<p>My son graduated from high school this month. For the last 4 years, he has had just one dream: getting into Harvard or Yale. To prepare, he took a total of 9 AP classes, got As for most of his classes, scored 2360 on SAT, volunteered at a prominent hospital in Boston, learned electric guitar and martial art, learned 2 foreign languages, etc.. He applied to both Harvard and Yale, but did not get in. He did get into another good private university, which he will start attending in the fall.</p>
<p>It goes without saying that my son is very disappointed about the result, since he has worked so hard for so long (he is not alone, I know). He is determined to transfer to Harvard or Yale after one year. My question is: what should my son do or learn at the college he got in, in order to transfer to Harvard or Yale after one year? Please help if you successfully transferred into Harvard or Yale. Please help if you have direct knowledge of how the transfer process works.</p>
<p>Well he should expect to get a 4.0 at the school he is attending. Try getting involved on campus and join clubs that interests him. Try to find connections and make relationships with his professors in order to get stellar recommendation letters. Write excellent transfer essays about why he belongs at either school. To be honest it looks like your son was very competitive for both schools as a freshmen but keep in mind the majority of the applicants for both of those schools are. Sad to say but both schools will be much harder to get into as a transfer with both universities boasting around a 1 percent acceptance rate. Be aware that this year Harvard accepted a whopping 15 students out of almost 1500 applicants. It is possible but you should probably suggest to your son that he should make the best out of his current school. With his stats I am more than sure he was accepted to other very “prestigous” schools. What exactly makes him want to attend Harvard and Yale specifically?</p>
<p>The best thing you as a parent can do is to urge your S to give his school a chance and to make the most of his fr year, as it will never come again. It’s his time to grow academically, socially, and personally; but if he is intent on transferring from the get go, it will have a dampening affect on his ability to do these things.</p>
<p>There is nothing he can ‘learn’ at his current college that will guarantee he will be accepted as a transfer at H or Y. Both of these schools have lower acceptance rates for transfers than they did for fr admits. And IMO, what these schools are looking for in transfers is even less transparent than how they select their fr class.</p>
<p>I have direct knowledge of the Y transfer process, and this is my advice.</p>
<p>To put things into perspective, freshman admits to Harvard or Yale generally have all of what your son has (10+ AP classes, straight A’s, 2360+ SAT scores, 750+ SAT II scores) in addition to having multiple national awards or national recognition for their activities. Freshman applicants are only accepted at a rate of about 5-7%. Transfer admissions are even tougher, with acceptance rates of <2%. Since he didn’t get in the first time, it’s unlikely he’ll get in the second time. That said, if he really wants to go to Harvard or Yale and is willing to put in the work to perfect his applications while juggling college classes and activities, by all means he should go for it. Invader71 was spot on, but it’s much, much easier said than done. Either way, he should try to fall in love with his school, as the odds are truly against him. Remind him though that graduate school is still a possibility.</p>
<p>"He applied to both Harvard and Yale, but did not get in. "
If he was already rejected, when the chances of acceptance were around 5%, his chances of acceptance 1 year later, when the chances are even smaller, are nil. Both H and Y require the HS transcript to be submitted again for all transfer students, so he will not be “starting fresh”.
He needs to move on.</p>
<p>I’m curious to know what school your son is going to attend. He should definitely give it a chance and frankly, I seriously doubt he won’t be attending a great school this fall with those stats. Since transfer rates are so low at Harvard and Yale, they probably take a close look at the reasons for transferring and it probably won’t help to just say “I’ve dreamed of Harvard all my life” unless your son sees something specific in Harvard he doesn’t think he can get anywhere else. </p>
<p>Harvard and Yale just happen to be two of the most selective schools in the country, but they don’t necessarily have the best program in every field or provide the best environment for every high achieving academic superstar in the country. Your son could very well end up happy with where he’s going next year once he gets used to it. Of course being the sour puss who thinks he’s being cheated by not going to Harvard or Yale next fall won’t help him adjust or make friends wherever he’s going.</p>