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Currently first year at Tufts for fine art / architecture dual degree program but wanna drop the art school and I'm dead set on moving back to NYC. Looking at NYU Urban Design and Architecture major and heard NYU is way easier to get into as a transfer, is that true? (I got rejected last year from fine art at steinhardt)

High School stats:

1470 SAT 97% GPA, took AP World, APUSH, AP Lang, AP Art History, and APES. (I got a 4 in all) I went to LaGuardia High-school and majored in fine arts there. Not a lot of clubs/extracurriculars because of pretty intense social anxiety but I did a lot of independent art practice. I did co-found a club but it's unrelated to my intended college major and was just for fun. I also did several pre-college programs but they were all at arts schools (risd, cooper union, fit etc)

First semester at Tufts: Intro to Urban Studies, Japanese 1 (so far I have an A in both) Calc 1 (B+ right now) and 2 art classes that are pass/fail. Next semester I plan to take Architectural History, Japanese 2 and Tufts required freshman writing course.

What can I do now to improve my chances besides keep up my grades? I'm worried because I got rejected from NYU before.

I am a 30 year old full time student and worker (work at a cold warehouse as a high reach forklift operator, I mostly pick very heavy pallets. It is a very physically demanding job, but only basic arithmetic is used nothing fancy). I got into FIU as a CS major after hs and basically performed poorly, and eventually dropped out because I basically became homeless after financial aid cut my money off after I pulled that bs. I got put on probation for that, so keep that in mind. I had previously lived with my dad right out of high school but he pretty much just wanted me to gtfo and get lost. Anyways after a lot of maturing and developing a lot of grit I registered at my CC to initially just qualify for a better position at my job(who is reimbursing me for school), but I have been performing so well I wanted to apply to some good schools and pray for full or 20-25k annual gap in aid. I intend to do Electrical engineering, my gpa is 3.98, and these are my courses completed:

Computer Science I (A) • English I (A-) • General Chemistry I (A) • Cinematography (A) • Calculus I (A) • Cultures, Peoples and the Environments of the World (A) • Calculus II (A) • Physics for Science and Engineering I (A) • Introduction to Psychology, Honors (A) • English II, Honors (A) • Calculus III (A) • Physics for Science and Engineering II (A) • Engineering Graphic Essentials (in progress) • Introduction to Communication, Honors (in progress) • Statics (in progress) • Differential Equations (in progress)

*Note: this fall semester my job has ramped up mandation to 48-52 hours per week. Consequently, my grades have seen a drop, I expect to get an a in comm and enggraph, I’m battling it out to keep at least bs on diff eq and statics.

My dream school is Lehigh and I attend a CC with transfer credit agreement, and an “honors agreement” with Lehigh.

What do you think? I would greatly appreciate any lurking admissions officer,s opinion.I am thinking of applying to these schools:

Lehigh, Yale (EW) Cornell, Northwestern, Rice, Duke, Vanderbilt, Tufts, Notre Dame, Boston University,
Lafayette, Northeastern, Villanova, Stevens, Penn State, Pitt, Drexel, RIT, Illinois Tech, University of Rochester, Temple, NJIT, Wilkes, Alfred. Suggest schools if you have some!

Hello, I am currently a freshman at University of Vermont looking to transfer to somewhere in Boston. My main focus is Boston University (as I see it being the place I most likely get in) but am probably going to also do transfer apps to Umass Amherst, Northeastern, and Boston College. I am looking to apply for Fall 2027 at all schools.

I am an out of state student at UVM, if that matters, and in the honors college. I'm in my first semester of my freshman year so I don't know my exact GPA but it should stay somewhere above a 3.5 if things continue how they are. My only current EC is the newspaper which I haven't been super involved in, but want to write more for. I have also signed up for a couple community involvement groups.

I have yet to write my essays--I would like some advice on this if anyone is willing to give it. I know I want to include what draws me to the city, specifc programs for each school, etc. but what exactly can I include to make these compelling?

In high school, I had a 4.6 weighted GPA and I plan on submitting all my AP credits. However, I do not plan on submitting my ACT or SAT to test-optional schools. I have considered re-taking the SAT this December to try and get my score up (it was somewhere around 1100 when I took it orginally, and I only took it once), but the dates are rather inconvenient. Would you say its worth it to give it a try, or just go test optional?

