<p>I was a late bloomer in high school in terms of academics. I only had a 2.9 gpa for my first two years, but a 3.9 for junior and senior year(all unweighted) from one of the best public high schools in the country. My SAT scores are pretty good(730M,700CR,720W,2150/1430). I'm also an URM(AA).</p>
<p>If I don't get into one of my top choice schools, which is probably what's gonna happen, I have already been accepted to my local state school (SUNY Buffalo) with basically a full ride.
I just don't think my state school would be a degree with connections and opportunities that could maximize my potential, in other words, it's just not for me. </p>
<p>I would want to transfer after the end of my first year at the latest to Stanford, Harvard, Cornell, or any other highly ranked and reputable university for Economics math( I currently plan on pursuing a masters in financial math from stanford after undergrad if college goes as planned).</p>
<p>People always tell me if things don't work out with my reaches to just go to UB, get a 4.0, ad transfer. How realistic of a goal is this, assuming a 3.8-4.0 gpa? Some schools, like princeton, don't even accept transfers.</p>
<p>A transfer to an Ivy is a highly iffy plan. As you say, some of the schools don’t take transfers, other decide whether to accept transfers on a year-by-year basis, others take only a few transfers each year, but often from other elite schools.</p>
<p>If you don’t get into the ‘top’ schools you dream about, go to Buffalo with a plan: honors college, excellent grades, good rapport with your professors (for letters of recommendation) summer programs, internships, etc. There are plenty of opportunities at a school like Buffalo available to hard-working and ambitious students. Once you have your BA, then shoot for an Ivy-caliber university for grad school. </p>
<p>Finally, know that getting a near full ride at a respected (yes, SUNY-Buffalo IS respected) university will look very good on grad schools applications. And graduating debt-free will be a huge gift that opens up its own opportunities unavailable to those facing significant bills they have to start paying within months of graduation.</p>
<p>Transfer applicants should be aware that transfer admission is considerably more competitive than freshman admission.* In recent years, the admit rate for transfer students has been between 1-2%.*Between 20 and 40 transfer student spaces are typically available each year, depending on our freshman to sophomore retention rate (usually 98%) and the number of freshman admitted students typically accept our offer of admission.</p>
<p>From Harvard’s website:</p>
<p>In each of the past two years, Harvard has been able to enroll twelve transfer students from applicant pools of over six hundred and nearly fifteen hundred. The number of well-qualified candidates far exceeds the number of students admitted. It is therefore recommended that students who wish to transfer from their current colleges explore a variety of options.</p>
<p>Cornell admitted 702 of 3198 transfer applicants for the fall of 2011. A better rate than Stanford or Harvard, but still a reach for everyone. </p>
<p>Generally, if a school is very selective for incoming freshmen then it is even more difficult to get in as a transfer.</p>
<p>Thanks guys, but I knew that already. I hate living in buffalo and going to UB for 4 more years would kill my motivation for grad school. It’s just not an option for me.</p>
<p>Binghamton is really good. Bing and Geneseo are known as the “ivy” of SUNYs. You might as well just go there if you don’t get into your top schools.</p>
<p>Waverly is right that as a potential junior transfer with a 3.8+, you will have a shot at highly selective private schools. You’d have nothing to lose by applying as a sophomore transfer as long as you understand that it’s a long shot. Cornell and Penn take more transfers than the other Ivies, and of course there are plenty of nationally respected non-Ivy, non-HYPSMC schools for you to consider. But at this point, that GPA is theoretical, and you should be focusing on making the most out of your first year at UB. Once you have some college grades in hand, you can start thinking about transfer options.</p>