I am a high school senior and I was considering starting college at UMich (I am already in) and trying to pursue the Ivy League (Princeton/Columbia/Penn) as a transfer student. How badly are transfer students treated at elite schools, it’s not like I got horrible grades in high school and completely don’t deserve to be there?
No one cares if you’re a transfer student.
Agreed. The hard part is getting in as a transfer.
The transfer acceptance rates at the colleges you mentioned range from about 1% to about 8%. To the extent that anyone would care, transfer students at these schools might be acknowledged for having gained admission against such unwelcoming odds.
Give Mich a chance.
It’s so dang hard to transfer to a tippy top, so few kids drop out, creating openings. You have to be rather stellar to get a transfer admit. And have a solid, mature reason you want to. Surprises me you’re thinking of this…and worried about stigma, of all things. You may want to research those targets, learn more.
I agree with @lookingforward. You should give U.Michigan a chance. It is a great university. For some majors it is stronger than the Ivy League universities.
If you do well at U.Michigan, then you will have a degree that is highly respected and will have a good chance at graduate school (if you want to attend graduate school) pretty much anywhere.
@DadTwoGirls Thank you! Yes I will probably go to grad school, if I don’t switch majors I kinda need too. UMich has a good policy program, my interest. I am definitely going to give it a shot, I also wanted to see if it was worth it to consider transfer.
Transferring into an Ivy is very difficult.
From what little you have posted it appears that all you are seeking in transferring is prestige. The Ivy adcoms do not like that. You will need an academic reason to transfer. What would an Ivy give you that UMich cannot (beside a more prestigious name).
Agree with @TomSrOfBoston.
Transferring from an Ivy League school to the University of Michigan seems more justifiable due to the breadth of opportunities at Michigan which may not be offered at any particular Ivy League school.
My point is that you need to be able to articulate a reason–beyond a desire to upgrade in prestige in your estimation–for wanting & needing to transfer to any particular college or university.
The ivies take few transfers. Usually you need a hook, like you’re an athlete that they need to fill a spot…
Princeton appears to emphasize nontraditional students for transfer admission.
Cornell may favor New York community college students transferring to is semi public divisions.
People, I realize this thread is kind of dumb, I will leave it up for others
@Publisher Yes University of Michigan has more opportunities for more students, but there is a reason why Ivys always top the Marshall/Rhodes/Fullbright/ext. Scholarships each year. Of course, there is likely more talent at the Ivys, but Michigan is so large it is odd that there is not a at least winner for each scholarship each year. Smaller schools like Princeton are better at giving more personalized attention to students.
What choice do you have? You can’t delete a thread.
@jym626 oops I assumed I could