I know that this will sound absurd to many and I acknowledge that I am in a very unique position. I am, nevertheless, grateful for how I am right now.
I have been holding off submitting a transfer app to Harvard because I wasn’t sure if I wanted to lose my friends, clubs, and research lab that I have at Columbia. On the other hand, now I am thinking to just give it a shot for now and think about it later. Who knows, they will most likely reject me.
Long story short, I really wanted to attend Harvard last year as a senior, but attended Columbia after a rejection from Harvard. The main benefit I see myself gaining is name value and a leg up in terms of their medical school admissions (I know that they tend to pick from their own Undergraduates). However, I would also risk losing my social life, laboratory, and club experience.
Here are my stats FYI:
4.07 GPA (Columbia counts A+ as 4.33, otherwise it is a 3.97. This includes hard classes like Organic Chemistry)
Various club board positions like Habitat for Humanity two of the science journals here.
I’m pretty confident about my teacher recommendations.
My main complaint about Columbia is the Core, which simply detracts a lot of time from pursuing my interests, clubs, and classes of interest. But I’m not sure if that is valid or if Harvard will take that.
What are your thoughts guys? Thanks!
Hello @yjkimnada ,
I am sorry to say, but your reasons for transferring really are not that valid to be honest. By essentially saying, “My classes take up too much of my time” is far from a strong enough reason for Harvard to accept you as a transfer.
In addition to this, Harvard accepts roughly 12 transfer students out of around 1500 applicants a year, and roughly 1/3 (4) of those 12 are athletic transfers, so this puts a transfer student in an extraordinarily tough spot even with a very strong reason.
Also, seeing what you state you would be giving up at Columbia versus the very little you think you would gain at Harvard (a slightly higher chance at Harvard Med School and a very very slight move up in “name”), it seems like Columbia is best for you academically at this point, not to mention that you will be uprooting and going to a completely new environment next year, and who knows, maybe you would hate it at Harvard, maybe you will miss NYC and the myriad opportunities there, and maybe the transfer transition will be poor for you and you will see your grades drop off drastically at Harvard.
From an outsider’s perspective (me, as I do not personally know you), it seems that you do not have a legitimate reason (even though it might seem legitimate to you) for transferring (most colleges would say that you should just manage your time better if you feel like the Core at Columbia takes too much time). Also, you would be losing too much at Columbia for a slight gain at Harvard, and, again from an outsider’s perspective, the risk of this far outweighs the potential reward.
I hope this honest and sincere advice helps. I wish you the best of luck in whatever decision you decide to make.