<p>Hello everyone. I have a question. I am about to start my first year in college and i want to transfer to stanford in my second year. Studying in stanford is my BIGGEST dream and only God know how bad i want to get in. But i didn’t apply there because i messed up my Alevels. I went completely slack. I didn’t take part in extra curricular activities and didn’t pay attention to my studies. I had straight A’s in my olevels though. But now i’ve realised my mistake and I have a whole year ahead of me to make up for it. what can I do now that could get me into stanford? Please please please help me. I don’t want to be guilty for life that I wasn’t serious in my Alevels and so couldn’t pursue my dream.</p>
<p>My SAT score was 2150
SAT II: 700 average
Transcript: 3A’s and 1B</p>
<p>But the thing is that when I realised that i already got accepted into the college i applied to, I didn’t study for my final Alevel exams AT ALL, so I got 1A, 1B and 2 C’s. But now, i’m willing to do just about ANYTHING in college to make me eligible for transfer. </p>
<p>This is not meant to tell you cannot attempt to transfer to Stanford. The information I’m about to present you will hopefully put things into perspective. </p>
<p>As you see it is very difficult to transfer to Stanford. Almost nearly impossible. As you stated your dream is to attend Stanford but you have to be realistic. Be aware that those 25 accepted applicants most likely had either 1) an incredible hook or story or 2) would had been very competitive out of HS. </p>
<p>Attaining perfect grades alone will not get you into Stanford, let alone any prestigious school. You’ll need a well though out and developed reason or reasons for why you want to transfer. Stating you want to attend Stanford because it is a good school or you’ve always wanted to attend will not impress anyone. You’ll need Extra Curricular activities that hold weight. Volunteering 100 hours at your community hospital, though great, will not set you apart. </p>
<p>In addition, you will also need Letters of Recommendations that tell you the admission officers something they can’t perceive from the application in itself. </p>
<p>Just reading the introduction paragraph would discourage me from applying. Essentially they’re stating “It’s hard. Don’t even bother.”</p>
<p>Take a look at the opening statement of Boston College, another difficult school to attend yet the tone is drastically different.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Huge difference.</p>
<p>Once again this is not to say you can’t apply but I believe your time could be allocated better. The time and effort you spend on the Stanford application can be used for another school with a greater shot than a 2% admissions rate. </p>
<p>You actually only have only 1 sem/qt because when you apply for a soph transfer, that’s all the college you will have completed. And that’s not enough to turn around a downward trend (O levels to A levels) for a school as selective as S.</p>
<p>Ivies and Stanford only take transfers who would have been competitive as high school applicants but were waitlisted or decided to go elsewhere instead.</p>
<p>aww man! I knew there wasn’t any chance! What if i come up with a really good reason and work as hard as a mule in college? i mean, is it possible for them to consider how much i’ve improved since Alevels? </p>
<p>Seriously! college applications suck! I mean isn’t it kind of pointless that the best schools with the best teachers always take the best students! Shouldn’t it really be the other way around.</p>
<p>I know it is silly to hope but please just humor me. Is there any way of making my application as strong as possible so that i leave no stones unturned. Please don’t say there is no use applying because i want to apply. but please give me a guide me.</p>
<p>Entomom, does it not depend on whether you decide to apply? If you apply for the fall transfer, then wouldn’t you have two semesters under your belt? As in, you’d apply during you second semester, but you’ll have to send in your GPA for the second semester when it comes out too?</p>
<p>Applications for fall are generally due in Feb - Mar, with decisions in early to mid May. Yes, you have to send your final transcript IF accepted, but schools usually make decisions before final spring grades are out. </p>
<p>That said, even for schools that don’t require a mid-term report, I think it’s beneficial to send in some sort of unofficial report if your grades are good. D1 attended a school that finished in late April and sent copies of her unofficial final grade report, however, I can’t say whether or not that affected her decisions, but it likely couldn’t hurt.</p>
<p>@Noleguy33 I believe what Canibaro was trying to convey is that you have to be extremely impressive to transfer to Stanford. You mentioned that the guy from the interview had bad grades in high school, but you failed to mention that he transfered over four years after he graduated from high school. You also failed to mention that he served 2 tours in Iraq, has a purple heart, and was a member of the most elite Marine Corps unit. His high school grades mattered less because of all of this. Stanford accepted 25 transfer applicants last year. How many applicants do you think had an SAT score of 2000+? Now how many do you think had a purple heart?</p>
<p>@noleguy33
Canibaro was right. He just phrased it wrong.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>In the example @MissJay stated, the candidate didn’t have stellar HS grades yet his story or hook made up for it and was the focal point in his admission decision.</p>
<p>@fatcat87</p>
<p>It’s valiant you want to apply. Like I said no one on here said you cannot apply but just be realistic about your chances. If you want to have the strongest chance at admission you need to complete the steps I had outlined above.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I believe the reason(s) for transferring is almost or if not even more important than the GPA itself. (Granted you cannot have a 2.0 but if you have a 4.0 and can only think of attending Stanford because of prestige then it’s not going to work out. However if you have a 3.8-3.9 but have a strong reason(s) for transferring then this will be more beneficial). You really need to research the school and write in as much detail concerning the program, the school, the faculty and so on.</p>
<p>Also be aware, there might be prerequisites for your major you might have to complete before you transfer in order to be eligible.</p>