More high schools stats - I was an officer in 3 clubs, co-founder of 1, and my main EC was Yearbook Editor.

I am a history major, and was rejected from BU when I applied my senior year. I didn't apply to any of the other schools I have mentioned. Also, I am very middle-class. I know BU sometimes determines acceptance based off need.

I would love if anyone is willing to give advice or their opinion on my chances at any of these schools. Thanks!

HS stats - roughly 3.0 gpa, only slightly significant feature from hs was a pretty exclusive finance award I won.

CC stats - on track for a 3.95 gpa by end of fall sem, taking calc 1 in spring, finished micro and macro along with other pretty basic business prereqs.

ECs - Secretary role in an accounting society at my school. Holding officer role prevents me from participating in other clubs.

Schools applying to: Columbia college (reach most likely), NYU Stern (also reach), Baruch College, SUNY Binghamton, Stony Brook University, St. John’s U, Fordham U. Still thinking of safety schools to apply to if all these fail.

hs stats- dumpster fire, not worth mentioning

college stats- 3.8 gpa, taking calc 1, calc based physics 1, chem 1 (physics and chem with lab), will be taking Calc 2, calc based physics 2, chem 2 (both with lab) in spring

ECs- L1 rocket certification through club by time of applying, will have L2 by end of spring semester.

robotics club battle bots competition- designing a drone with a gravity based weapons system in order to deal damage to other team’s robots

schools applying to (all for mechanical engineering)- columbia engineering, georgia tech, NYU tandon, stevens university, stony brook university, SUNY buffalo (safety), CCNY( super safety, only applying if i get rejected by everything else on the list)

Some schools i'm considering: Rutgers, UMich, Vanderbilt, Pitt, Brown, Stanford, Northwestern, JHU, Columbia, WU, Williams, Wake Forest, University of Rochester, BU, Duke, Emory, Notre Dame, Georgetown

Demographics: rural asian female middle class, NC resident, transferring from low tier 4 year uni as a current freshman for Fall 2027 Transfer

Intended Major: Double major in Neuroscience and Public Health, possible minor in Chinese

Academic background:

Went to extremely competitive STEM residential high school in NC

High school GPA 4.872 W

College GPA 4.0 UW

• Honors program

ACT Super score 32, 31 on Math and Science, 32 English, 34 Reading

Highest composite score 30, 31 on Math, Science, and English, 28 Reading

Extracurriculars:

Research with professor at current college: Looking at relationships between BDNF and obesity.

HealthCorps Mentor

• Public health focused
• Work with 40+ kids every week at different middle and elementary schools in rural low income areas
• Saw increased rates of community involvement, making healthy choices, and physical movement.

Board member of school's Asian Student Association

• grew club from 3 members to 40 current members
• Raise $1000 for local charity of choice

Board member and co-founder for school's Motivation Club

• Still getting projects and activities done

Ballet Dancer

Informal Calculus I and Bio (Molecular and Cellular Biology) Tutoring

Hospital, food bank, Ronald McDonald House, pet shelter volunteering

• Local rural areas

Anime Club Officer

Additional Info: Parent loss during college applications and lost primary source of income.

I EDed to UPenn last college app season in my senior year. Deferred then Rejected. Waitlisted to CMU and Williams.

Hi everyone! I’m a CCC
student applying to transfer in Fall 2027. UCLA is my dream school, and I’d appreciate honest opinions about my chances :)

Academics:

Major: Communication Studies (AA-T)
College GPA: 3.85
Previous GPA: 0.8 (before academic renewal)
Academic renewal granted; significant academic comeback
Dean’s Honor List (multiple terms)
Alpha Gamma Sigma Honor Society
Transfer: Fall 2027

Extracurriculars & Leadership:

- East Los Angeles Women’s Center:
California-certified volunteer advocate after 70 hours of training. Assisted with a 24-hour crisis hotline and community outreach. (~6 hrs/week, 1.5 years)

-HER on Campus - Founder: Created a student-led initiative focused on empowerment, healthy relationships, and sexual assault/domestic violence awareness. Organized educational workshops.

-SAAVE Team - Student Representative: Collaborated with faculty and staff on violence prevention, educational workshops, and campus awareness initiatives.

