Transfer Chances for State School Student?

baldrick
Sat, 22 Oct 2011 23:05:54 +0000

Hi! I’m looking to transfer from Alabama to either Brown, Vanderbilt, Dartmouth, Yale, or Penn as a sophomore philosophy major (looking at linguistics, but it’s not offered at UA). I know it’s kind of a mixed bag and the list could (and probably will) change, but it is what it is. I know I either want to be in a city environment or have a small class size (plus rigorous academics, obviously), so if anyone has any suggestions for where I might fit, that’d be great!

HS Stats:
GPA: 4.45 W (top 4%)
Rank: 17/469
SAT I: 2210 (770 W, 800 CR, 640 M)
SAT II: 780 US History, 720 Lit
ECs: Mock Trial Captain, Environmental Club VP, Freshman Mentor, Girls State Delegate, Chem Olympiad, Science Olympiad, NHS, Mu Alpha Theta, French Honor Society, English Honor Society, Theater Production Stage Manager, several awards for French (school-based and national), volunteer work w/Salvation Army and local Art Museum

College Stats:
GPA: at least 4.0 (have over 4.0 this midterm)
Academic Class: Sophomore (1st year student, though)
Credit Hours: 54 (39 AP credits, which I’d be willing to drop if necessary)
ECs: Sorority (running for office next month!), Mock Trial, Ethics Bowl, several other smaller clubs, volunteering

My situation’s kind of interesting–I know I have a ton of credit hours, but most of that’s AP. I chose my current school because I won a full scholarship and didn’t get very good financial aid anywhere else. I just don’t feel challenged at all and the social life/overall feel of campus doesn’t really fit me very well. I’m getting along fine, but I’d love more opportunity for internships, study abroad, etc. and more rigorous classes. To clarify, I am taking upper-level courses due to my AP credit so it’s not so much a freshman courseload’s ease that’s the problem.

Thanks so much for your input!