<p>Current highschool senior here with a problem. i really wanted to go to UPenn and a couple other schools up there but my SAT scores are about 300-400 points less then they should be. if i go to a match school for a year, what sorts of things can i do to up my chances of being accepted as a transfer? would any of you advise this plan?</p>
<p>Yeah, I've been wondering about the difficulty of transfers into ivy schools... BUMP</p>
<p>It's very difficult to get into just about any of the Ivies as a transfer student, IIRC. Admit rates average like 5 percent. I would not set your heart on doing that.</p>
<p>But take heart, man - you're among the 99 percent of college students in America who can't or don't want to go to an Ivy League school. It's hardly something to be really depressed about. There's hundreds of quality colleges and universities in the United States and you can and will find one that fits you.</p>
<p>Edit: From the transfer forum:</p>
<p>Princeton - 0%
Yale - 3.9%
Brown - 3.0%
Columbia College - 6.3%
Harvard - 8.1%
Dartmouth - 12.6%
UPenn - 12.4%
Cornell - 27.0%</p>
<p>thanks for the statistics. The thing about Upenn is it is like 20 minutes from my house in NJ, and its amazing at Neuroscience. the next closest thing ive been able to find was University of Pittsburgh and im not opposed to going there, but its 5 hours away. i was thinking about doing my first 4 years there and working to get into Upenn as a graduate. the more i stress the more i think im just going to do that.</p>
<p>Ah, neuroscience. You are a guy after my own heart. :p</p>
<p>Apply and write a killer essay about why you love their program. If you don't get in, and still want to transfer, kick butt at your temp school. Get good grades, join clubs, do projects, have fun in productive ways. Really, just see it as a "re-do" period. If you still don't get into UPenn, you could still move up. </p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>thanks for the advice railoraine :D</p>
<p>
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the next closest thing ive been able to find was University of Pittsburgh and im not opposed to going there, but its 5 hours away.
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</p>
<p>U of Pittsburgh is actually pretty good in neuroscience, at least at the grad level, and such things tend to trickle down to undergrad. They have the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition jointly with Carnegie Mellon - you'd have the opportunity to get in on some pretty cool research.</p>
<p>The son of a friend really really wanted to go to Princeton. Princeton rejected him but he was admitted to several other Ivies. He had his heart set on Princeton because his deceased father was an alum. He took a gap year, lived in China, won several "speaking Chinese" competitions while there, and was accepted to Princeton the next year.</p>
<p>Is there anything you could do during a gap year to give you a great hook? (Perhaps competing in the the Bejing Olympics?)</p>
<p>lol, thats an interesting story. i would have never imagined there being a Chinese speaking competition in china seeing as most people there know it. and i have read things about Upitt's Neuroscience which is why im considering it. ive never been much for sports, unfortunately, just weightlifting. i also wanted to become a certified trainer, but you have to be 18. i was going to mention that in my essay to up the "passion".</p>
<p>Go to your "match school", see if you like it for about a semester or more, and then ask this question.</p>
<p>im fairly sure ill like Upitt, i just want to live closer to my family without losing quality of program. if i go to Upenn, id actually be alot closer at and be attending a better program.</p>
<p>0% Princeton?! that's extreme...they might as well make it a neg % just to be that much more intimidating</p>
<p>The reason why its 0% is because Princeton doesn't accept transfer students. You can only apply to enter the freshman class. I suppose listing it as 0% is slightly confusing, it should be "No Transfers" or "N/A"</p>
<p>quick question, if a college like penn "Recommends" a 4th year of foreign language and you decided not to take it, but have 2 sciences because you aren't planning on majoring in French, is it worth applying?</p>
<p>Penn recommends what it likes to see from a general applicant. If your stats are very science based, it shouldn't hurt you to only have 3 years of French. As someone who got into Penn last year as an applicant into a science major, feel free to PM me if you have any questions about freshman applications. It is possible to transfer, but don't bother thinking about that until you have finished your first semester of college.</p>
<p>Thanks you sooooo much, you'll be getting some messages from me soon.</p>