Canadian Transferring to an Ivy...

<p>Hey everyone,</p>

<p>I'm currently attending a pretty average ranking Canadian university (in my home town) taking business admin.</p>

<p>... I'm going into my second year. I was going to apply to HPY and a few others straight out of High School but due to family issues I didn't want to leave my city/family so was stuck at a pretty mediocre university here.</p>

<p>I know transferring is quite a bit harder than going straight from high school and that most transfers to places like Harvard are coming from other top ranking universities already.</p>

<p>Also not sure if I need to provide my High School transcripts if I'm transferring during, say, my third year. I'd be beneficial not to provide them unless required.</p>

<p>But let me know if there's any chance at all, and if so what I can improve on that's within my control:</p>

<ul>
<li>4.0 GPA</li>
<li>2280 SAT</li>
<li>President of student council </li>
<li>Member of debate team</li>
<li>Member of local Habitat for Humanity (went to Jordan to build a home and will do so this year as well)</li>
<li>Highest corporate sponsor possible for the local Habitat for Humanity branch</li>
<li>Volunteer at local SPCA </li>
<li>Highest corporate sponsor possible for the local SPCA </li>
<li>Head of youth vote and engagement for provincial political party</li>
<li>Millennium Network Chair for the Clinton Foundation (minimum $5,000 contribution needed)</li>
<li>President and CEO of my own company that's done six figures yearly since my senior year of High School</li>
<li>Member of local marathon training club and have run one marathon and training for my second that'll take place this spring</li>
<li>Have had multiple essays/articles published in some of the largest business magazines/newspapers in North America (not sure how important that really is) </li>
</ul>

<p>Recommendations:</p>

<p>This will probably vary on school I apply to but for Harvard it'll be the following.</p>

<ul>
<li>Harvard alumni that is the CEO of a company with a near billion dollar market cap</li>
<li>(Possible, if beneficial) A prominent Federal cabinet minister</li>
<li>Hedge fund manager with 2.2 billion in AUM (Wharton alumni) </li>
<li>Also have a very good teacher recommendation who helped construct my first essay that was published nationally </li>
</ul>

<p>I'm a white male from a middle to upper class family. My largest concern I feel is the school I'm coming from. We've had two people that have ever been accepted into Harvard and just a handful that have been accepted into other prominent schools.</p>

<p>I personally feel it's important to transfer as soon as possible. I'd love to be able to get into the 2+2 program in my senior year of my undergrad here but coming from business admin it seems the cards are stacked quite a bit against me. And the last thing I want is to finish my undergrad, here, with even more limited options than I already have. </p>

<p>I feel I have a pretty good foundation. I'm sure I could add more volunteering and such. But the main points I would draw on would be my business experience and recommendations from very successful individuals I met on my own merit. After all business is really all that consumes me and all I want to do. The rest are simply causes I enjoy supporting and events that help balance my life. </p>

<p>Also am very interested/involved in different philosophies and institutions that promote them and their ideals. Due to this being a more dividing topic I am unsure of how willing I'd be to incorporate that into any application. </p>

<p>Anyway any help would be much appreciated.</p>

<p>EDIT: Also for places that are not need blind to international applicants I wouldn't need any help in that area.</p>

<p>Bump… :)</p>

<p>

</li>
</ul>

<p>Take a look at the CA requirements for LORs, you will need 2 from college instructors who have taught you in a class. You can send a supplemental LOR, but IMO sending more than 1 supplemental is not a good idea. Also, your supplemental should be from someone you’ve worked with in some capacity, not just someone you know; the LOR is about you, not the position of the person who sends it.</p>

<p>Thanks! I do have a few recommendations I can get from professors. </p>

<p>Cheers,</p>

<p>I’m sure you are a very qualified candidate…but so are other people. I don’t think you should rely on Harvard that much seeing as they only accepted 12 students out of 1600 for the last transfer admissions.</p>

<p>Transferring into HPY is harder than the already “impossible” freshman admissions, so I’m not sure any of us can assess your chances when the acceptance percentage is so low. Give it a shot, but don’t get your hopes up. </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p>Thanks for the feedback. :-)</p>