Is it reasonable to try to transfer into a "lower" Ivy League school with a 3.8?

<p>I'm not desperate to be an Ivy League student; I'm just using this category to give an idea of what kind of "reach" schools I'm interested in.
If it helps, I go to a top-40, internationally recognized public school with extremely harsh grading (the average GPA is about 3.1).</p>

<p>I see you’ve applied to Cornell - I think you have a fair shot.
Depends on your essays really. I heard College GPA/Essays are a huge part of the admissions decision.</p>

<p>What other “lower” Ivies are you looking at? Brown?
I’ve heard Dartmouth is like impossible to transfer into though.</p>

<p>The only Ivys that are really possible to transfer into are Cornell, Penn, and Brown. I would argue that Penn is probably the easiest to transfer into- a decent share of their transfer applications are to Wharton, so I kind of suspect the transfer rate for the other colleges isn’t so crazy. Cornell’s a little bit deceiving, because they take a lot of guaranteed transfers which inflates their numbers. Arts & Sciences, on the other hand, does not take guaranteed transfers and has a transfer rate of below 10%.</p>

<p>I’m worried about my essays because I have limited academic experience with my major and absolutely no work experience (it’s not easy to become involved with the study of psychology during your freshman year of college or in high school. I have ample experience with abnormal psychology but that isn’t really something I want to discuss in my supplemental essays, and I’m more interested in social psychology), so I don’t have a very interesting story to tell about my decision to major in this field. I just talked about all the extracurricular reading I’ve done on the subject and how a degree in psychology would act as a foundation for a career in media (what I ultimately want to do for a living).</p>

<p>I’m applying to UPenn and Cornell’s CAS (amongst others).
If it were up to me, I’d apply to a college within Cornell that has a higher acceptance rate, but CAS is the only school that offers a psychology major, and its dedication to academic exploration is important to me (one of the major reasons I’m transferring out of my current school is that it leaves little room for electives).</p>

<p>In all honesty, I think there’s a lot more in the decision than just the 3.8 college GPA. Aspects of your application–such as standardized test scores–will still be considered. Also, if you’re applying to Brown, understand that admissions are need-aware, meaning your ability to pay IS a factor in the ultimate decision.</p>

<p>is a GPA of 3.74 too low? I am curious about this question for the same reason as well</p>

<p>I think the majority of transfers to ivy league schools have over a 3.8, but maybe an individual with a lower GPA has a good chance if he has strong ECs, recs, test scores, or some unique quality. I’m not even sure if GPA is a big factor as long as you are in the 3.7 or 3.8 range, I think the other parts of the app are far more important</p>

<p>A GPA of 3.74 is not too low, but it really depends what school you are applying from. If it is a peer institution or at least a Top 25 you could make a much better case vs. your average state school/community college.</p>

<p>Once again as previously stated there is a lot more to the application than numbers. Of course the higher the number the more likely you’ll be admitted. Good luck everyone!</p>

<p>are top Ivies out of reach though? I am just trying to be realistic. I have seen very few who made it with less than 3.9+ and those who did seem to have an upper hand of financial contribution…</p>

<p>If you’re only a freshmen when applying, your high school record will still be a key factor as will SAT scores.</p>