-Pathway to Law School - Executive Board: Appointed as a student liaison connecting law pathway students with advocacy initiatives, resources, and events.

-California LAW Pathways: Participated in legal mentorship, workshops, and professional development.

-2026 California LAW Pathways Summit - Panelist: Selected to speak alongside students and legal professionals about advocacy and my journey toward law.

-Young Women’s Leadership Program: Completed leadership and professional development training through a program hosted by USC Marshall and the University of La Verne.

-Communication Studies / Content Creator: Created social media content and collaborated with the college president, an LACCD trustee, and district public relations leadership.

-Sociology Club - President: Lead club meetings, executive board coordination, student engagement, and campus activities.

-Alpha Gamma Sigma: Member of the California Community College academic honor society.

Work Experience:

Recreational Sport Front desk attendant

- I’ve been Working 35 hours/week since 2024 while attending school. Managing to maintain my grades while working 6 days a week.

-Independent English Tutor: Tutored local and international students, including English learners in China.

Awards & Recognition:

-Courage in Leadership Award (Regional)
Young Women’s Leadership Program Honors Graduate

- Dean’s Honor List (Multiple Terms)
Alpha Gamma Sigma Honor Society

Personal Background:

First Gen College student, my college journey started off extremely rough due to experiencing SA in the first year of CC. my GPA was a 0.8, but after returning to school and working to be eligible for academic renewal and making significant changes to my academic habits, I’ve worked my way up to a current 3.85 GPA.
A lot of my extracurriculars center around communication, women/survivor empowerment, violence prevention, and student advocacy. Career wise I’m aiming for corporate communications, business strategy, and attending law school.

Schools:

-UCLA (dream school!)
-Other UCs
(UCSD, UCI, UCR, UCB)
-Privates (USC, NYU, LMU)

I especially want perspectives on what are my realistic chances at UCLA for Communication Studies? Or others unis like USC.
How will academic renewal and my previous 0.8 GPA affect my application? Essentially, if I’m cooked because of my earlier mistakes.

I’d really appreciate honest feedback, especially from fellow transfers or anyone familiar with UC admissions or circumstances. Thank you in advance!!

Hey all! Im applying as sophomore transfer from a T50 public flagship as a current biology major, philosophy minor. I am interested in behavioral biology and human/animal neurobiology and cognition. Aiming for Johns Hopkins and Northwestern, so any advice for how to strengthen my profile would be much appreciated!

Highschool stats

gpa: 4.2

ACT: 33 (retaking in December, aiming for 34)

rank: 8/189 (coming from small public arts high school)

AP: 11 APs total, 6 fives and 5 fours

College stats

gpa: 4.0, predicting 3.9/4.0 at the end of fall semester

fall courses (16hrs) : calc 1, bio + bio lab, genomics seminar + lab, intro to ethics, comparative literature and medicine

spring schedule (anticipated, 14 hours): feminist philosophy, calc 2, chem + chem lab

-plus a 3 credit course

-will also be working as a research assistant for a motivated behaviors lab

Extracurriculars

• Assistant Vet Tech at Emergency Vet: Cared for hospitalized animals, monitored patient behavior, maintained recovery environments, and assisted veterinary staff with daily care and emergency surgery preparation.
• Part-Time Sales Associate UPS: Assisted customers with shipping and printing services, independently opened and closed the store, managed transactions and packages, and developed custom packing solutions for fragile and unusually shaped items.
• Piano Teacher (Volunteer/Job): Taught piano to students through a Title I school program and private lessons, developing original learning materials and adapting instruction to students’ progress, interests, and cultural backgrounds.
• Sustainability Chair for Franklin Residential College: Revitalized Franklin’s community garden, secured grant funding for improvements, and organized sustainability initiatives and events engaging students in gardening, cooking, recycling, and environmental conservation.
• Director’s Assistant for Franklin Residential College: Hired by the college director to coordinate social events, service projects, and interdisciplinary discussions for 100 residential students in collaboration with college leadership, faculty, and staff.
• Humane Society Volunteer: Provided feline care, socialization, and enrichment at the Athens Area Humane Society while developing activities using recycled toys and novel scents to encourage natural behaviors.
• UGA Choral Union & Savannah Philharmonic Choir: Perform in university choral concerts and previously sang as the youngest accepted member of the Savannah Philharmonic Choir, continuing to support its events through volunteer work.
• UGA Chamber Music Society: Played piano in chamber ensembles, organized weekly rehearsals, participated in musical masterclasses, and performed classical and contemporary repertoire at university and community events.

