Anneshirley

High school grades matter a LOT less when applying to transfer, while your college grades are extremely important.
I had some really weak high school grades and I got into Dartmouth. Here’s where I explain what I […]

For the more selective schools, the transfer decisions come out in May, about two months after the application deadlines.

The main exception are the University of California schools, whose deadlines are November 30.

Prof. being an MIT grad: The professor being an MIT grad will be a plus, but your focus should always be on getting a letter from the professor that likes/knows you the most. If that prof. doesn’t like/know you, […]

I just wanted to post additional advice from Stella regarding mostly setting yourself up for applying to grad school:

I got my undergraduate degree at Stanford in Human Biology. You have the right attitude […]

I would also add that you should pay special attention to financial aid as an international student. A lot of schools have a “need-aware” policy as opposed to a “need-blind” policy. We wrote about this policy in […]

Hi @asuka!

It’s not too uncommon, and it is doable. I want to reach out to some people that may know a bit more than me about transferring from HK before I answer though; I’ll respond more fully soon!

Anyone […]

Hi @2bcourageous!

I would start with looking at graduate school rankings. Since most undergraduate departments aren’t really ranked on their own, grad school rankings are the best proxy. Start with US News’ […]

Thanks for your kind words about the site @Abuditurkmani!

From the looks of it, you seem to be in good shape, especially since your SAT scores matter a lot less as transfer applicant. Great job with the […]

Wow, that’s quite a story, thanks so much for sharing it here!

So, here’s my quick advice based on what you wrote:

(1) I would think seriously about whether it’s really worth your time to retake the SATs. […]

Thanks @possimpible! Here’s the link to the book: How to Become a Straight-A Student

I just wanted to add to Chris’ last point: “Students who are interested in business and who are studying at Stanford or Harvard usually major in liberal arts fields that have some relation to business. Economics […]

If you’re interested in business/marketing, you should focus on schools with strong undergraduate business schools. I recommend taking a look at Business Week’s rankings of undergraduate business schools. You want […]

Lan’s 100% correct when it comes to focusing on your GPA, it’s the most important thing if you’re trying to transfer to highly selective schools like Stanford.

The other thing I would add is to try and figure […]

Hi, Zhifeng.  Thanks for posting in our forum.

First, I suggest expanding the list of schools that you’re going to apply to.  We always suggest applying to a wide range of schools to increase the likelihood […]

No problem! Sounds like you’re on the right track.
Being from NYS will help with Cornell and being the kid of Columbia grad school alums also gives you a slight edge. Basically if it’s between you and another […]

Hi Josh! Thanks for posting your story!
The most important piece of advice I can give you is to try and raise that GPA even higher (especially if you’re shooting for Columbia, MIT, Wharton, and Yale). Your college […]

Ok so, unfortunately, your college GPA is the most important factor in your transfer application.

If you get a 4.0 your whole sophomore year, your average should be around 3.5-6 (assuming you take the same […]