No problem! Thanks for the input.
Most kids entering selective LACs have college credit, whether AP or DE, as it strengthens their application for frosh admission.
So isn’t that good for me? Or am I misunderstanding?
If you are below 17, you are not a good candidate for admission absent truly exceptional circumstances, and certainly not a transfer.
Why is this? I happen to be under 17 but didn’t think that would be too much of an issue. I do have some untraditional circumstances, which were highlighted in my applications.
So I am just trying to understand. Your position is that you graduated high school via homeschool at 14, took CC for 2 years, and are now a transfer junior at 16? SUNY is your best option.
Correct. Why does that make SUNY my best option?
Most people starting college are 17-19 years old. Most people transferring in as juniors are 19-21 years old. You don’t think that the fact that you may be three years younger than the other juniors would be considered by the college to be an issue? If you are turning 17 in 2023, then you’re only one year younger than the other freshmen, even though at some schools you would be admitted with junior standing.
What strengthens applications is the demonstration that one can do well in rigorous, college-level classes, namely AP classes or classes at 4 year colleges, less so at community colleges. It’s not that colleges like to admit people with advanced standing. It’s that they like to see the track record of high achievement in rigorous classes.
The SUNY is by far your best option, first of all because I think that of the ones you’ve gotten into, it’s the most affordable, and that as a SUNY, it’s likely to accept a lot of your credits from a NYS community college. I think that you have little to no chance of getting into the very highly selective colleges that you’re still waiting to hear from. So acceptance, money, and advanced standing (hence cheaper to finish) wins the game. But if you do manage to get into any of your other schools with a ton of fin aid so that you can go, I’d say take it, and plan on 4 years there. Aside from the challenging and superior education, you’d benefit from a full four years of social maturation at college.
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Most people starting college are 17-19 years old. Most people transferring in as juniors are 19-21 years old. You don’t think that the fact that you may be three years younger than the other juniors would be considered by the college to be an issue? If you are turning 17 in 2023, then you’re only one year younger than the other freshmen, even though at some schools you would be admitted with junior standing.
I’m used to being around older people from going to on-campus CC classes full-time for years. I will be turning 17 later this year. It wasn’t an issue for RIT or Drexel, hence why I didn’t think it would be that big of a deal for the others.
What strengthens applications is the demonstration that one can do well in rigorous, college-level classes, namely AP classes or classes at 4 year colleges, less so at community colleges. It’s not that colleges like to admit people with advanced standing. It’s that they like to see the track record of high achievement in rigorous classes.
I am in the honors program at my CC, as have demonstrated success in those classes, internships, and research programs at this school and others.
The SUNY is by far your best option, first of all because I think that of the ones you’ve gotten into, it’s the most affordable, and that as a SUNY, it’s likely to accept a lot of your credits from a NYS community college. I think that you have little to no chance of getting into the very highly selective colleges that you’re still waiting to hear from.
Can you expand on why please?
So acceptance, money, and advanced standing (hence cheaper to finish) wins the game. But if you do manage to get into any of your other schools with a ton of fin aid so that you can go, I’d say take it, and plan on 4 years there. Aside from the challenging and superior education, you’d benefit from a full four years of social maturation at college.
I do plan to take the 4 years, because I’ll be going for master’s. So if I go somewhere like drexel, it would be 3-4 years at the very shortest. If I go to a LAC, I’ll be transferring again for master’s.
Why is the SUNY better for you? I thought I’d made it pretty clear already, but here goes: First of all, you’ve been accepted to it, and I don’t think it’s likely you’re going to get into the ones you’re waiting on.
Second, unlike RIT and Drexel, it’s probably going to take a lot of your credits from community college, so you’ll probably be admitted with advanced standing, meaning you would have fewer lower level classes that you’ll have to take and pay for. But you need to check this out with SUNY, RIT, and Drexel. Speak with an advisor (better yet, do it by email so that it’ll be in writing) at each of the three colleges and find out what they’re going to accept, and what you’ll have to do in order to fulfill major requirements, gen eds, whatever is needed towards graduation. Just because you have a degree from a community college, doesn’t mean that they’ll accept the classes there as having fulfilled their requirements.
Third is money. I suspect that it’s going to be a LOT cheaper for you at the SUNY.
