need help choosing, 4 year or community for transfer

<p>ok well basically i got into a 4 year college, that is a city college in new york called YORK college and it is not very reputable, and usually considered one of the worst 4 year colleges in new york city</p>

<p>my plan is to transfer as soon as possible, weather it be in 1 year or 2, as soon as i can, and i dont want to just transfer to a decent school, im aiming for columbia or cornell, now i need to know which would be a better option, me going to a 4 year college that isnt very good and maintianing good grades, like 3.5-3.8 gpa OR going to a community college which i got into (bmcc), which is considered the best community college in new york city and having 3.8-4.0 gpa. Which of those 2 options would give me the best chance of getting into cornell or columbia</p>

<p>Also my major will be in science either physics or chemistry, and i am pretty confident that i can maintain those grades stated above.</p>

<p>basically i need to know if what would have a better chance of getting into those colleges:</p>

<p>having a 3.3-3.36 gpa in one of the worst 4 year colleges in new york city </p>

<p>OR</p>

<p>having a 3.8-4.0 gpa in one of the best community colleges in the city</p>

<p>all other factors such as transportation, social environment, etc.... should not be considered because they do not matter to me making my decision.</p>

<p>PLEASE HELP my decision is due soon</p>

<p>Make an appointment with the Transfer Counselors at BMCC, and find out about their record of getting students into the universities that you would like to finish your degree at. There may even be a formal articulation agreement or guaranteed transfer program for one of the universities that you like.</p>

<p>Not knowing these two places, I would vote for the CC because it will have formal support systems that help you with your transfer process. At a 4-year institution, you would have to do all of the work on your own.</p>

<p>I’d talk to the staff of the community college about any programs they have set up for easy transfer and admittance into certain 4 year colleges. Often, there are programs in certain majors that if you complete certain courses with a certain minimum GPA, you have guaranteed transfer rights into certain 4 year colleges and are on schedule to graduate within a total of 4 years. Graduating on time can save tens of thousands of dollars, vs. needing a longer period to line up required classes for a certain degree. </p>

<p>You may find that Columbia and Cornell are an excessive reach, but that there are other high quality 4 year colleges that are happy to accept students who have proven themselves in community college.</p>

<p>The most selective colleges typically have very high graduation rates. This means they have few students dropout, so they have less interest in accepting transfer students to fill their classes.</p>

<p>You should also look at 4 year colleges where you might want to transfer and carefully read their policies. I know of one college that does not accept any credits from 2 year colleges, but that is unusual.</p>

<p>I agree with other posters.</p>

<p>The auto transfer agreements from Community College to a 4 year make your life much easier. Most CCs have this info available on their website. CC will have better support for the transfer process.</p>

<p>Columbia and Cornell are high reaches. As charlie stated, getting into some schools as a transfer is damn near impossible. If the CC has enrollment agreements with institutions you like then go the CC route knowing there are some schools which will be easier to transfer to if your “dream” schools don’t come through.</p>

<p>i checked with bmcc they only have 1 agreement that is to a a decent 4 year college, and that is with NYU, but you have to major in nursing for that, so it doesnt really work out for me, so should i still choose bmcc or the 4 year college, also you guys named good things about going to cc, so what are the bad or good things about me choosing to go to the 4 year college?</p>

<p>The worst things about going to a 4 yr with thoughts of transferring are:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Ease of transfer – Having faculty work with you for recommendations.</p></li>
<li><p>Taking courses that will transfer.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Best – You may actually like it and not transfer at all.</p>

<p>I would contact the CC and find out if there are other agreements not listed on the website.</p>

<p>Different divisions of Cornell have different arrangements with the NYS community colleges. Depending on your major, it might not be that difficult to get into Cornell after two years at BMCC. Check through the Cornell website, and if you can’t find anything specific about the major you think you’d be transferring into, pick up the phone and call them and ask.</p>

<p>i contacted them, nyu is the only decent college they have a agreement with and its for nursing, the rest are regular 4 year colleges</p>

<p>Did you contact Cornell specifically? I know that Cornell views transfers from the NYS CCs differently than they do transfers from other institutions. This isn’t necessarily the same thing as a formal agreement with BMCC for a specific major.</p>