<p>I have been accepted for Purdue Fall 2007. I was rejected at MIT/Caltech/HYP and waitlisted at Penn. Should I join Purdue and then try for a transfer at these places again ( and berkeley/UCLA/Uchicago) or should I drop an year and re-apply?</p>
<p>I am an international student from India.
SAT1- 2190
SAT II ( PCM) - 760/740/740</p>
<p>Have decent ECs/superb recs/ Full GPA. </p>
<p>Essays werent personalized at all. I guess that is what screwed up my application for Fall 2007 at HYP and the others.</p>
<p>Transferring into those top places are a complete crap shoot and improbable after only a year. As for U-Chicago/UCLA/Cal you will certainly have a shot, though being international makes things a bit trickier. </p>
<p>It boils down to what you are studying, how much finaid will you be getting. From personal experiences I would say Purdue has a grade- C- finaid department, and if I were only given such options I would have taken a year off and reapplied, in the meantime strengthening my application with work-experience/internship/research.</p>
<p>What is your major? Purdue is a top school in, say, Engineering. If you were in such a field, no need to try transferring.</p>
<p>If you do want to try for a transfer, you will need to include some more match/safe schools on your list. Or you may have the same results as this year. Perhaps worse - many of those schools transfer acceptance rates are even lower than their freshmen rates. Princeton doesn't accept transfers at all, as I understand it.</p>
<p>I agree with Andale. Purdue as a top 10 engineering school and a top 20 buisness school. Unless you're in majoring in a science or an art, it wouldn't be bad at all.</p>
<p>You could try again with a good college GPA, but it'd still be a crapshoot.</p>
<p>He is interested in MIT and Caltech, as well as University of Chicago. The former are most known in science and engineering, but the latter does not even have a school of engineering, hence I am thinking the OP is a major in the science or math. That was part of the basis of my opinion. But I also am personally not to fond of Purdue since the engineers there are the most immature douche-baggy I have ever met in my life. (a select group I know, but what they did to me still haunts me to a certain degree), so take what I was with a grain of salt toward Purdue itself, but if the decision were say a different OOS state college I would probably maintain the same opinion.</p>
<p>I have been accepted in the College of Engineering at Purdue - and though i have chosen Electrical and Computer Engg as my major , I hope to major in Industrial Engg too as Purdue gives the flexibility of double majors.</p>
<p>Financial Aid - I am an international student so I received no aid. However I did get approximately 20000$ ( Merit Based Scholarship). And apparently the scholarships from the dept are attractive too. However, finances are NOT a problem for me - so I wudnt mind shelling out as much as 40000$ a year for Harvard.</p>
<p>Btw does transfer imply that I have to leave purdue whether or not i get another univ?</p>
<p>@Seiken - cal as in caltech right?</p>
<p>Btw how lucrative are the job opportunities for Purdue Engg grads? And does your undergrad make a difference when you are applyin for an MBA from a top notch school like Harv Business School?</p>
<p>What are my chances at a Penn transfer? Though is Penn Engg worth it?</p>
<p>Cal refers to Berkeley, not Caltech (it was the first University of California).</p>
<p>University of Chicago, as mentioned, does not have a school of engineering so you should scratch that off your list. </p>
<p>Transfer does not mean you have to leave your university even if you DO get in; you can choose to stay or not.</p>
<p>Purdue Engineering grads to get typically good job opportunities, though based on what my dad says (someone who knows engineering education everywhere, and got a BS in Idustrial E as well then got an MBA) its more midwest-known. If you were to want a job on either costs you would be better off going to a public school on those sides, such as UCSD or UVa. </p>
<p>BUT if you plan to go for an MBA program, typically it does not matter where you go for undergrad, unless you can pull off a 5.0 at MIT. If you were to go to an easier school chances are you would get a higher GPA which would offset the prestige bonus you get a more prestige-based school since you would likely get a lower GPA. At which point, if you get ur MBA from Harvard, the fact that you go ur BSIE at Purdue would really mean nothing toward determining how lucrative your job opportunites are post-MBA. </p>
<p>And some special notes:</p>
<p>Engineering at HYP are somewhat under developed in engineering when you compare to other schools. I would say shoot them off your list as well and apply (whether transfer or frosh again) to:</p>
<p>Cornell
Harvey Mudd
Franklin Olin College of Engineering
UCSD
Carnegie Mellon</p>
<p>PS whether or not your friend made it into Stanford or Yale does not dictate it was necessarily a good idea to to do so. They are good schools, but postponing your education is ultimately putting your life on hold for a year which is generally a negative. </p>
<p>And when it comes to reapplying a year later as a frosh, I do not think it can hurt your chances all too much less you screwed up senior year. But if in the meantime you strengthened your application it certainly could not hurt.</p>
