Looking for advice on my transfer! Please help!

Parents Forum
1

<p>Hey everybody,
I was recommended by ColumbiaMom to post here in hope that I would be able to gain some realistic insight about my situation. </p>

<p>I’m currently a freshman at NYU in the General Studies Program and I’m definitely looking to transfer. Unfortunately, the expectations I came in with have fallen well short of the reality I’m in. I believe most of the problem is credited to GSP. Of the six people that graduated from my high school and went to NYU, five went to Stern and I was left in GSP. I have become very discouraged because I don’t want to be associated with the program at all. I feel as if kids’ parents have bought their admission and its unbelievable how they are even in the school. Here is my high school transcript that basically tells the story of why I am where I am:</p>

<p>Freshman Year GPA: 2.9 (No Accelerated Classes)
Sophomore Year GPA: 4.115 (No Accelerated Classes)
Junior Year GPA: 4.085 (4 Accelerated Classes, 2 AP Classes)
Senior Year GPA: 4.255 (3 Accelerated Classes, 3 AP Classes)
Old SAT Score: 1260 (600 Verbal, 660 Math)
I graduated with six years of science classes and five years in math.
(Grading system at high school: 2.5 C+, 3.0 B, 3.5 B+, 4.0 A, 4.5 A+)
I went to St. Joseph High School (Top 50 Catholic Schools in the nation, all boys, highly competitve)</p>

<p>As you can see, my life has been revolved around improvement thus far. By transferring, I’m hoping to continue this trend. Ever since my dreadful freshman year, school and work have been my life. It has become almost like an obsession because I expect such high things for myself. All day, everyday all I think about is my standing in one class or the next. Honestly, I feel like its debilitating sometimes. Just for the fact that I set such high expectations for myself that they may be unrealistic and when I don’t get there, I feel like I disappointed myself. But, I guess its better to be over motivated than under motivated. Anyway, here are my college stats thus far:</p>

<p>Calculus I A-
Prose Composition I B+
Social Foundations I A
Cultural Foundations I A
16 Credits (3.75 GPA, Dean’s List)</p>

<p>Spring Semester
Economics II
Prose Composition II
Social Foundations II
Cultural Foundations II
Success at College: Thriving at NYU (Only one credit, but I figured any advice they could give me about improving couldn’t hurt. It’s pass/fail as well)
17 Credits (GPA should be in the same range as first semester, if not higher)</p>

<p>In regard to clubs, I was very involved in high school because they were a big part of the school. So, hopefully you can give me the benefit of the doubt here. At NYU, it isn't such a big deal because of the lack of community here, everyone does their own thing. As a result, I haven’t been very involved since the beginning of the year where I did community service projects all over the city. I racked up about 25 hours doing it. Also, I have had two jobs since the beginning of the year (I don’t know if that matters). I work at Best Buy on West. 23rd and 6th Ave and intern at FGI Finance (Faunus Group International) on Wall Street as an Inside Sales Rep.</p>

<p>I want to major in Applied Mathematics at EAS and minor in Economics. So, do you think I should just stay put at NYU or take a shot? In my previous post, I was told I might have a shot at ivy leagues if I got everything in quickly. If any, I would love Columbia, U Penn, Dartmouth or Brown. Mainly because they’re the only “realistic” ones. My family isn’t the richest so I don’t want to spend $250 in apps at places I don’t stand a shot at so please be brutally honest. If none of these, can you please suggest any other schools that would be better NYU academically (That’s the only factor that matters for me)? Thank you so much for taking the time to read this (if you still are haha) and helping!</p>

<p>Also, does it matter if I hand the application in early at any of them?
I have a cousin who got her PhD and family friend got his MBA at Columbia. If I get letters of recommendation from them, would it help my chances?</p>

<p>PS. For anyone who doesn't know what GSP is at NYU it is sort of like a probationary acceptance in my opinion. (Another reason I don't want to be here, I still don't feel like I go here). You are accepted into a program with a pretty stiff curriculum to pursue and get your AA. After your sophomore year when you've completed your coursework and you have a GPA of 3.0 or better, you are guarenteed admission into the school that you originally applied. In my case, it was CAS. But, you saw my stats above which would explain why I'm here. Also, I came to NYU with the thought of transferring in the back of my mind, I wanted to use it as a stepping stone to a higher academic school. They gave me a chance and I feel like I've kept up to my promise that I had in my application of not disappointing their expectation for me by continuing my upward trend. Now, I'm hoping an ivy will give me that same chance. Am I jumping the gun too much for an ivy or is it possible?</p>

<p>THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!</p>

2

<p>I'm going to bump this up for you since I suggested you post here. I know there are many of you out there who can offer some great advice to this poster. Carolyn? Anybody else?</p>

3

<p>Hah, I might not need it anymore. Someone just sorta tore me apart on my other post, but they were honest so I can't take it personally. Columbia is officially out of the running! lol</p>

4

<p>anyone please??</p>

5

<p>I'm sorry for flooding my own post with my own replies, but I really want to know what you guys thing I should do because I'm going to adjust my actions accordingly. If you think I should give it a shot, I'd like to start as soon as possible so my work ethic and persistence is shown. If not, I'd like to stop worrying about it! hah</p>

6

<p>bump... can I have just one response? This is getting embarrassing..</p>

7

<p>Clear your PM box so I can send you something.</p>

8

<p>Primetime,
Sounds like you are doing very well at NYU, especially knowing that you are not happy there. I think your expectations are a little high for the ivy leagues. Isn't the median SAT score for all the ivy schools over 1300? And the amount of transfer students is pretty slim.... Have you considered schools like Lehigh or Lafayette or R.P.I?</p>