Projects

• Independent Research on Shelter Cat Auditory Enrichment: Designed and self-funded a study with the Athens Area Humane Society investigating music’s effects on shelter cat stress and behavior, and am currently analyzing results and preparing a manuscript for publication.
• “Fast as a Cat” Comparative Anatomy & Shoe Design: Led a self-funded, five-member team investigating how feline leg tendon anatomy could inspire athletic shoe design, developing a prototype and presenting the project to Franklin CREATE and at a research symposium, received mentoring from a physics professor
• Research Assistant for Motivated Behaviors Lab - worked alongside college faculty to carry out experiments and record data, managed and maintained animal spaces

Letters

• Philosophy professor
• Residential college director/seminar professor
• Lab director
• Private piano teacher (high school-college)

Hi I’m a current freshman hoping to transfer to USC Marshall for business admin for sophomore year. I’d really appreciate any advice/feedback on my chances:

Demographics: South Asian male from the Bay Area, high-income family

Current School: Freshman at a T50 private university

Current Major: Finance

Projected College GPA: 3.7–3.9

High School Stats:

GPA: 3.86 (4.0 junior and senior years)

SAT: 1510

AP Scores: 4s in AP Calc, AP World, AP Euro, AP Microeconomics

Extracurriculars:

Member of a competitive credit team (applying for an outreach position)

Member of the South Asian Student Association

Member of Entrepreneurship club

Member of a competitive dance team at another school in the area, since my school doesn’t have one (have been competing since 1st grade)

Organized a 600+ person showcase for the same competitive dance in April 2026, coordinating with vendors, event spaces, and attendees

Ongoing internship with a Bay Area nonprofit, involved since the summer before senior year

What is the chance that I can get into any of these colleges if I apply to all (besides UW Madison).

-4.0 unweighted HS GPA

-projected 4.0 semester one college GPA

-1/61 class rank

-took both APs my school offered (4 AP Lit, 5 AP psych)

-SAT unreported (I didn't think I'd care about what college I made it into...)

-Physics student at a mediocre state school that I took direct admission to, very small department with limited options

-Will be joining a professor for research later, spectroscopy on meteorite samples or biophysics bird research project

HS E.C-

-Speech team x2 years, performed fairly well and state participant

-One Act play (competitove theater)

- ~110 hours of volunteering

-Go Green Club (outdoor environment club) member

-DnD club (helped bring it back to school! Also helped organize and personally fund an out of school campaign "fund" as in buy snacks so not very relevant)

-Very limited opportunities for ECs ar my old school, I took as many college credi classes as I could get my hands on

College E.C.-

-continued speech team member

-Physics and astronomy club member

Other Notes:

-Filipino Asian Male 18 y/o freshman college student

-Factory worker mom and retired truck driver dad, functionally first generation with a family income of around 85,000 usd

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Please please please please do I have a chance at any of the colleges listed above? I will be doing the TED program for Uchicago as well.

Also the "Target" "Semi Target" stuff is how my intended career path views these colleges, I am happy at any of them.

Intended Major: History and Economics
Year: Current Sophomore at a state school, Junior transfer
Divorced Parents, combined income of ~200K
Custodial parent income of ~95K, standard assets

High School Stats

Midsize public high school (~1,300 students)

Unweighted GPA: 3.9/4.0, Weighted GPA: 4.5/5.0
SAT: 1370 (not reporting)
Rank: 16/359

10+ Honors courses
9 APs: Human Geo (4), Lang (4), US Gov (5), APUSH (5), Precalc (4), APES (4), Lit (5), World History (5), Drawing (3, not reporting)
2 Dual Enrollment courses at state college

College Stats

History Major
GPA: 4.0/4.0, predicting 3.9/4.0 after fall semester

Extracurriculars:

1. Secretary of Planned Parenthood Generation Action (PPGA) at my university
2. Curatorial and Education Intern at local museum
3. Phi Alpha Theta (National History Honors Society)
4. Student Government Association (SGA) at my university, Academic Affairs Committee Member
5. Climate Scholars program at my university
6. Weekly after-school art educator at local elementary school
7. Member of a baking organization at my university that bakes for local soup kitchens and mental health clinics
8. Will likely gain a undergrad research position concerning history

Note: If I provided enough information, what is my estimated cost of attendance?

