Is applying to transfer even worth it (details..)?

Applying to College
1

I’m currently a freshman who hasn’t even completed her first quarter of university. I am doing incredibly well in the classes I am taking and expect around a 3.75-4.0 (depending on bell curve grading etc) but did well, not so great in high school :(. I don’t even know what my final GPA (end of senior year) was in high school but I’m assuming around a 3.4ish (maybe even 3.39ish gah). (When I applied as a freshman, it was around a 3.45 but might have gone down second semester)

So basically what I’m trying to ask is, is it even worth it? I would like to apply to Columbia, NYU, and Stanford. Obviously CU and SU are HUGE reaches, but would I even have a small chance? If I, hypothetically speaking, received a 3.8 or above this winter quarter?

BTW the reason why I did not take classes Fall Quarter was that I chose to take a term off and travel to a different country and farm for two months w/ a volunteer group. So I did utilise the time I took off really well. I have continued to do a lot of volunteering…adding up to a total of around 400 hours.

My SAT is a 1910, received a 770 on my US history Subject Test and 2 4s on AP Euro and APUSH.

But the thing is, during junior year, i received a D in my precalc class due to personal circumstances/best friend’s death. I made it up the next semester and received a B. So I feel like so many universities, when they see the D, it will be an automatic reject (especially being a transfer applicant)

reason why i feel this way is that well, last year when i applied as a freshman, every single university rejected me except for one(waitlisted me) when I applied via common app. (and the universities using CA require transcripts)

but all the public universities i applied to like UIUC accepted me because they don’t use CA and I feel like they wouldn’t have if they had seen the D when they were reviewing my app? (Public universities usuaully dont require transcripts until you’ve been accepted)

Meh so what do you guys think?

2

NYU takes a lot more transfers than the other two. I think your chances are best there, and not likely at the others.

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@BrownParent‌ Thanks for the feedback. I agree my chances are better there. So do you think I shouldn’t give CU and SU a go or do I stand a small chance?

I know my professors will write excellent recommendations and I’ve engaged in great conversations with one of them, so that’s one of the reasons why I think I might have a small chance. And earned many rewards in high school (2 state business awards, 1 national, 1 international)

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I do not think you have any chance, sorry.

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Have you asked your parents if they can afford the $65K/year for NYU?

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Do you like where you are? Why are you considering transferring?

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@momfromme @Erin’sDad Yes I do like where I am, but I am searching for a school that has a better environmental sciences program and also one that has a great liberal arts education (like NYU and Columbia). I am hoping to double major in something such as public policy (or related to humanitarian rights and the like) and something related to climate science. My current school is incredibly strong in Engineering and business, but doesn’t have a great liberal arts and env. sci program sigh.

I would love to go to Columbia(which is also incredibly expensive), but I just don’t know if it’s worth submitting my application and wasting the money because my high school grades were just average and my SAT doesn’t stand out. I would say my extracurriculars really do but meh I don’t know if I should just wait another year and apply.

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I don’t think your chances are that great with only a quarter of college under your belt, even for NYU. I’d wait a year before trying to transfer.

Good luck!

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Thank you and I agree-guess I will just have to wait another year! @coriander23