Transferring to Brown from Northeastern University

NEU2Brown
Fri, 08 Jun 2012 15:05:51 +0000

Hello everybody—

I am currently a Sophomore dual Economics and Finance major at Northeastern University. As much as I enjoy the school, I feel I am not being challenged enough. I do not want to graduate not knowing if I could have done bigger and better things than breeze by here at NEU. I am planning on applying to transfer to (3) schools for enrollment as a Junior:

1) Brown (top choice)
2) Tufts (slightly less favorable than Brown)
3) Yale (reach – legacy may give me a leg up, but not counting on anything)

If I get into Brown or Yale, I am going to go regardless of cost. If I get into Tufts and it is going to cost more than NEU, I will likely not attend. While I will be applying in my 3rd year at NEU (January 2013) for a Junior transfer, I will have only completed 4 semesters of classes (due to co-op) and would end up graduating in 2015 regardless of where I attend.

When I originally applied to colleges out of high school, I was accepted to all 5 schools I applied to (Villanova, NEU, Providence College, UCONN, Bentley) and I regret not applying to a single reach school.

My HS stats were as follows:
GPA: 4.3/5
AP Stats (5), AP English Language (5), UCONN English course, numerous honors level classes
SAT: 690 reading / 680 writing / 670 math (2040)
Awards: Gettysburg College Historical Essay Writing Award, Outstanding Student in Business Management (awarded to 1 student every year), 1st Place DECA Quiz Bowl States, 1st Place DECA Business Law & Ethics States, Honor roll or High honor roll every quarter
ECs/Clubs: Varsity Baseball (2 years), Varsity Indoor and Outdoor Track (4 years), DECA, Nat. Honors Society, etc.

University stats:
GPA: 3.94/4
Clubs/ECs: Beta Alpha Psi Honors Society, Finance & Investment Club, Intramural badminton and flag football, Campus Tour guide
Work Experience: First co-op at large private mutual fund company in Boston in the accounting department, looking towards consulting/private equity for second co-op.

Brown is far and above my first choice for transfer, due to the location (1 hour from home, 30 from friends in Boston), course flexibility, campus culture, economics program strength, and I would rather not follow in the footsteps of relatives who have attended Yale (not saying I would even get in).

Sorry for the giant wall of text, but these are my questions for you CCers:

1) Would I stand a chance of even being accepted at Brown? I would be applying for financial aid as well (I know Brown is need-aware)
2) Is it worth it to pay more money to graduate with a degree from Brown vs. current partial scholarship at NEU? In terms of prestige, recruiting, overall happiness, etc.
3) For past Brown transfers: Was it easy to assimilate into the Brown community/ are other students generally friendly to transfers?

Thanks for taking the time to read/help!

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