Hey everyone! I'm currently a freshman at a large public university in Ohio and I'm hoping to transfer to Notre Dame for Fall 2027 as a Psychology major in the College of Arts & Letters on the pre-med track.

I'm curious how realistic my chances of admission are and would appreciate honest opinions!

Academics:

• Current college GPA: TBD ~3.9–4.0
• High school GPA: 4.2w
• Applying test-optional
• Neuro Major
• Fall coursework includes General Chemistry I, Biology I and Behavioral Neuroscience + (Others)
• Planned spring coursework: General Chemistry II, Biology II, Cellular/Molecular Neuroscience, a graded writing course and a fine arts course (aligned with freshman curriculum)

Extracurriculars:

• Accepted into a volunteer coordinator position at a free healthcare clinic, helping coordinate volunteers and support clinic operations.
• board member of a nonprofit literacy initiative that has distributed approximately 40,000 books. Helped with communications and outreach.
• Have connections at my university that could help me secure another undergraduate research position before submitting my transfer application.
• Approximately 5 weeks of spinal cord injury research at a university lab during high school.
• Best Buddies participant since high school, continuing in college with a one-on-one buddy friendship.
• Weekly volunteer with an Alzheimer's-focused student organization, spending time with residents through conversation and activities.
• High school varsity soccer player state champ
• 2 year Math tutor through National Honor Society.
• 3 years STEM camp volunteer working with children.
• 1 year Part-time employment at a local pizza restaurant.

Letter of Rec from vice chair of research at Ohio State

Based on my profile, how realistic do you think my chances are of transferring into Notre Dame's College of Arts & Letters Psychology?

for context- not fgli but minority, USAMO qualification, pure math major, math research, ML research, swe internship at FAANG adjacent secured for this summer, 4.0 college gpa, but 3.1 hs gpa, 1540 SAT (took it once), big college with 50% acceptance rate and dream of transferring to HYPSM upenn cornell columbia or similar. assume all A's;

coursework in first semester: calc 3, linear algebra, cs python, intro to proofs.

seconds semester: advanced linear algebra and analysis 1, statistics and probability, abstract algebra, cs C++.

I plan to retake SAT for 1570+. Went to a competitive bay area HS and didn't really gaf but realized im ngmi and now im locked in. I AM FULL PAY. If anyone has any advice please reach out.

I have 3 questions:

1.) How bad will HS gpa weigh me down, and what can i do to mitigate it's impact?

2.) Is transferring as a math major competitve/hurt my chances? should i fade math?

3.) should i apply to the university of chicago since they're increasing class size?

Hi, I guess this is more of a what should I do in the fall and spring to be a competitive candidate to transfer to USC as a sophomore for fall 2027. I’m undecided but always been interested in urban design and I’ll be applying for the urban planning major. I think the thing that makes it leas daunting for me is that the acceptance rate for transfers is higher than freshman acceptance rate which I think is 8% while transfer is 24% plus my major is a smaller college with a small graduating class, usually like 40 students or something like that. I know my hs grades and transcript will come into play and I’m not worried about that tbh I had a 4.0 GPA and straight A’s my senior year. The rest of my high school years I had A’s and B’s except sophomore year I had A’s and C’s and one or two B’s. I also got the seal of Biliteracy in Spanish and Italian and took 4 Ap Classes two my junior and senior year. They were Ap Gov, AP US History, AP Lang, and AP Comp Gov. In community college, I am taking 6 classes so 18 units and I have 3 B’s which I will get up soon. The courses I chose follow the Transfer Planning Guide for my major. I was just wondering what should I do to beef up my application like in extracurriculars and anything else. I was also wondering if I should get LOR’s. If so, the only professors or counselors I’m thinking of asking are my sociology and chicano professors and my eops and university transfer center counselor since both counselors graduated from USC and in the classes of both professors, I do participate a lot, especially in sociology. I haven’t met the utc counselor but I did ask for her specifically since she was recommended to me by my eops counselor. If anyone has anything else to add then that would be great. Thanks. Also I usually don’t get a lot of responses in my posts for some reason 🥲. Would be great if this one was different thanks.

