Hi guys, I’m getting ready to apply for transfer this coming semester, and I want to know some suggestions of where I should apply and whether I have to write a new life story every time.
Here’s my qualifications:
I’m a single mother, I’m a first gen college student, I have lived in poverty my whole life, I had abusive and neglectful parents, I had to witness a lot of domestic violence growing up, I got into a violent relationship at 16 with a 26 year old, I dropped out of high school, I got pregnant at 18, I stayed with my daughter’s dad until less than a year ago (I’m 24 now). When I had my daughter at 18, I left him for a while (her dad) and I enrolled myself in school and got a job working 32+ hours. I got kicked out of my mother’s house at 19, was homeless for a couple months, and then I finally got my own place.
I did this for three years and maintained above a 3.5 GPA (now I have a 3.746, when I finish at my current school I will have 3.8). I just recently made President’s List at my school this past spring semester, and Vice President’s List twice. I am in the honor society Phi Theta Kappa, and I volunteer at Girl Scout’s over the summer while attending summer school, and have been volunteering for student gov. since spring. I recently got hired at my school as a math/physics tutor (my major is physics), so this coming semester I will be working as a tutor, going to school 12-14 units, and volunteering for student gov. I’m also got picked out of 300 students nationwide to participate in a NASA program for community college students. I would like to know where I can set the bar, because I feel I outperform at least 90% of my peers (I haven’t met anyone who has overcame as many obstacles as I have, not many people get involved in clubs or volunteering, and I rarely meet anyone with my grades, so the combination of these are pretty competitive, right?).
I also want to know if me having 80 units from my community college will be too many units to qualify as a transfer student to places like Yale, Duke, or Harvard. I received a personal email from Cornell University telling me to consider them as an option, and I’ve had my eyes on UC Berkeley the past year (I live in California), but I want to aim for the most prestigious schools possible, preferably Ivy Leagues, but at least under 26% acceptance rates.
Thanks guys for your input, it’s greatly appreciated!!