Transferring GPA-less?

Transfer Students
1

<p>So here goes:</p>

<p>I currently attend a school of which no one’s ever heard. Alverno College, though a four-year institution with a philosophy I happen to love, is most definitely not the place for me: A Catholic women’s college with so little prestige no one in its own city has any inkling of what it is? And, to make matters worse, there are no grades. Nada. Zilch. </p>

<p>No, I think not.</p>

<p>I want - nay, need - to transfer. ‘Need’ if I would like to go anywhere with my life - grad school, a job that pays enough to eat more than Ramen every night. ‘Need’ if I would ever like to get myself the hell out of Wisconsin. </p>

<p>What now? What do I do if I have no grades, have only one (successful, at least) semester under my belt, and want to transfer to schools with the highest of standards (Brown, NYU, Vassar, Barnard)?</p>

<p>I do have a strong high school/college (1 semester) background:</p>

<p>33 ACT/2150 SAT
3.9 GPA
Poms-team captain (1 year)
Dancer for semi-professional troupe (4 years)
Good teacher/prof standing</p>

<p>What to do, what to do…</p>

2

<p>so are all of the classes just pass/non pass? if so, i’m guessing that none of them will transfer :-(. but i could be wrong, your best bet would be to contact either the schools your interested in, or go to a CC for 2 years then transfer.</p>

3

<p>There are several colleges that have similar grading systems to Alverno. Don’t worry about this one. Every single place you would apply to for transfer has had applicants from colleges with this kind of grading system and they will know what to do with your academic records. So do grad schools for that matter. You don’t have to leave Alverno just because of the grading system. Leave there if the college in general is not a good fit for you.</p>

4

<p>The good news is since you only have one semester under your belt that the colleges will heavily weigh your HS stats.</p>

<p>I guess my reaction is to first ask how on earth you ended up at Alverno College when you had a 33 ACT/2150 SAT? (Alverno’s mid-range ACT score is listed as 17 - 22). If ever there was a student over-qualified for a college profile, yours is it. </p>

<p>My sense is if you wrote a really thoughtful “why transfer” essay - one that reflects on your journey as a person and an academic - not trashing Alverno but revealing what you learned about yourself and what you <em>yearn</em> for now in terms of an academic environment, that you should be able to get some really nice acceptances. </p>

<p>Some basic advice</p>

<p>1) If ever I was to tell someone to apply to 10 - 12 transfer colleges, this would be it. Have a few reaches, a few matches and a few safeties and really research well so that you can be happy at any of them.</p>

<p>2) Be sure to research the financial aid profiles - can you <em>afford</em> NYU and the others? NYU has terrible FA and many transfers find they do not get amazing aid packages because of their transfer status. No use in applying to all these elite east coast schools if their FA packages aren’t going to be enough (check the FA boards here and read up on these problems, inquire there about how your EFC will stack up with aid packages). Be sure your safeties include <em>financial</em> safeties that you would be okay attending. There have just been too many posts here on CC about a kid getting into their dream/reach school only to discover that the money isn’t there.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

5

<p>Thank you, all, for your thoughtful and helpful replies. </p>

<p>@ PerfectSky
Yes, unfortunately, all classes are pass/fail and therefore will be of very little use to me as far as transferring goes. </p>

<p>@happymomof1
Thank you, thank you, for assuaging my fears. (Alverno is a great school, just not the one for me.)</p>

<p>@annikasorrensen
My story is a long one, so I’ll spare you the gory details. I suppose, in the end, it boils down to some serious diseases - both physical and, I regret to admit, mental - prohibiting me from attending the schools of which I had so long dreamt. I ended up at Alverno. It worked fine for one semester, but yes, I feel somewhat overqualified.</p>

6

<p>Oh, I forgot to mention that money won’t really be an issue. I got a full-ride to Alverno, but that had absolutely no effect on my attending there. I mean, a scholarship would be very, very nice, but, really, I anticipate no financial aid.</p>

7

<p>If you are serious about NYU, check out the Gallatin School of Individualized Study. Their philosophy is very liberal, but they actually offer grades for courses. Gallatin is also the most transfer-friendly of the NYU divisions, and they will DEFINITELY understand what kind of school you are coming from. The people who work in Gallatin are very nice and you can talk to an admissions counselor there. Gallatin looks for interesting stories and driven students, which seems to describe you. Good luck!</p>

