I attended a tier 1 liberal arts college (think Swarthmore, Carleton, Middlebury) for my freshman year. For cultural fit reasons, I transferred to NYU (but not Stern) as a result of my low GPA.
NYU dedicates most of its recruiting resources to the Stern school, and I have been told that internally transferring to Stern is not possible for someone who has externally transferred.
I plan on a career in investment banking. My freshman GPA bounced back to a 3.64 at the end of that year, and my GPA right now is 4.0. Since I’ve been given bleak looks by employers (who overwhelmingly prefer Stern students), I’ve been considering to transfer again, with some of my applications already completed ready to submit.
The problem is should I, or can I? I plan on applying to mid-to-lower Ivies (Penn, Brown, and Cornell).
If memory serves you applied 3 years ago to Brown ED, got deferred and ultimately rejected? If so I think it highly unlikely Brown will accept you as a transfer after 2 other schools. Unfortunately your college performance to date (as you describe it) will not indicate a strong likelihood of success at a school like Brown or a purpose in transferring beyond prestige pursuit.
In terms of a finance career, indecision and moving around is a red flag. I would stay put and allocate the energy required to fill out transfer applications towards getting really good grades. A proven record of success will help you more than a third school even a mid to lower Ivy (I would refrain from such terms).
What does “I have been told” mean about that internal transfer to Stern? Did you get that information from the Stern Transfer Admission Officer or somewhere else?
If you are generally happy at NYU, stick it out there. Get whatever job you can, work for a couple of years and if you still can’t get into the finance positions you’d like, go get a finance MBA.
