Alright so in high school i had a 2.78 gpa and got a 27 on the act. I dropped out of community college three years ago with a 2.3 gpa. I was never a good student but we never new why. Long story short I recently learned I have severe memory and cognative issues and my brain wasnt functioning properly. Im doing experimental treatments to correct the issues and if everything works out as it should i’m planning on retaking all of my classes and getting 4.0 in all of them and retaking the ACT. If i do this would I be able to get into any Ivy Leagues (specifically Brown, Princeton and Cornell) or at least any top schools? I also am co founder of my own business, am heavily involved with local government, volunteer with local activist groups and worked at Disney world for 2 years.
Yes! You HS stats are the smallest part of your overall application as a transfer student. Mention your struggles and overcoming them now and the reasons why you want to go there and you will be good! Don’t retake the ACT, it’s a waste of time honestly, just focus on GPA, connections with professors and having a solid list of ec’s.
Your essay and letters of rec will be what has to carry you. Also think about safety and mid-reach schools like emory, vandy, unc etc.
THANK YOU!! literally this is so encouraging. Once im ready to fill out apps im literally going to apply to like 30 schools just to make sure. thank you so much!
Dont apply to 30 schools you’ll be dead. I applied to 16 schools and it was A LOT.
I would suggest for you to make a list of the schools you want to apply to with reasons why and make a strong list with reaches, safety and mid-reaches.
Most CCs have formal articulation agreements with public universities in the same state that guarantee transfer admission if a student has met the specific requirements for the agreement. Go meet with the Transfer Advisor at your CC, and find out about that. If you plan your program of studies well, you will have at least one automatic admission option. The Transfer Advisor will also be able to help you come up with a good target list for your major and your longer term goals. Do not focus over much on the Ivies. Focus on creating a list that will work for you.
I live in Florida and hate it with a burning passion lol so the colleges my CC has articulation agreements with are safeties. I would be fine going there if necessary but am trying to go somewhere up north
Colleges have limits on the number of courses students can take for grade replacement. At our state colleges the maximum number is 4. Students don’t get financial aid for retakes unless they failed and they need the class to graduate.
What’s your budget? If you want to transfer to a college in the Northeast where you can go will depend on how much you can pay.
I’m working with my CC to get some classes taken off my transcript and then the ones I can’t ill retake. I’m currently not paying anything for classes and I make a good chunk if money through work and I have a near perfect credit score so once I’m ready to transfer money won’t be too much of an issue which I know helps with admissions of schools that aren’t need blind.
Need blind just means your finances aren’t considered for admission.
I agree with @austinmshauri, you won’t be able to replace “all” of your grades and expect a 4.0.
In other words, they are not going to start you all over with a clean slate.
If that were possible, every CC student would retake every class and get a perfect 4.0.
I think you’ve misunderstood your CC information. If your CC were to attempt to wipe away all of your previously taken classes, and replace all of your aversive grades, then the CC would not have a decent/reputable record with the universities and any student from your CC would be denied.
Your retakes may help or might be averaged by the receiving school. You must list all of your previous college work. It is up to the receiving schools to decide what they will and what they wont accept for credit. Each school is different. Each of their admissions policies is different.
I hope you can afford $40-70K per year because transfers get little to no financial aid.
The ivies don’t have a lot of space for transfers.
We’re talking some schools may take 1-5 transfer students.
FYI: Brown, Princeton, and Cornell are need blind.
No no i understand I’m going to get as close to 4.0 as I can. I understand that before my therapies and surgeries the classes I took that I did poorly in will still be there and thats fine I’m just going to do my best going forward and work with what i have. And by retaking classes hopefully they can see that my current academic performance is a complete 180 from before. Yeah I’m fully aware of how stupid expensive the Ivies and other T20 schools are haha luckily my business is doing well enough that that is no longer an issue. And I know how small the acceptance rate is for transfers I just figure shoot my shot because my brain is fixed and I have the proof that I could make an impact there.
What do you mean your brain is “fixed”? What kind of issues did you have that “surgeries” and “experimental” treatments could correct? If you’re going to try to explain your lowish GPA to colleges it’s going to be difficult if you have a nontraditional diagnosis and alternative treatment options. If you had a medical issue (like a tumor) I wouldn’t retake any classes. I’d just include documentation so schools understand your challenges
You can’t borrow $30k or more per year for college. Banks won’t lend money without collateral and the federal student loans are only $6500/year for juniors and seniors. If you can attend college for free in FL get a degree there then move out of state. What do you want to study?