<p>One more thing - some top schools basically rank it like:
T20 (i.e. peer schools) sophomores
CC sophomores
--------GAP------------
T20 juniors/sophomores
Tier 2 sophomores
---------BIG GAP-----
Errthang else</p>
<p>Again, essays count for a lot, so that could easily get a Tier 3 3.8 GPA candidate to get in in place of a 4.0 Tier 1 candidate. patterns like this are clear after looking at CU A&S admissions, AEM admissions, Wharton admissions, Amherst admissions, UChicago admissions, and Dartmouth admissions. A true range of practices. One more thing - if you spend your time b***ching about other “lesser” schools and stuff, that might have come off in your essay. Woops…</p>
<p>For sophomore transfers, most of the top users on here (entomom is one, I believe) have suggested that high school + SAT is more important than college GPA. </p>
<p>Yes, of course. Except I don’t really consider that, as I assume competitive candidates had HS records that match up well with the college in question’s averages. Otherwise it’s a waste of money hahaha</p>
<p>however…
Kid just got accepted to Cornell Engineering with a 1980, subpar high school GPA, and low college GPA from a top 25 school. Carried by his internships at Microsoft and Google, which is entirely fair in my eyes. So there are many things which may trump high school GPA (not on topic, just sometihng I found out).</p>
<p>I made it personal because I was extremely upset that you were ripping on CC candidates. Sorry haha late night rages, but besides the ad hominem I agree with the rest of my points. </p>
<p>And that’s fine, but don’t generalize. Many students go there b/c of financial reasons who would be going to T25 schools otherwise. And I don’t personally go to one, so I’m not being defensive.</p>
<p>But yeah sry about the rant on you I wasn’t thinking straight. Regardless, I have one more question - do you honestly believe an adcom can’t differentiate a Georgetown 3.8 from a CC 4.0? People who say otherwise are…probably CC students. No offense to them, of course. Regardless, often the 4.0 CC student backs up the GPA with loads of ECs and testing that the Georgetown kid might not have. Idk, I guess we’ll all have a better understanding after this admissions cycle when Amherst accepts 20 CC kids and one 4 year college kid -.-</p>
<p>This whole ‘tiers’ thing is completely laughable. There is no significant gap between the top 50 or so schools. Just more **** perpetuated by online rankings taken at face value. You could make a great car salesman.</p>
<p>Logic would tell me that they do differentiate a 3.8 at Georgetown from a CC 4.0, but I have heard some people say otherwise here.</p>
<p>One of the other questions I have is about course difficulty. I know that it is somewhat subjective as to what courses are difficult, but IMO, it is clear when someone created the easiest schedule they could to ensure a 4.0 for transfer. </p>
<p>How would you compare these two hypothetical students’ chances based on their second semester college schedules?</p>
<p>Student #1 schedule (4.0 GPA):
Introduction to Sociology
Introduction to Psychology
Elementary Calculus
Introduction to Film Studies</p>
<p>Student #2 schedule (3.8 GPA):
Honors Calculus II
Honors Linear Algebra II
Literary Analysis
Newtonian Mechanics for physics majors
Macroeconomics</p>
<p>Is #1 really going to get accepted over #2 when it looks like #1 isn’t challenging himself?</p>
<p>It would depend what they are applying for. Student #1 obviously would not be admitted for STEM, econ, etc, while student #2 probably wouldn’t be admitted as a liberal arts major. If, on the other hand, they were applying for similar majors, and Student #1 had a light course load in science/math, it would make sense for there to be a preference.</p>
<p>I am a freshman CC transfer applicant with a 4.0 GPA. I’m here because I can’t afford anything else. I also can’t afford to take more than 4 classes each semester. However, I do think I take challenging classes?</p>
<p>My courses this semester are:
Physics II (it’s the one for science majors at my college, but I don’t think colleges will know that?)
Chemistry I (same as above)
Calc III
Differential Equations </p>
<p>Sometimes cost is a factor in the number of classes and the rigor of the courses selected for CC students. All my courses are 4 credit classes this semester (science and math courses are all 4 credit) - so it costs more than taking five 3 credit courses would. </p>
<p>Do you think colleges are aware of this determining factor in a students courseload? Do you think colleges would consider my courseload “rigorous” even though I’m taking only four classes? Finally, do colleges consider how many hours an applicant works each week when deciding whether or not a students courseload is rigorous? For example, this semester I work 30+ hours each week…</p>
<p>Edit: I forgot to mention that I am a math major.</p>
<p>Yarrum - it’s definitely a holistic approach. Get to 15 posts then you can PM me and I’ll be happy to share my experiences, where I applied, have gotten in etc. Your course load is definitely demanding enough for a STEM oriented major in their 1st yr. Keep up the good work!</p>
<p>Emprex, I’m sorry to burst your bubble but employers have very clear distinctions between the top 50 schools, and the top 20 schools. There’s a reason BB Banks and top financial firms do not recruit at UCSD or even UNC, but recruit heavily from the Ivies, Mendoza, Duke, Chicago, etc.</p>
<p>And there is a significant opportunity gap between the schools with massive endowments and the ones who don’t have them. A student taking fullest advantage of his opportunities will obviously benefit far, far more from a T20 school than a T50 school. Rankings may be bs, but the general gist is not.</p>
<p>But yeah I agree with you muaythai, except one thing - many of the top schools either limit AP credit (thereby limiting the upper level coursework) or have requirements (ND, Columbia, UChicago, etc). Additionally, Honors coursework at these institutions seem limited (at least from my perspective) until you become an upperclassmen and can enroll in your department’s honors program. So as a freshman, it seems like it’s mostly GPA and ECs</p>
<p>And in terms of coursework, neither candidate seems overly ideal to me if it’s first year transfer admissions to an Arts and Sciences program. It would make more sense for the ideal candidate to take classes in mathematics, social sciences, hard sciences, liberal arts, and an elective in something different (stats, fine arts, engineering, comp sci, language, etc).</p>
<p>Hey guys, is it possible for someone to transfer from a tier2 college to a tier 1 college? In my case I want to transfer after summer semester to a top uni in fall…I am a freshman btw…Also would having high .GPA make much difference to my chances? Plus if you have any advice for me regarding this sort of transfer, I will really appreciate it. Thanks guys.</p>
<p>I don’t think ranking matters as much as people on this board seem to think it does. It might in a narrow band of career choices, but I don’t believe it does for most. And the further you get from college, the less it seems to matter. I’ve known people who’ve gone directly from a cc to top 30 schools. I know cc grads working union jobs in Manhattan who make the same salary as the grads from the top 20 colleges. If you want to transfer to a particular college, don’t let where you are coming from limit your choices. You never know what you can do unless you try. </p>