<p>I know this is a longshot, a shot in the dark, pointless, but maybe it's possible? I didn't do so well in high school, got into my safety school, Humboldt State, and didn't even do so great my first year of college. I am a sophomore now who is working his ass off trying to get his grades up to transfer. I was on the east coast this summer and now am trying to see if it is possible to get into an ivy league school. It's ok. Laugh if you must. I just am trying to transfer to a reputable school, and going to an Ivy League in New York is what I want. I'm putting all I have into my school work now, and I know if I try my absolute hardest I can pull off a 4.0 or at least close to that. Are the chances still zero? I really know nothing about the transfer process. Where would I even start?</p>
<p>If your GPA and scores are up to par, the prestige of your current university shouldn’t matter. What was your freshman GPA?</p>
<p>eh… a b average? maybe even a little lower? the point is at that point I just really didn’t care. It’s only this year that I am so set on this. I’m just afraid that it is already too late, and that trying now this year is pointless…</p>
<p>You’re right, it is pointless. Accumulate as many 4.0 credits as you can and try transferring late in the game. It’s still a reach, but you’re more likely to get in with a ~3.8 than a 3.4. In the meantime, focus on distinguishing yourself somehow, possibly through some meaningful extra curricular, and hope for the best. This will be a multi-year process and you will obviously invest significant effort into an ambiguous endeavor, so don’t be entirely disheartened in the likely event that you are not accepted. Might I suggest NYU if you are still set on New York City and want to attend a recognized albeit not as prestigious private school (just as expensive).</p>
<p>I am a parent who is very familiar with both Humboldt State & Columbia. I think that a transfer is an unrealistic plan for you, both because your academic performance to date makes admission unlikely, and because I do not think your studies at Humboldt will have prepared you for the more rigorous and demanding academic environment of Columbia. On top of everything else, as a transfer you would have to complete the core courses, so it’s not as if you would hit the ground running – you would be in a new university, new city, trying to simultaneously pick up courses for your major and make up courses other students took as freshmen & sophomores. </p>
<p>If you are unhappy at Humboldt – and can afford to attend a private university – then consider a transfer to a school that is a better academic fit. That means you should be looking at a school that considered to be stronger academically than Humboldt, but not at the level of Ivy League. </p>
<p>Alternatively, consider doing the best you can at Humboldt, looking for good opportunities for summer internships, and preparing yourself to attend a more prestigious grad school. Humboldt is actually very well respected in some academic areas, and it may offer you opportunities that you would not get at Columbia. </p>
<p>If you really do have your heart set on Columbia, go ahead and apply, but you really are not likely to get accepted in your situation. As a parent, I see the bigger problem as being that even if you were accepted, you would have a very difficult time there because of the different academic expectations.</p>
<p>Please don’t interpret this as saying that Humboldt is a bad school. It is – or at least it was* - a real hidden gem in the CSU system. (*I don’t know how badly it has been decimated by budget cuts, but my guess is that it has hurt the school in recent years). But it is a college that is also geared to the needs of a different academic population than the student who attend Columbia. If you had arrived at Humboldt and found yourself instantly bored and under-challenged, earning easy A’s throughout, that might have been a good indication that you needed a lot more challenge. But if your grades were not so hot your first year, and if you need to “put all you have” into your work in order to try to currently get all A’s – then it may be that Humboldt is the better academic fit for you. Columbia is an extremely competitive academic environment, filled with ambitious students who were academic super-stars in high school, and it is a particularly difficult path to come in as a transfer because of the core. </p>
<p>What’s your major? That may also be a factor to consider, especially in relation to the level of prep you would have coming from Humboldt.</p>
<p>I don’t think the notion of there being an “appropriate academic fit” is the right one. While it is true that the overwhelming majority of the student body was at the acme-- top 5-10%-- of his or her highschool, there are also a fair amount of students who transferred in or gained admission through a non-traditional path. The fact that Columbia devotes an entire school, the school of general studies, to the student who has reapplied himself and found a passion in academics, debunks the “one size fits all” paradigm. Those who subscribe to the idea that prequistes for success at Columbia are 2400 SAT scores with a 4.0–those people are elitists who I don’t think represent the school.</p>
<p>Your principle challenge lies not in your ability thrive in a “rigorous” academic environment, because only you can understand and realize your potential, but actually gaining admission to the school. Once you here, for whatever reasons that you may have previously stumbled, you are the master of your destiny. You can freshly reapply yourself when the opportunity strikes, and don’t let anyone else tell you what you can or can’t do.</p>
<p>Thank you. I appreciate all you words and definitely take them into consideration. One factor that definitely motivates me is the fact that I “just don’t belong there”. I only see that as a challenge. It just frustrates me that it took me an entire year to get my act together, and that I only became interested in transferring this year. It’s just something about the ivy leagues that makes me want to challenge myself, and really ask myself why I can’t go there. Another factor that contributes to my decision of transferring out of Humboldt is just the area. Don’t get me wrong, I love the area, and it is a great college environment, but overall I just feel secluded here. I want to be in a more vibrant metropolitan environment where more essentially “goes on”. Also, after living here for two years, I just feel that I want to move on. Of course I am told that I can just transfer to another csu, but that to be honest, does not motivate me. I want to go to another school outside of this system. I am currently trying to get a spot in the UC system, aiming at Santa Cruz or Berkeley. Santa Cruz might be the most realistic, and I know Berkeley is a reach. Both denied me for my freshman year. I have just been dedicating myself so hard to transferring this year, that I just want to have some good options.</p>
<p>I think a solid UC might be a great option for you, if you want to transfer out. Good luck!</p>
<p>The point is that it’s a shot in the dark for everyone. I say go for it if you have a compelling reason and you can get your grades up. No one really knows how the people that get in do it, it could very well be you.</p>