About two years ago I posted asking about the outlook of transferring from community college to the Ivy League and elite institutions. In high school my SAT scores were 1660 when I applied and a 3.11 unweighted (3.4 weighted) GPA. I was denied to the University of Maryland, Georgetown, and New York University. I decided to forgo attending a four year institution and elected to attend community college with the goal of transferring to an elite university.
Two years later, I have decided to look back on the community college process and give an update as to where I have ended up through community college. The process has been a success as I have been accepted to Cornell University (with a Fellowship) and to Georgetown University - McDonough School of Business. I also shine light on many other students who have successfully transferred to top universities from community college.
Nice article! Yes, I would appreciate it if you continue writing tips! What was your CC GPA at transfer? I had a bad GPA in HS but I just finished my first year at community college and I ended up getting 3 B’s (the rest A’s). My chances at a 4.0 are ruined… but hopefully I can get it up to a 3.9
Do you have any tips on how to gain research opportunities while in CC? I desperately want experience in that but I just can’t seem to find any programs or anything to guide me in the right direction.
It can be done. I know of two students at Yale that went through a somewhat similar path. Their instructors have said, generally speaking, they are much more prepared for the rigors of this type of education than most traditional freshmen/soph students. Kudos–well done!
@otoribashi I had a 4.0 through 71 credits. Do not let your B’s discourage you, if you have a 3.5 you can still be competitive for some pretty big scholarships. I knew a student who went to Dartmouth with ~3.7, among a couple other students with significant accomplishments. Do whatever it takes to get all A’s, even if you don’t achieve it, the absolute worst scenario was that you did your best (which is a pretty good situation! haha). I personally did not take any research opportunities because it wasn’t necessarily a staple for my field of study. Contact your counseling department, or perhaps your department of study to find opportunities. The school I attended had internships with the Smithsonian/Library of Congress, which was close to research. I think there is a biology program with research opportunities too. I met a student who has been conducting research at the University of Washington for two years, he ended up receiving a full scholarship to continue his studies and research. Go to your counseling department to see what they say.
@happymomof1 Absolutely love Montgomery College and all that it has done for me. The resources are unbelievable, its up to the student to take advantage!
@boolaHI Definitely! Couple stories of students going on to be the valedictorians of top schools.
@SupaDupaFly5 Thanks! Any suggestions on what I should focus on?
@Rockwell5 thank you for the response and encouragement! I’ll see what my counselor has to say. She recommended me to a program where you can research over the summer, but the focus is more on biology/medical/biochem (i’m a physics major). Any experience is worth the experience, though(I hope)!
If you are going to write pieces like this, make sure that they are edited by someone other than you. A “tips” article about transitioning from a community college to an ivy league school shouldn’t be littered with so many grammatical errors (unless, of course, the point is to illustrate that you don’t need to write very well in order to get accepted into top programs).
@Rockwell5 congrats! As a graduate in English from UC Berkeley and a former journalist at national newspapers (incl. LA Times), it was a nicely written article, without grammatical errors. It’s a jealousy thing. Too funny.
@OP, congrats, well done. I am looking at Montgomery College for my son with Georgia Tech as transfer option for Engineering. He struggles in testing such as SAT but does well in his classes. I assume, MC doesn’t have guaranteed transfer to schools outside MD. After two years, the student still will have to compete for transfer admission, possibly having to submit test scores in addition to high GPA. I wonder how many students go to Georgia Tech from MC.
@HFAparent Montgomery College actually has a transfer agreement with Georgia Tech Engineering. Although I believe its only with a general engineering degree and not directly in line with ChemE, MechE, etc., it still provides the gateway for admission. I am also sure you could attempt to work something out with the school upon admission. @BrownPancake is right on this. Most engineers from Montgomery College decide to go to University of Maryland because they receive in state tuition and the engineering program at Maryland is phenomenal and rising. Students do decide to transfer to Georgia Tech and MIT. I’ve met one Georgia Tech transfer (there have been plenty in the past), and 2 students with full rides to MIT. Another to Columbia Engineering. So its definitely possible! Just have to really put in the work. http://cms.montgomerycollege.edu/EDU/Plain.aspx?id=51466
@bookslustre Definitely! International students end up transferring to the same top schools. The only thing holding them back is financing their education. However, there are scholarships like Jack Kent Cooke among others.
Sorry, I have to agree with the comment about the grammar…it is very distracting when reading.
In the second paragraph:
“While in high school I applied to 10 schools, I was accepted to 7, and rejected to the University of Maryland (Maryland’s flagship state school), New York University, and my dream school, Georgetown University. During my senior year of high school I decided to make the seemingly unpopular choice, I decided to turn down the universities that had accepted me and I chose to attend my local community college.”
For example, one is rejected “from”, not rejected “to”.
Also the last sentence is a run on.
Yes it should be from, but the rest is fine. Second is an acceptable choice. If that threw you in such an uncompromising way that you could absolutely no longer read further, well geez.
It’s unfortunate there isn’t more support for a person who got into the Ivies from a CCC, offering tips. There’s a heck of a lot of anonymous nitpicking on this site. I sure wish that wasn’t the case.
OP you can’t win for losing. Congrats on getting into an Ivy. Maybe you should stop while you’re ahead.
From my understandings, most, if not all, ivies require SAT subject tests. Does this requirement still stand true for transfer students? If so, did you take the subject tests in high school, or are you able to take them once you are already in CC?