If what you meant is why I think it’s unlikely that you’ll get into Swarthmore, Tufts, Amherst, or Bowdoin as a transfer student, the reason is that you’re competing against people with very high GPAs coming from top notch highly-rigorous 4 yr colleges, for a very few open spots. You should be proud of what you have accomplished, and I do think that you’ll be able to achieve all your career goals from the SUNY. You have a very bright future! But the academic level/rigor at virtually all community colleges (even in an honors track) is so much lower than at top 4 yr institutions (which these four are), that those few who succeed in being accepted for transfer from community colleges have maxed out what is available there; in other words, they have gotten straight A’s there, in the most rigorous classes offered there, and have letters that say something like: “This student is head and shoulders above the academic level here. They didn’t belong here. They never belonged here. It’s obvious that they need the most challenging academic environment available in order to reach their full potential.” You didn’t get a 4.0 at the community college; you didn’t max out what they had for you. Nothing to be ashamed of, you have done extremely well, coming from what I suspect were challenging circumstances. But that is why I think it’s unlikely that you’ll be accepted at any of the four you’re waiting to hear from. Swarthmore is one of the most selective liberal arts colleges in the nation, with Amherst a very, very close second, and Tufts and Bowdoin are right on their heels. Even if you do get into any of them, if your family has resources, they’re likely to cost much more than the SUNY - are your parents willing to pay for that? We’re talking tuition of over 80K/yr, for 4 yrs, since each one of them, if you are lucky enough to be accepted by any of them, would likely take you only as a freshman, and give you no credit for the community college classes.
But it’s fine, in fact it’s better than fine. You’ve been accepted to a SUNY that is likely to give you credit for your community college degree. Moving from the level of community college to SUNY ESF is not likely to be a huge academic shock (there have been people on this forum who did very well in community college classes, but did not handle the transition to a 4 yr public college well), and it is hopefully an affordable option for you.
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Agreed. It is more likely SUNY will accept the credit, there will be more people from community college, and the academic difference is likely to be less ( but could still be significant enough to greatly surprise OP). If you are going to live on campus, perhaps you could request a frosh dorm. Most juniors are or are turning 21 and have lived independently for 2 years already. I expect they are quite different socially.
With respect to the OP’s academic preparedness for colleges on this level, it might be worth noting that her ACT score of 33 places her at Bowdoin’s median.
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Yes, clearly plenty of ability. Whether that transfers into readiness for upper-level science courses at university is the question.
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Contrary to what some have said here, several highly selective SLACs have transfer policies that are designed to encourage community college grads to apply. I found this article in Bowdoin’s student newspaper published in September 2022 College policy adapts to welcome transfer students from community colleges – The Bowdoin Orient
Amherst explicitly encourages community college students to apply as transfer students, “Amherst is committed to providing transfer opportunities for high-achieving community college students with limited financial resources. Since partnering with the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation in 2006, Amherst has become a national leader among highly selective colleges in offering exceptional academic and scholarship options to community college students.” Transferring from a Community College | Transfer Applicants | Amherst College
While there is no guarantee that OP will be admitted, I think it’s important to acknowledge this trend among selective SLACs. (Williams, Vassar and Haverford also have similar commitments to enrolling community college transfer students.)
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Community college transfers are always encouraged, but I have not seen it done for 16 year olds. Lots of nontraditional and impoverished students can be picked up that way as transfers by selective LACs.
This student likely has solid academic opportunities at her nearby public school which could be explored. NYS has some good high schools. Selective LACs arent as necessary for her. No indication she qualified as minority or low income, which is the focus of those programs.
I’m not certain if this counts as minority, but I am a religious minority and have a documented disability.
Your religious minority is not underrepresented in higher education, so no that would not count. It would depend upon what type of disability you had as to whether AOs would consider it a factor, but it does not sound as if that was a central part of your application.
An update after more descisons have rolled in:
- Safety: SUNY ESF (got in)
- Likely: RIT (got in), Drexel (got in)
- Match: Swarthmore (waiting)
- Reach: Tufts (waiting), Amherst College (rejected), Bowdoin (waitlisted)
I put a deposit down at RIT, so it’s seeming like that’s where I’m headed!
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