How realistic is planning to transfer?

Transfer Students
1

<p>I suppose I could be described as one of those who effed up during high school and, after admission letters arrive, experiences a life-changing epiphany and suddenly decides they're destined for something better.</p>

<p>I didn't totally screw up during high school per se, but I took it easy and spent a lot of time chilling with friends and slacking off academically. As a result, I've been accepted to only mediocre schools.</p>

<p>A couple months ago I would've been totally okay with this. I didn't know what the hell I wanted to do in the future and I really didn't care all that much. Mediocre was good enough for me. Well, that's changed.</p>

<p>I'm headed to UCSD and I'm determined to transfer out after one or two years (preferably one.) I know I want to go into business. I plan on applying to Northwestern, Cornell, Stanford, MIT Sloan, Yale, UPenn Wharton, NYU Stern...</p>

<p>Now, I was all fired up about this until I shared with my dad and he shut me down immediately. He told me that I was being ridiculously unrealistic and transferring is near-impossible. He says only students already in a top-tier school will be able to transfer to another top-tier school (why would they want to accept a student from UCSD?). Other than that, transfers are mostly reserved for those in CCs. He added that there's not much I can do to dramatically change my record around in one year.</p>

<p>Also I realized that the pool of applicants for freshmen is full of random people who may or may not know what they're doing, so it's easier to look better compared to them if you do have a direction. However, those in the transfer applicant pool are supposedly all similar to me...putting me at a higher disadvantage than if I were applying as a freshman, correct? And compound that with the abysmally low transfer rates and...the prospects of transferring don't look too good. :S</p>

<p>What are all your opinions? Is it really that unrealistic? Obviously, I want to hear that I have a fair chance, but I would prefer honesty please.</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

<p>PS - Yes, I have read the threads with success stories, but a good portion of them don't involve transferring to Ivy schools. Also, obviously only successful people will post there...so that doesn't give a realistic picture of how difficult it actually is to transfer into a good school.</p>

2

<p>I think you have a good chance, as long as you can show the adcoms that you are ready and have buckled down. The schools you mentioned as transfer options are “stretches” for nearly everyone, so it would be good to have others on your list as well that are not quite as selective.</p>

<p>My D had some chronic health issues that caused her to have a lousy HS transcript and required her to get a GED and attend community college. She was still admitted as a transfer into her 1st choice out-of-state private selective U as a transfer after 3 semesters of community college–it was the only U she applied to. (Her 1st semester grades at CC were great but 2nd semester her chronic health issues caused her grades to be poor–the U accepted her as a spring admit–probably so she could show herself & them that her 1st semester was more reflective of her abilities than the 2nd semester.) She’s happily attending her dream school now.</p>

3

<p>Your dad may be right about transferring to those schools, but it cant hurt to try right?? Worst case scenario is they reject you and you find your self in the same situation you would be if you didnt apply.</p>

4

<p>My advice to you would be this; don’t get too tied down to the individual schools, and don’t let the transfer become the focus of your life. Allow the idea of going to a better school to serve as motivation (it can be an incredibly solid motivator), while trying not to let it distract you from the more important issue of the work that is immediately at hand. As for the individual schools, like I said don’t get too tied down to the idea of going to any one individual school, and I’m sure if you do well you can certainly move up to some degree (in my opinion, whether or not that involves one of the specific schools you listed is something of a crapshoot). Anyways, best of luck.</p>

5

<p>Transferring to a top notch school can be very difficult, but not impossible. </p>

<p>You don’t need a 4.0 to transfer, but you need to be aiming for at least a 3.5+ to be competitive. I know from my own observations that most successful transfers at my school had a 3.7 or higher. You also need to have a very good reason for wanting to transfer. You also don’t need to be at a top notch school to gain admission, although there are some schools that mostly take students from community colleges (I think Stanford is one of them). I transferred from a mid-level State University of New York school to Cornell. </p>

<p>If your HS record is as bad as you think it is, I recommend you wait one full year before initiating transfer. If you apply during your freshman year, your high school stats will play an important role in your admission decision because the college will only see one full semester of grades and your second semester midterm report. If you apply for junior standing, your HS grades will be looked at but will not be as important as your performance in college. </p>

<p>If you want any information about transferring to Cornell, please feel free to post here or PM me. I’ll do my best to help. Good luck!</p>

6

<p>Your dad is right actually. The majority of transfers for top tier universities and especially the universities you are looking forward to contain transfers mainly from top tier universities and community college applicants. It seems as though you’re a business major, so these schools are highly ranked. It is definantly worth a try but I do urge you to do well at UCSD (since you’re planning on attending there) and maintain an GPA avg of at least 3.9-4.0 and nothing lower as those are the averages for Business or Economics major admits to those universities. Do also realize that your high school past is in effect when reviewing for admissions towards the schools you are applying to.</p>

<p>Even with a 3.9-4.0 there is no guarentee on transferring since those schools accept only 20-50 transfers for Business majors out of thousands of applicants.</p>

7

<p>Well, do you guys have any suggestions as how to increase my chances of getting into a top-tier school via transfer? Even minimally increase?</p>

<p>I got 2170/2230 on my SAT. Would it be wise, pointless, or detrimental to take it a third time?</p>

<p>Should I do the same sort of activities that is recommended for prospective freshmen? i.e. try to start clubs/organizations, find leadership positions, good internships, etc.</p>

8

<p>I’d just like to point out that Cornell’s transfer acceptance rate is 27.5%, which is 6% higher than the freshmen acceptance rate.</p>

9

<p>Don’t expect to get into any college as a soph you could not have gotten into as a freshmen. As a junior transfer you have a better chance.</p>

<p>The schools on your list take so few transfers you should add a few not quite as selective NU takes more than the others and you need more transfer friendly schools.</p>

<p>If you need any financial aid, pay attention to that too in choosing schools, many schools that are need blind to freshmen are not to transfers.</p>

<p>Also make sure you have the SAT scores for these schools no matter when you try to transfer. Some will not let you retake the SAT once you begin college so it may be wise to study this summer and retake the SATs in September.</p>

<p>Cider, most of Cornell’s transfers are through their guaranteed transfer program, a NYS resident program, for students who applied as freshmen.</p>

10

<p>Then is there anywhere with actual useful statistics as to transferring into Cornell? And does that extend only to students whose permanent addresses are in NY, or would it extend to people who are attending college in NY from out of state as well?</p>

11

<p>Since business is a popular major (or, those schools are select about who they admit into their undergraduate business school), would it be better to apply as a general student and then switch into their business program after you’re in?</p>

<p>And also about the SAT re-take, if they accept SAT scores as long as it’s prior to college, should I retake the upcoming one during June? There is no SAT for September, only October and after.</p>

12

<p>If you’re transferring as an incoming Junior, I believe the SATs are less important than the record you create while in college. There is great value on many levels in excelling where you are planted and trying to go to an excellent grad school as well.</p>

13

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<p>Actually, that’s not true. The GT offer can be (and is) extended to non-NYS residents.</p>