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4 years ago
Admissions Advice

How does it look transferring out of magnet student and returning to your town's public high school?
Answered

For freshman and half of sophomore year I attended the Academy for Allied Health Sciences, which was the health care specific magnet school for my county. (Magnet school is basically a public school open to all students you have to test into that offers more advanced and specialized classes, that are all taught and either an honors or AP level). It was known to be a really good school, and I was doing well, I had over a 3.8 unweighted, was taking the most advanced classes I could, and had a good group of friends, but I hated it. I decided to return to my town's public high school February of sophomore year and have been there ever since (I am currently a junior). I have continued to take healthcare and science related classes, am taking 5 APs this year and senior year (which is more than I could have done in my magnet school), and am overall more involved at my school. My current high school is also a really good school, known for its students achieving better on standardized tests and also having higher gpas than the rest of the state, but at the end of the day, its not a magnet school. The reason for my transferring is something I am explaining in my college apps (basically current high school provided me greater course selection/flexibility, a more traditional high school experience, more opportunities to be involved in a greater range of extracurricular activities and take different APs, and more). All this being said, I just want to know how my transferring out of a magnet school is going to be perceived by colleges? Will this hurt me a lot/be viewed very negatively from a college admissions standpoint or not? Thank you!!

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Accepted Answer
4 years ago

Hi!! IB diploma program student here, so i totally get your pain on the struggle and confinement of going to a magnet school. To answer your question, it depends. Colleges will look into the reason for your leaving, and of course it’s for a circumstance out of your control you will not be persecuted. In your case, given your explanation as to why you left and how you are better off, I say colleges will actually admire your drive and passion. You said that now you are taking more AP classes and you are more involved in your school community than you would be at the magnet school. This is great! It shows great initiative and judgement, something colleges really value. To them, it’s not always about the resources presented to you, but rather how you challenge yourself. I think that as long as you explain why you left and how you have improved yourself and your achievements, you will stand out as a strong applicant.

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Your chancing factors
Unweighted GPA: 3.7
1.0
4.0
SAT: 720 math
200
800
| 800 verbal
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800

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