<p>Hi, I am a non US citizen or resident and I want to apply to get into MIT or Columbia. I’m a freshman at a college in my country so I whish to apply as a transfer international student. The problem is my GPA is around 2.0 up to 2.5. Do I have a chance at all at getting in this schools? </p>
<p>And please be honest, don’t tell me what every website says about this schools not looking for specific’s GPA’s. Because I honestly haven’t heard of anyone who had such a low GPA and still got into this kind of schools.</p>
<p>Momneedsadvice, I think your answer was formed without enough information. For all you know, she/he could go to an engineering school with an average gpa of 1.5. I’m assuming that if she/he is looking at MIT, she/he may be in a tech program. Most tech programs are extremely challenging, so if that is so then we can’t really judge based on gpa alone (and neither will the adcoms). That said, if the poster is not in a ridiculously difficult program, it is unlikely he/she will be accepted. Especially since many students in difficult programs still transfer at the top of their classes.</p>
<p>@OP, if your dream is MIT or Columbia, I think you should think in terms of graduate school. You need to be near the top of your class to be considered for transfer admission to those schools, unless you have a big flag of some kind. Momneedsadvice asked you a good question: where else might you be interested in attending?</p>
<p>Go ahead and apply, but broaden your search a bit and start looking at other places. That’s my advice.</p>
<p>@railoraine, in Momneedsadvice’s defense, I don’t know of any school anywhere where a C/C+ average would make you a match (or anything but a super-reach) for Columbia/MIT transfer admissions.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, OP, it’s a good point that rank often matters more than GPA. If you attend a really tough school, your grades will be more competitive than they sound. You should keep that in mind as you begin looking for good matches and safeties.</p>
<p>I’m not in some kind of special program. I just did really bad in highschool by getting a lot of 70’s or C’s in USA. I just thought that those schools would look more than just the numbers. I’ve heard that MIT is really looking for science wiz kids as well as Columbia so I don’t think I really stand a chance, What If I apply as a freshman? Would that give me any chance?</p>
<p>You should check whether you have too many credits to apply as a freshman. I think that the max is one semester’s worth at most schools, but don’t quote me on it. Really, you could apply irrespective of what any of us say, but it really is a good idea to talk to a counsellor who knows your whole picture/where you stand. None of us know what your gpa means in your school or where it stands to the average. Also, none of us know if you have any other skill that may make you look attractive to these schools. Regardless, it would probably help to add up all your activities and grades (in context) and determine some “likely” schools. I know that that may be difficult for you as an international student, but perhaps you can call a few different schools to gather some international student stats? Maybe you can call MIT, and then move down in rankings a bit and call a second tier school, and then third, so on and see where you stand. If you see that your stats match second tier international students more, maybe you can apply to one or two at the bottom of the first, but focus on the second. I wish I could give better advice, but I’m not an international applicant… Good luck though. I hope it works out for you.</p>
<p>PS: There are GREAT schools outside of the top 20 schools. I don’t put much faith into the US News rankings. Don’t let the masses sway you into thinking that those schools are the best options. Some lesser ranked schools will teach you more than the big-name ivies that inflate grades so much and stick you with teaching assistants for your first two years. Also, the top 20 are more difficult to get into because of the volume of applicants, so schools that take more people are not of lesser quality, they just have less applicants because they don’t have that “name brand.” Explore a little more and try not to be too biased by the name. If you choose based on FIT, you will be more happy (and therefore successful) in the long run.</p>
You need to be near the top of your class to be considered for transfer admission to those schools, unless you have a big flag of some kind. Momneedsadvice asked you a good question: where else might you be interested in attending?</p>