<p>From my understanding, a 4.0 GPA is not a must for transfer. I had a low - 3.3 GPA in HS, and now go to SUNY Binghamton, a Tier I school and one of the public Ivies.</p>
<p>I am looking to transfer to Cornell or Penn, and expecting a GPA of 3.7-4.0 I am working my but off to get all the A's, but I may have a few A-. Hopefully a 3.8 - 4.0</p>
<p>Either way though, when factored in with a (hopefully) good essay and recs and ECs, will a GPA in the 3.7-3.9 range be looked down upon, or is it fine? Does a 4.0 really make it clear you've done your best, or is just below it acceptable too?</p>
<p>There are a number of top public universities that are such good quality that they are often called "public Ivies."</p>
<p>I don't know if there's a consensus on the list, but some of the ones I think most everyone would include in this category are:</p>
<p>University of California (6 of 10 campuses):
Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Santa Barbara
College of William & Mary (Williamsburg, Virginia)
University of Michigan (Ann Arbor)
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of Texas at Austin
University of Virginia (Charlottesville)
Georgia Institute of Technology
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
State University of New York at Binghamton
University of Wisconsin–Madison
College of William & Mary (Williamsburg, Virginia)
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (New Brunswick, New Jersey)
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of Virginia (Charlottesville) </p>
<p>You can wiki it and see some more expansive lists</p>
<p>ugh I hate the term "public ivy" and "southern ivy". The ivy league is a football conference, not the 8 best colleges in the universe (although they all rank highly and are amazing). When I visited Binghamton and took a tour and attended an info session, they reminded us that they were a "public ivy" about a gazillion times and it was a turn-off. </p>
<p>Anyway, Bing is a good school and a 3.7+ there is impressive. I'm in a similar position, applying to Cornell. I wish I could say I had a 4.0 but i'm expecting at least 1 A-. My HS gpa was only 3.5, but with a significant upward trend and lotsa AP's.</p>
<p>This is kind of off-topic, but the Ivy League is more than just a football conference - although that may be its origin, it represents more than that today. That said, I hate the terms "public Ivy," "southern Ivy," etc. too. Why can't a school just be good in its own right?</p>
<p>Anyway, to get back on topic, your GPA is good. I think its acceptable for Penn and Cornell, although it doesn't guarantee you admission. Good luck!</p>
<p>ivy leagues are the best colleges in the world. though some of the the above colleges are very good, ivy leagues will always be a step above all other colleges (including stanford and mit even though they are not "official")</p>
<p>Not true, supindy. If the Ivy leagues were the best colleges in the world, every rankings list would have the top 8 colleges be Ivy leagues. Believe it or not, there are other good colleges across the U.S and around the world. </p>
<p>Yes, all 8 are top-notch schools, but they are not automatically "the best colleges in the world". Stanford and MIT are in no way associated with the Ivy league, and you saying that they're not "official" makes it sound like you think they should be in the league because they are good schools. </p>
<p>A good college is not an "unofficial Ivy", it's simply a good college.</p>