<p>@ Seiken - Hey thanks a ton for the advice buddy... btw aint it possible to move to Uchicago with economics as a transfer since I already have a math background? </p>
<p>HYP - yeah you are right about the engineering thing. But then an ivy is an ivy!</p>
<p>Yes i will definitely be doing an MBA. How easy is it to get one from Harv? </p>
<p>And what about the Penn transfer? Then a Wharton MBA might be a possibility.</p>
<p>The real trouble is deciding about the one-year gap. I hadnt applied to CMU/the UCs/ UChicago/ UMich/ UIUC as a freshman and am regretting it now. At least if a transfer possibility is there, I could have some hope.</p>
<p>You do not need to take SATs again, though taking the ACTs could help if you score better on it (another thing to boost your chances eh?)</p>
<p>Anyways, I had a somewhat similar predicament about a year ago. I was admitted to Harvey Mudd, Berkeley, and given a full scholarship to UC Riverside. I almost took the year off for a social thing (related to the Purdue thing mentioned above) but ended up not when my principal called me on my cellphone personally to tell me that it was important for me to continue my education and to definitely not take a year off for the reason I was considering. (will describe at bottom) Personally it actually did teach me a lot of thing, and I have a better understanding of myself afterwards. So to a certain degree I encourage it, but I can say for a fact you will not need the same epiphanies I did.
*
btw aint it possible to move to Uchicago with economics as a transfer since I already have a math background?</p>
<p>HYP - yeah you are right about the engineering thing. But then an ivy is an ivy!*</p>
<p>Yes, you could transfer into U Chicago for econ but if you are into engineering why go into economics. I understand it is world-famous for its econ departments, but I think a BSIE + MBA would be more versatile than an econ + MBA even if the econ was at UC.</p>
<p>As for Ivys, I mentioned Cornell, which happens to be easier to get into, has a top notch engineering program AND is an Ivy. It is also easy to transfer into. I got into there and U Chicago for transfer but will attending elsewhere. </p>
<p>And as for getting into Top MBA program, it varies from college to colleges as their personal preferences (though 4.0 + research/internships always gets top priority). But I know nothing so I will remain silent on this tone. But I will say my dad went to a small MBA program and now makes 170k per year in SoCal as a person who employs chem and industrial engineers, so its not the end of the world no matter where u go; you determine you success. </p>
<p>As for my reasons for almost not going to college (I guess they could be relevent since they present my unique situation); I had a gf at the time whose parents were not to fond of me. She was scheduled to go to the same college as me (and really wanted to go) but her parents wouldnt let her since they thought I was a no-good loser (2nd in my class of 420 = winning loser) so I almost did not go so she could. In the end she ended up going to Purdue where she was more or less forced to change to fit in and bombed her GPA, and consequently got disowned by her parents. Through that is how I also managed to encounter the OOS engineers @ Purdue I mentioned (all spoiled kids from Cali rejected from upper UCs and decent privates, ie wannabe engineers). So the fact that I learned a lot from my not-taking-a-year-off thing does not mean you will face the same ending. Though it could result you going to your dream college like it is for me.</p>
<p>@ seiken - DUDE! we are so damn similar man! evn i have this gf thing now...and in india its hell. tho its not the reason for my usa predicament.</p>
<p>I dont know if taking a gap year is the best idea..Stanford accepts approximately 7-8 students from India each year..Caltech takes in about 3-4..MIT would possibly accept a similar number of students from here..(probably in the range of 5-8) From India, getting into a very good college is very hard, no matter how good you are..</p>
<p>Then again, transferring to a top college is extremely difficult..Caltech takes about 3 transfer students only..stanford took just 20 this year because their yield was very high..If the same thing happens next year, the prospects for transfer students would be very low..</p>
<p>I know someone who took a gap year and then got into wharton..But the number of Indians accepted at top universities like MIT, Stanford, Caltech, HYP is so low that its impossible to say with certainty whether you would have a significant chance of getting in even after a gap year..Taking a gap year would surely increase chances of getting in(considering you do something worthwhile in that year) , but would your chances be high enough to be one of those 7 accepted at stanford? Hard to say..</p>
<p>Approximate numbers from both viewpoints(freshman and transfer) are there..It is now up to you to decide where you think you have a better chance..
You could also consider applying to good UK universities(oxbridge,Imperial, LSE,etc.) You could apply as a freshman..Your one year of college experience(considering you join purdue) would be an advantage..And since engineering courses take 3 yrs there, you wouldn't even be wasting a year..But, I think you would need A levels for that..Have you done A levels? If you have, this would be a good option to consider too..</p>