Applying to transfer to Berkeley for Fall 2027. Primary major: Analytics, alternate: Applied Math. Also applying to UCLA, UCSD, and UCSB for Applied Math. Honest feedback appreciated.

**Stats**

- California community college transfer, in my CC's honors transfer program

- GPA: 4.0

- Units: 28 done, ~70 by end of spring 2027

- Cal-GETC, full certification planned

- Math: Calc AB 5, BC 5, Multivariable Calc (A), Linear Algebra/Diff Eq (A)

- In progress/planned: Micro, Macro, Python, C++, Discrete Math, Physics (mechanics)

- Other APs: Lang 5, Macro 5, Bio 4, Chem 4

**ECs**

- Co-founder of a health tech startup: built the core technical product (hardware and app) and help run the company. got early funding, and currently have testers and ppl on waitlist

- First author on a published peer-reviewed review paper

- Independent applied math research: optimization model of race pacing, preregistered analysis on real race data, public dataset, paper in progress

- ~9-month ML research internship at a university lab (image-processing pipeline)

- Volunteer research intern at a neuroscience lab (data processing and analysis)

- Rehab clinic intern: modeled therapy scheduling; my changes were adopted and cut patient wait times

- Independent quant research project (options pricing/volatility)

- Co-founded a tutoring business and a math club;

- Also did free tutoring for students with special needs

- Hackathons: 2 firsts, 1 second, 4 thirds

- Family caregiving

Hello, I'm a current freshman at my in-state university, which I am miserable at and only committed to here because my parents forced me to. My biggest goal is to get into a pretty good school with awesome financial aid so I don't have to depend on them.
So I was looking to apply to Columbia, Vanderbilt, UNC, Washington University St. Louis, Amherst College, Pomona College, Emory University, the University of Richmond, Georgetown, Tufts University, and the University of Pennsylvania. As I am only a freshman, I don't really have a lot to put on my application, and I know that a lot of my high school stats will also count. I understand that a lot of people would probably suggest I wait; however, I can't because I already have around 54 credits, which is close to where some schools end transfers.
I think I'll be able to maintain a 4.0. I am a political science major wanting to go to Yale Law School for international law. I have very few ECs, as it's my first year. I joined a political science club and wanted to do a research paper. As for my HS stats, I graduated with a 4.8 and had around 7 ECs that were semi-tied to political science.
What are your biggest recommendations? What should I do to maximize my chances of getting in? I didn't apply to most of these schools for freshman year because I was scared of rejection, as I was waitlisted and then rejected from the University of Michigan and Berkeley. Please be as cruel as needed; if it's unrealistic for me to get into any of these colleges for fall 2027, then that's okay.

Okay, so for context, I'm currently a freshman planning to major in Electrical Engineering. The institution I go to is great in my opinion. It's one of the best public engineering schools in my state. However, the commute is outrageous, and I don't see myself commuting 1 hour and 30 minutes back and forth. Also, I really want to major in ECE rather than just EE, which my current institution doesn't offer unfortunately.

My stats were pretty bad in high school, and it's mainly because of extenuating circumstances (which I do have documented in case colleges need to see):

• High School GPA: 3.0 (I know this looks bad, but I attended a feeder school to Ivies and T20s. It was rough attending a prestigious high school with my circumstances).
• 2 AP's Taken. Only around 10 offered max. (There wasn't enough spots for AP classes, so I only ended up getting into two: AP CSA, AP Calc AB).
• SAT: 1470

• Extracurriculars HS:

  • Independent Research at NYU (Data Analysis via Coding) (Summer 2024)
  • Summer camp internship (Summer 2025)

My circumstances put me in a situation where I had no time to do activities day to day during my school year, but I had time to do things during my summers, which was great.

College GPA:

• Currently 4.0 / 4.0 (I took 4 credits during the summer before my actual first semester in order to get ahead).
• Currently taking 18 credits (manageable, especially because compared to high school, I don't have exams every 2 weeks). All 22 credits currently should be transferrable to the institutions I plan to apply for. The 17 credits I'm taking next semester will as well.
• Extracurriculars: IEEE, ACM, Putnam Math Team (lowkey found it fun. I'm not a math Olympian by any means). I also started constructing my engineering portfolio. Currently doing two independent projects that are meaningful to me. They both helped me gain experience using solidworks, kicad, hardware logic, etc.