9

<p>Would you consider those to be superior to NYU academically? That's all I worry about. If you think this is the best school I could be at just let me know, I'm willing to just grind it out. (Could Georgetown or Notre Dame be reaching too far as well?) </p>

<p>Maybe I should wait till the end of my sophomore year so I can distance myself from the less than stellar SAT score..</p>

10

<p>Primetime,
I'm going to reply again in hopes that someone with more knowledge then me responds. Lehigh and Lafayette are known for their math/engineering, they're not better then NYU but for your field, I think they might be a better fit. C'mon parents we need more input here!</p>

11

<p>hah thank you for trying. The parents have been very good to me. I've gotten a ton of private messages asking for more information, it's great. Thank you everyone!</p>

12

<p>radical idea...call the transfer admissions person at Columbia, make an appointment, and for the cost of a subway swipe, get some guidance from the horses mouth.</p>

13

<p>i personally think nyu is overrated.. i have many friends there and they all rave about the city but they are all, except one in the school of social work, pretty ambivalent about their coursework.
HOWEVER. there are people who love it and who succeed and are challenged and go on to lead good lives. why don't you just stick it out and see what happens in cas?
you must have applied to nyu for a reason, and it's pretty different from schools like dartmouth and even columbia. for one, columbia students make fun of nyu students constantly and have serious superiority insecurities. i would say give columbia's school of general studies a shot. i know that sounds like you would be in the same place you are now except with the prestige of an ivy, but i've heard only good things about columbia's gs and, well, only bad things about nyu's.
college is entirely what you make of it. why dont you try adding some extracurriculars or taking an extra class or two? nyu does have a reputation for being a good school (deserved or not) and i bet in cas when you're taking classes in your major you will be more interested.
don't focus so much on grades.. i know for a fact that extracurriculars do exist at nyu, you just have to make more of an effort at joining them and making friends. you should be looking for personal challenge.. not just academic.. and it seems like you have it right in front of you. it's great that you have improved academically so dramatically, that is something to be proud of... maybe now is the time for some personal growth too? and honestly what better place than new york.</p>

14

<p>Absolutely, well said. I definitely want to try Columbia GS just to escape the embarrasement of NYU's. Do you know anything about it? How does it work?</p>

15

<p>well, i dont really see why nyu is embarrassing.. it is a very selective institution with a good reputation, and you will graduate with a cas degree, right? that is pretty impressive. and most of my friends say that you go to nyu to be cool and if you say you go to nyu people automatically think you are cool.. granted these friends are nyu students but still..</p>

<p>but the name of columbia will probably mean more to employers, and columbia is awesome and gorgeous and has more community than nyu (though certainly not as much as dartmouth or other rural schools may).. i dont really know how the gs program works (sorry, i'm at barnard), but you should check out the website and maybe come up here to campus to see if you like it, it's only about a 15 minute subway ride if you take the express.</p>

16

<p>Primetime,</p>

<p>Given the circumstances that you described, I can't say that I have much sympathy for you unless you've discovered that you're unhappy at NYU because of the general environment or because of the academics.</p>

<p>It appears that you're dissapointed because you perceive that you are not in the "real" NYU. What??? Won't your BA/BS have the words "New York University" printed on it? Moreover, in my opinion you're complaining about an agreement and program that you willingly and readily accepted. And now you want to vamoose and "drop your dance partner" for whom you perceive to be a prettier date.</p>

17

<p>I normally do not do chances but at this time I do not think that you have a realistic chance for a successful transfer into Columbia, Dartmouth, Penn,or Brown because at this time because with only one term under your belt your high school grades and SAT scores are still going to be a big part of the equation.</p>

<p>You state that if you continue to do well at GS, that you can transfer into CAS (your original choice). </p>

<p>This is bad why?</p>

<p>Your college experience is going to be what you make of it. You can continue to wallow in self pity because you are not at the "school you want to be in and how does that look" and this perception is clouding your whole experience at NYU.</p>

<p>I think you should stick it out at NYU and find ways to become more connected to the campus and community. Do you think you would have been more connected it you had been admitted to CAS from day 1.</p>

<p>Remember that the grass is not always greener on the otherside, it can be astroturf.</p>

<p>I agree with lake washington that at this point you seem more concerned about perception.</p>

<p>IMHO,</p>

<p>If OP is a student at the school of GS NYU, and views it as a "lesser school" that he does not want to be associated with. Then why would you want to apply to the same school at another university? Is being at the GS school more appealing because it is Columbia's?</p>

<p>Op may not to be able to apply/ attend to GS because:</p>

<p>The School of General Studies (GS) is the college at Columbia University created specifically for students who pursue a nontraditional path to complete a B.A. or B.S. degree. Nontraditional students include persons whose education since high school has been interrupted or postponed for at least one academic year or individuals who for personal or professional reasons have a compelling reason to attend college on a part-time basis.</p>

<p>I do not know if this pertains to OP but keep in mind..</p>

<p>Applicants may not simultaneously apply to the School of General Studies and to any other undergraduate division of Columbia University (Columbia College or the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science), nor are candidates eligible to apply to the School of General Studies if in the last three years they applied to any of these divisions and were not accepted.</p>

18

<p>I think you should stay at NYU. NYU has a fine reputation. If you do well there your future will be bright. I think you should focus on continuing to do well and moving into CAS by junior year.</p>