Domestic
Major: Biochem
HS GPA: 3.63 UW, top 20%
ACT: 34 composite, 36, 31, 36, 32, 34
8 AP’s: 5 in Euro, Stats, Calc AB, German, Bio, and Chem. 4’s in both english lit and lang
EC’s: Not very special. 50 hours peer mediation, german interpretation for a company, 300 hours tutoring, 2 week internship at a pathology lab, one month volunteer at bulgarian kindergarten, two week internship at dentist office, 100 hours volunteering at hospital
So I haven’t started college yet but I know that I MUST transfer out after one year. If I had to guess my college GPA would end up being at least 3.7, probably higher, since I’m retaking gen bio and chem along with english composition. My major worry is with the honors courses I’m taking. Right now I’m completely free and have nothing to do, so I thought I’d write all my essays and set up my school list.
Here’s my list of schools:
UIUC- I see this as my safety, should I add another one to the list?
Tulane
Cornell- First choice, have a great essay that explains why Cornell meets my needs
USC- also close first choice, mention how I’d love to add game design as a minor
Emory
Johns Hopkins- also good essay and very specific
Vanderbilt
Georgetown
Boston College
Northeastern
Carnegie Mellon
So I’m sure I would’ve gotten into some of these schools as a freshman but I’m worried that I might not get into UIUC as a transfer. I’m sure I will, but I can’t shake the thought of being shut out. Is this an alright list?
Does the school you’re at require transfer after a year or do you just really hate it? Not sure what you mean by “must transfer out”.
If you “must” transfer out, you need to apply to more matches and safeties. All the schools on your list are crazy competitive except UIUC, and if something happens with that one, you could be screwed.
Thanks for the feedback. It’s a complicated situation but basically we lost funds that were going to pay for college and my current institution is financially impossible (can’t even get a plus loan). There are major academic reasons for transferring too, but the money is the more important issue. Basically I need a school that will end up being cheaper than mine, so I’m stuck with higher end schools for aid. I could apply to UIC and I’m sure I’ll get in as I did last year, but it won’t make much of a difference and would be a downward change in academics. Northeastern, USC, and emory have 30+% acceptance rates for transfers, so I thought they would be closer to matches for me, especially Northeastern. But statistics can be deceiving.
@EffieWhite I’d gladly but I’d be out of state and it wouldnt be cost effective. I pay 20000 for tuition but there I’d pay 33000. I also get a map grant here in Illinois (at least for this year). If you know of any private universities not on my that’ll meet most of my need and are need blind, please tell me!
Carolina is one of the few “meet 100% of demonstrated need” public colleges. Check out the cost calculator. In my experience as a transfer applicant, Carolina was actually cheaper for me than a lot of private colleges, i.e. Northwestern and Boston College.
@EffieWhite Thanks for showing me UNC Chapel Hill! The NPC gave me a great package. I’m definitely adding it onto my list. And yeah, I was gonna add Northwestern, but they state that grants are not typically available for the first year of transfer.