TRANSFER RESULTS 2016-2017

Transfer Students
62

College: small public LAC in NYS
Transferring as: freshman with sophomore standing
Major: Poli Sci & Theatre and Perf double major, applied as Intl Relations
First Gen: No
Ethnicity/Race: Caucasian
Gender: Female
LOR: 1 from Poli Sci professor who I TA’d for spring sem & took 1 class each in fall & spring sems, 1 from advisor (who was my 1st Year Seminar prof too); A’s in all 3

HS Stats:
went to top 25 US HS in NYC but struggled with mental health later on, affecting grades
GPA: ~3.0 (calculated, my HS did letter grades)
School didn’t rank or weight grades
SAT: 2020 (620M/680R/720W)
SAT IIs: Lit (770) USH (710)
6 APs (Psych, USH, Gov, EngLit, Stats, SpanishLang)
AP Scholar (2015) AP Scholar w/ Distinction (2016)

College Stats:
GPA: 3.4 1st sem, 3.51 & Dean’s List 2nd sem

College ECs:
NYS Public Research Advocacy Group
Musical Theater Club
& highlighted most important HS ecs (senior varsity captain softball, section leader senior choir, co-prez cultural club)

Essays: My essays were well written but I didn’t bother with the freshman poignant-life-moment approach, instead I highlighted the type of research I wanted to do and the profs & courses that drew me to the school/program.
I was super candid in my essays about how my depression/neuroatypicality affected me in HS, how I thought I wanted to go to an arts school but realized I don’t, and how I’ve basically rebuilt my confidence in myself academically this year (bc I knew from the get go that this would be so much easier than HS, where ~75% of the graduating class goes to Ivies & top tier LACs/highly selectives).

Accepted: BU, American, Fordham
Rejected: GWU, NYU, Tufts, Columbia, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, Cornell
Waitlisted: nowhere!

Attending: BU, Pardee School of Global Studies in CAS with possible double major/minor in College of Fine Arts in Theatre Performance!

63

@Dontskipthemoose To Vandy, they gave me a great FA award. I have an EFC of 500 (only because of my bank account) and cornell wanted 6,000 and vandy wanted 1000, so clear choice at least for me

64

I was accepted to attend VCU in the fall!!! WOO!

65

Hey @jojowetzz did you hear back from Columbia, northeastern or Cornell? I’m applying next Spring to those schools with similar stats so I was wondering

66

@bigvoot How did you get into UC Berkeley and UCLA with those stats :open_mouth: Do you know Donald Trump or someone like him personally :confused:

67

@Ankii1996 I transferred from community college and UC’s give first priority to community college students I believe, and the math major itself isn’t very impacted. And my gpa was little above the 25th percentile of the students that were previously admitted.

But I was really surprised to see that I got into both UCLA and Berkeley, XD.

68

My biggest regret is not going to CC… Now I am at a public school and hate it, and I feel like it hurts me now since I am looking to transfer ugh

69

@bigvoot So you went to a California community college right.? Yeah California community college’s are good because you guys have one of the best universities of the world or atleast the US where you can transfer. Here in NJ usually students transfer to Rutgers but I don’t want to go there but it’s strange because my friend went to Moorpark college and got a 4.0 but was rejected by both UCLA and Berkley for applied mathematics

70

@Ankii1996 Yup I went to a California community college, and sorry to hear about your friend. I think the UC’s were more selective this year in picking the transfer students, and some of my friends who good extracurricular activities along with 4.0 gpas got rejected by Berkeley.

71

College: Ranked around 200 on USNWR
Transferring as: Junior (some schools had be as a second semester sophomore)
Major: Political Science
First Gen: Yes
Ethnicity/Race: Caucasian
Gender: Male
LOR: 3 in total (2 academic). 1 from my math professor spring semester of freshman year, 1 from my writing professor spring semester of freshman year (received A’s in both courses), and 1 from my boss.
Did not apply for financial aid

HS Stats:
GPA: No GPA rank used - top 10% of graduating class
ACT: 32

College Stats:
GPA: 4.0/4.0 GPA (~60 credits earned by the end of spring semester)
Dean’s scholarship recipient
Member of college’s honors program
In consideration for Truman Scholarship nomination

College ECs:
Volunteer in college tutoring office
Worked full-time to finance my own tuition

Essays: I talked about my involvement in my government-related job, and how I would like to use the experience to work in government as a career. One note with transfer admissions: you can edit the Common App main essay as many times as you want, so I extensively researched each school I applied to and included why attending that school would be better for my career over mine. Most colleges offer research opportunities, study abroad opportunities, etc. that you can find at any other college. It is up to you to show the admissions committees why attending their school over yours will advance your education in a better way.

Accepted: Brown (spring semester), Miami (President’s Scholarship), Tulane (Collegiate Achievement Award), SMU, USC, Vanderbilt, Yale
Rejected: Cornell, Duke, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Penn, UC Berkeley, UCLA, WUSTL
Waitlisted: Amherst, Rice (did not accept spot at either)

Attending: Yale

Advice/notes: If anything, this process is even more confusing than freshman admissions, and there are far fewer resources offered to prospective transfer students. There are some places where I thought I would definitely get accepted, and there are some places where I have no idea how I was accepted. In short, my suggestion is to apply broadly to a range of schools. Some really great schools (especially Miami, SMU, and Tulane), have rolling admissions and offer very generous scholarships for transfer admissions as long as you have a certain college GPA (I believe these stats are listed on the respective admissions websites). Also, make sure to look at the common data set for every school you choose to apply to so you know what you are up against. Some schools consider residency (UC’s really are not worth applying to as a transfer unless you attend a CA CC), whether or not you apply for financial aid (Brown), among other factors. Because transfer admission at top colleges is even more selective than freshman admission, I believe that the essays and writing components become even more important. Make use of your summers and breaks to really work on your essays and research the colleges; it can make or break your application.