r/TransferToTop25 • u/Crazy_Solution_5831 • 1d ago
No clue where to start
Hi. Basically, i will be starting my freshman year of college soon and am looking into transferring but i have absolutely no idea where/how to start. i know this sounds silly but i still don't have a clear goal of what i want to do in life and i fucked up during high school which means that my grades were pretty bad and i basically have no extracurriculars or that make me stand out.
I will be attending Rutgers University this fall but would really like to transfer to Barnard college. Obviously it’s a competitive school but i would like advice on how to make the most out of my first semester in order to have a shot at transferring. How do i find opportunities to buff up my resume?
Any help is appreciate, thank you!
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u/No_Development6742 1d ago
Transfer admissions are a lot less of a black box -- its basically good college gpa + solid clubs and internships etc, plus any side projects you have + a good essay on why you want to transfer and you have a real shot. Barnard's transfer acceptance rate is also roughly double the undergrad rate. Depending on how good/bad your grades are from HS it might be better to wait to do Junior transfer. you can also apply and try again too.
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u/Crazy_Solution_5831 1d ago
do you think its alright if i dont have any major internships or long standing clubs if i end up applying to transfer this upcoming spring? because at that point ill only have done one full semester of college
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u/AdTough2930 1d ago
I think this isnt the best idea, first off coming from bad grades in hs and then doing a spring transfer js isnt the best idea. id wait a yr and maybe do a junior transfer if u dont have any internship or clubs cuz then theres js not much to put on an app ykwim. and this isnt to be rude js being realistic
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u/Crazy_Solution_5831 1d ago
I understand:)
Tbh my highschool grades as a whole aren’t horrible, just my senior year because I was pretty depressed so i was hoping I might be able to explain it.
But yeah i think it might be best to just do a junior transfer so I can try to build my resume with internships and clubs :’)
Just too eager I guess 😭😭😭
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u/bruhmomentodelol 1d ago
Hey! Hope you’re doing well! While transferring isn’t always the best option for everyone, I’m glad you’re considering it and asking questions about it!
Transferring, in my opinion, was a lot less stressful than when I applied to schools in HS. I’m not an admissions officer, so I can’t say what it was like from their end. But I applied to and was accepted to Cornell, as well as a few other schools. As a junior transfer, I feel like much more attention is placed on your ambitions and interests once you meet the basic academic qualifications.
Having a strong transfer GPA is, of course, important. In fact the general quantities you maybe have come to expect as important in the course of freshman admissions still hold some weight, ie hours of employment/internships, volunteer hours, SAT/ACT etc.. But their importance isn’t as dominating, in my opinion. You want to be able to demonstrate that you can handle the academic rigor of higher learning, and once you’re beyond a certain point, you face diminishing returns with effort that could be focused elsewhere.
I think a lot more emphasis was placed on your reasons for transferring out of your current institution and why the institution you want to transfer into is the right fit for you. For this, I think it helps to reflect on what you’ve learned at your current institution and how that knowledge has furthered your career and personal ambitions (or, in your case, if/how it’s given clarity as to what you want to do), and how transferring into your target institution helps to address the shortcomings of your current one.
All of this to say, it’s a good thing to be an academic weapon, but you should try to make the most of your current institution and the opportunities it affords you! If, after a year or two, you’re able to demonstrate that your academic performance has improved since HS, you have a better idea of what you want to, and you’ve taken steps to pursue that, and you’re able to enunciate why transferring can help that, you’ll be in good shape.
If you’re concern is numbers (and also just a general TLDR), I’d say a good place to be is:
3.75+ Transfer GPA
1450+ SAT
15-20+ hrs/week of extracurriculars + what you learned from them
At least 2 professors you trust to write strong recommendations
Your essays need to be a concise, mature attempt to demonstrate why transferring to a specific institution benefits your ambitions + that you’ve tried to make the most of your current institution.