8

<p>With a P/NP system of grading, instructor LORs are going to be particularly important. Try to take some small classes where you can get to know the profs well. You might also consider adding one supplemental LOR given your situation.</p>

9

<p>Upon some intense self-reflection, I have decided against applying to NYU. I think the anonymity would be a little too much to take at this point of my life. </p>

<p>So…is this a feasible list? Does anyone know about these schools? If so, do you think they’re right for me? Are any impossibly out of my reach? </p>

<p>High Reach:

  1. Brown
  2. Vassar
    Reach:
  3. Oberlin
  4. Bard
  5. Grinnell
    Match:
  6. Beloit
  7. Barnard
    Safety:
  8. Bennington</p>

<p>Are there other schools I should consider? Are there schools I should reconsider/remove from my current list? </p>

<p>To give you a better idea, my ideal school would:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Maintain a certain level of intellectuality among students; no direct form of competitiveness pervading the campus; learning for its own sake is the main focus and want of (almost) every student.</p></li>
<li><p>Have an incredible English/creative writing/film department. Everyone is beyond excited to be there, to be learning and actually thinking of the world in which we live, of drawing parallels between our society and those of fiction. Ah, such a dream world, for me.</p></li>
<li><p>Focus mainly on the arts. (They draw larger crowds than the sports games). School spirit shared through a unifying love for all things cultural. Dance, theater, art, music, literature, all these things foster increased creativity in the already-creative student body. Everyone is passionate about something: languages, or philosophy, or juggling, or an exciting combination of the three. I don’t care what it is: the weirder, the better. Just have passion, uncontrollable, undying passion, for something(s).</p></li>
<li><p>Be small-medium (>5000), cultivating a sense of community not to be found in a larger environment.</p></li>
<li><p>Professors are intelligent, engaging, thought-provoking and -encouraging, brilliant in their respective fields, and exceedingly receptive to outside needs. Willing to grab a cup of coffee/tea to talk about academics or life in general. Open to anything.</p></li>
<li><p>Liberal student body, though not to the point where contrasting ideals and beliefs are unacceptable. Environmentally and socially aware. </p></li>
<li><p>Most of all, an open and accepting environment where all walks of life can gather together in a utopian-like atmosphere to discuss politics, philosophy, religion, what have you. Everyone accepted. No discrimination for religious views, political views, sexuality, gender; anything, and I mean anything, goes. People are happy to be there.</p></li>
</ol>

10

<p>Not that I’m biased or anything (:)) but I would encourage you to investigate more of the seven sisters schools. Wellesley might be a tad too grade focused for your tastes, but the the focus on grades/ the future is all self imposed. I’ve certainly found it an open and accepting environment, and full of fantastic intellectual people. I’m thinking you might like Smith, Mount Holyoke, or Bryn Mawr. If you are applying to Bennington, you might like Hampshire. You might also like Kalamazoo, Carleton, Sarah Lawrence, Ithaca, Skidmore, St. Johns, Colorado College, Earlham, one of the Claremont Colleges, Whitman, Reed, and/or Wesleyan. You might also like some of the colleges that change lives ([Colleges</a> That Change Lives | Changing Lives, One Student at a Time](<a href=“http://www.ctcl.org/]Colleges”>http://www.ctcl.org/)). (I don’t know about the strengths of the art departments, but these suggestions may fit the environment you are looking for.) </p>

<p>Have you considered a semester or two at a local community college? </p>

<p>Students at liberal arts colleges tend to be very open minded, although on occasion they are so open minded they are closed minded about closed minded people. (If that makes any sense). (I think it would be difficult to be vocally anti-gay at any seven sister college). </p>

<p>As a heads up, the timeframe for transferring makes it hard to visit colleges. In my case, many of my transfer apps were due before I could visit the colleges during my former college’s spring break. There was some unfortunate over lap between when my former college had spring break, and when the colleges I visited had spring break. In addition, I didn’t hear back from certain colleges until after the school year ended, so there would be no way to visit the campus with students around. </p>

<p>Despite these challenges, I would strongly urge you to visit and interview whenever possible, especially since you are focused so much on fit. You can get a good feel for which schools are most open to transfers by figuring out which schools offer alum interviews to transfers. </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>