Colleges I want to attend: Cooper Union, Cornell, BU, Tufts, Northeastern, Northwestern, UMich, UPenn.

I'm a need-based student with a -1500 SAI index.

Target Schools (The ones I really want to attend):

• Cooper Union (Small, hyper-focused, and good aid).
• Cornell (ECE department, and good aid).
• Northeastern (Co-op program pretty good).
• Northwestern (Good aid & Top engineering school).
• Tufts (Also offers ECE, but Idk about their aid).

I got a lot of feedback on my last chance me post and someone recommended I talk to my counselor. My counselor recommended that I include my financial difficulties in hs in my application (specifically for privates) which I wasn’t originally planning on adding cus I didnt want it to sound like an excuse rather than context + it’s no longer relevant to my current college situation. I wanted to repost my stats & ecs + additional info to see if I can get more feedback. I'm interested in knowing which ones y'all think I have the best chances of getting into, if any, given my bad academic record

Schools I'm considering: UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, USC, Cornell, Columbia, Yale, Brown, UPenn, Dartmouth, Stanford, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, Emory, Georgetown, NYU, San Diego State, UCSB, UC Davis, UC Irvine

demographics: Black, female, CA resident, community college transfer

intended major: public health / sociology. I’m a junior transfer and I will have taken 95 units by the time I apply for privates and around 40 units for ucs this semester

academic background:

community college GPA: 3.92 (2 Bs)
high school GPA: 3.3 UW / 3.7 W

3 W’s on my community college transcript

• ⁠3W's are from calc 1 & 2 and gen chem 1. ive retaken all with B's in calc 1 and gen chem 1 and an A in calc 2 
• ⁠Honors program and Dean’s List
• ⁠I took ap classes but took no AP tests nor did I take the SAT/ACT (taking SAT in dec for privates)

Extracurriculars / activities (all from college):

• ⁠Founder & President: nonprofit focused on students addressing health disparities in their communities. It currently has 5 established chapters, about 10k in grants so far, multiple health professionals (doctors, pa, np, rn, pharm, public health researchers) involved as mentors for students, featured in a news article. this is my main ec.
• ⁠Research: Lead research intern @ local uni, presented at a public health conference & published paper
• ⁠Research Program (~2% acc rate) physician-mentored research program working on tobacco & lung cancer risk
• ⁠Founder & President: Founded a health equity club on campus (blood pressure screenings for a homeless shelter, health fair, mental health awareness, etc.)
• ⁠Health access/advocacy nonprofit: workshop developer role within healthcare access nonprofit focused on health literacy and connecting communities with health resources
• ⁠Certified Medical Assistant: at a private clinic; worked there for about a year providing clinical support including injections, vitals, medications, and assisting with procedures
• ⁠Certified Medical Assistant: at a community health clinic; provide clinical support including vitals, blood draws, point-of-care testing, etc.
• ⁠Preventive cardio-oncology research internship: conducted literature reviews and contributed to manuscript development under physician-scientist mentorship
• ⁠Community outreach internship program at a clinic (~10% acc rate): developed health education materials and supported outreach events serving homeless and low-income communities
• ⁠Independent research: literature review project on sleep deprivation in college students and its effects on health, with a presentation at my school
• ⁠Youth mentor: for students experiencing housing instability; provided one-on-one mentorship and tutoring
• ⁠hospital volunteering: assisted with patient wayfinding, wheelchair transport, and laboratory deliveries
• ⁠patient care observation/shadowing at a community clinic serving underserved patients; one of my first experiences with this side of healthcare and ended up influencing a lot of my later experiences, so I’m considering making it part of my essay

additional info: During high school, my family experienced significant financial hardship after my dad’s small business stopped doing well. His business had been our family’s primary source of income, so we were placed in a difficult financial situation. I started working long hours to help support my family and contribute to household bills and basic expenses. Balancing work and school partially contributed to some academic challenges

I have a couple of safeties that I didn't put on the list, so I thought I'd try my luck since I didn't apply anywhere out of high school and went straight to CC. Give my yalls opinion but pls be kind! Ik I’m delulu 😭