I’m applying for colleges right now and after seeing all of the different options for schools I’ve got a few questions. To begin, my ACT score isn’t quite where I want it to be. So as I’m applying I’m debating whether it’s better to just apply to a school that I know I can get into right now and then focus on getting my score up and when it’s to where I want apply to a bigger school as a transfer student? I don’t know much about transferring schools, but does apply as a transfer student later hurt my chances of getting in vs. applying as a new incoming student?
To add to the part of applying to a school that I know I can get into: say I were to get my associates and/or bachelors then transfer to a bigger/more prestigious does that have any affect on my chances of getting into that school?
Just to be clear: Are you a high school senior now? Is your concern that you want to go to a “big name” school but you might not be able to get in?
You should be looking for schools where you would be happy, that are academically a good fit to what you are capable of doing (which is probably related to what you have already done in high school), and that you and your family can afford. There are a LOT of very good schools in the US, and you don’t need to go to a “big name” school to be a success. In my work I see MIT graduates working next to UMass graduates and UNH graduates all the time, and no one cares anymore where someone went to school some number of years ago. People care what their coworkers / colleagues / employees can do, and whether they are reasonable people to work with.
If you go into a university intending to transfer out, then you are likely to be unhappy.
Usually schools are significantly more difficult to get into as a transfer student rather than as an applicant straight out of high school. The exception is when there are some sort of agreement between community colleges and state universities. I will admit that I don’t understand those agreements well.
Do you need financial aid? Freshman applicants usually have better financial aid opportunities vs transfers. Some schools do not require HS grades or test scores for transfer depending upon the # of units you have completed prior to transfer.
What are your current stats and what schools are you targeting?
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To begin, my ACT score isn't quite where I want it to be. So as I'm applying I'm debating whether it's better to just apply to a school that I know I can get into right now and then focus on getting my score up and when it's to where I want apply to a bigger school as a transfer student? I don't know much about transferring schools, but does apply as a transfer student later hurt my chanc <<<
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The SAT and ACT is a test for high school students, not college students. Usually when you transfer, your SAT or ACT isn’t used.
Going to a school with the idea of later transferring is a bad idea because you’ll never embrace the school. You’ll just treat it like a hotel room…temporary.
What are your test scores?
How much will your parents pay each year? Ask them, please don’t guess. We see later posts from a lot of disappointed students who thought their parents would pay more.
If you need aid, then realize that transfer students usually get inadequate aid.
“say I were to get my associates and/or bachelors then transfer to a bigger/more prestigious …”
Suppose that you got your Bachelor’s degree at a good school (such as an in-state public school) and wanted to go to graduate school at a top ranked school. In this case it is not considered “transferring”. Rather, graduate schools admissions is pretty much a new round of applications. However, it is very common for students from good in-state public schools to go on to graduate school at top ranked universities such as Stanford. In fact this is perfectly normal. What the graduate students at Harvard and Stanford and other top ranked schools have in common is that they typically did very well at whatever undergraduate school they attended.
Ah that makes sense. So what your saying is that if I do get my Bachelor’s from a good in-state college and want to go to a top school for my masters and to graduate then it’s going to be an entirely different application?
“So what your saying is that if I do get my Bachelor’s from a good in-state college and want to go to a top school for my masters and to graduate then it’s going to be an entirely different application?”
Yup, and your high school grades and ACT won’t matter at all. How you do in university will matter, and you might need to take the GRE (or MCAT if applying to medical schools). However, you don’t need to worry about all of this for nearly 4 years – except to go to a good school for undergrad (there are a LOT of good schools), avoid going too far into debt, and do well at university.
Awesome! Thanks so much!
“Usually schools are significantly more difficult to get into as a transfer student rather than as an applicant straight out of high school.” <---- that is incredibly inaccurate. I would take what some people say here with a grain of salt. Let’s take a look at UVA for example. When I applied as a freshman into college out of high school to UVA, the acceptance rate was a little over 30% for instate students. For transfers, the in state acceptance rate for both sophomore/junior transfers was 52% approximately. Transferring is a hell of a lot easier than out of high school for most in state schools. The only exception that “DadTwoGirls” might be correct in is ivy league and other private institutions.