, and the Poli Sci department has nobody specializing in the Arab World. Beyond that, I also want a more cosmopolitan place than Vassar, which means a place that’s more globally focused and diverse. </p>

<p>Here are my stats in an easily digestable bullet point format </p>

<p>*First semester GPA was 3.92. </p>

<p>*First semester classes were 100 levels in political theory, Art History, U.S. history, and Arabic Language. </p>

<p>*Next Semester I’m taking a 200 level course in political economy, and a 100 level course on Russian Literature, as well as continuing Art History and Arabic (they were 2 semester sequence classes).</p>

<p>*Just got made treasurer of a human rights club (that was my update). </p>

<p>*My high school GPA was 3.8, on a weighted scale. </p>

<p>*My SAT scores were reading 800, writing 720, and math 720. </p>

<p>*My SAT II’s were Math II 670, U.S. History 800, and World History 790. </p>

<p>*I took thirteen AP courses and exams in U.S. History, World History, European History, Art History,Statistics, Physics B, Chinese Language and Culture, English Literature, English Language, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, U.S. Government, and Comparative Government. I got a five on all these exams except for Physics B, English Language, and Chinese Language where I got a 4. </p>

<p>*I lived in Singapore, Shanghai, and Paris before coming to America. </p>

<ul>
<li>I’m a U.S. citizen and my first language is English. </li>
</ul>

<p>*I founded and ran the student Democrats at my high school, and was part of the Chinese Honor society, the extemporaneous speaking, and impromptu speaking teams. </p>

<p>*I also attended a summer program at Fudan University in Shanghai in 2007 and received a certificate of completion there. </p>

<p>*I’m not applying for financial aid. </p>

<p>My question, given all this, is what do you think my chances are at the schools I’ve applied to? Thanks to anyone who replies, and I sincerely appreciate your time and thoughts.</p>

3

<p>I’d say you are one of those rare few that have a decent shot at many of the schools you listed. High school grades and SAT scores matter a lot if you’re only in your second semester and apparently you dead pretty well (although a 3.8 is a bit on the low end when you took so many AP’s). But you do also bring a hell of a background story with all those residences.</p>