Transferring from University of Arizona to Loyola Marymount University?
Hi I want to transfer from University of Arizona to Loyola Marymount University in LA for the fall of 2010. I am currently a 1st semester freshman majoring in Chemistry. I hoping to have a 3.5 to 3.75 GPA by the end of my first semester. I am currently doing some extra curricular activities, and will be doing more. I came from a catholic high school and received many awards such as Jefferson’s award, department in religious studies, and loyalty and service award. I am also getting letters of rec from my principal in HS, and proffessor here. I miss the small community, and the service opportunities my High school provided. Do I have a good chance in transferring to LMU, and are there any tips anyone can reccomend. I really want to leave UA and go to school in a catholic setting such as LMU. Thanks!
You sound like you have excellent reasons for wanting to transfer to LMU, so that alone will help you a lot when writing your application. 
As you know, it’s a Jesuit school, so there’s a lot of emphasis on service to others and the study of religious philosophy, so it sounds like you’ve found a great fit.
LMU does accept second-semester transfers, so you should be okay in terms of class standing. They’re going to require an essay and personal statement explaining your reasons for wanting to transfer, so be sure to write about why you want to attend LMU, *not* why you don’t want to attend U of A. For science majors, they also like to see that you have at least some of the pre-reqs for your major, so it will help you if you’re currently enrolled in courses that will apply. And you’ll want to be certain to be at a 3.0 or higher, since otherwise your application won’t be considered.
They accepted slightly under half of their transfer applicants last year, making it more competitive that regular first-year admission, so anything you can do to stand out would help you. In recent years, they’ve admitted less than 20% of transfer applicants, so don’t expect them to be quite so generous this year, even though they are trying harder to admit more students. It’s more competitive than you might realize. Talking in detail about why LMU is such a good fit for you and showing your knowledge of the college can help you out in that area.
Finally, remember that the priority deadline for spring is October 15th. That means you really need to get moving, especially since it’s so competitive there some years. If you’re not going to make that preferred deadline, I would encourage you to contact admissions to let them know that you are indeed still planning to apply, and to ask them for any additional input they can give you on applying after the preferred deadline. (You might also want to ask if you’d be able to reapply for fall if you aren’t accepted this time around.) If all you’ll be waiting on is your transcripts and recommendations, I would try to get everything else in by then so that they at least have something to work with. If they like what they see, they *might* unofficially hold a spot for you pending receipt of the other materials. (In the office I last worked in, we did that regularly for transfer applicants, even though we never broadcast that fact.) Good luck!
You sound like you have excellent reasons for wanting to transfer to LMU, so that alone will help you a lot when writing your application.
As you know, it’s a Jesuit school, so there’s a lot of emphasis on service to others and the study of religious philosophy, so it sounds like you’ve found a great fit.
LMU does accept second-semester transfers, so you should be okay in terms of class standing. They’re going to require an essay and personal statement explaining your reasons for wanting to transfer, so be sure to write about why you want to attend LMU, *not* why you don’t want to attend U of A. For science majors, they also like to see that you have at least some of the pre-reqs for your major, so it will help you if you’re currently enrolled in courses that will apply. And you’ll want to be certain to be at a 3.0 or higher, since otherwise your application won’t be considered.
They accepted slightly under half of their transfer applicants last year, making it more competitive that regular first-year admission, so anything you can do to stand out would help you. In recent years, they’ve admitted less than 20% of transfer applicants, so don’t expect them to be quite so generous this year, even though they are trying harder to admit more students. It’s more competitive than you might realize. Talking in detail about why LMU is such a good fit for you and showing your knowledge of the college can help you out in that area.
Finally, remember that the priority deadline for spring is October 15th. That means you really need to get moving, especially since it’s so competitive there some years. If you’re not going to make that preferred deadline, I would encourage you to contact admissions to let them know that you are indeed still planning to apply, and to ask them for any additional input they can give you on applying after the preferred deadline. (You might also want to ask if you’d be able to reapply for fall if you aren’t accepted this time around.) If all you’ll be waiting on is your transcripts and recommendations, I would try to get everything else in by then so that they at least have something to work with. If they like what they see, they *might* unofficially hold a spot for you pending receipt of the other materials. (In the office I last worked in, we did that regularly for transfer applicants, even though we never broadcast that fact.) Good luck!
References :
Former Admissions Staffer & Academic Adviser
Transfer Student
Higher Ed Professional
7 Oct 09 at 12:14 am