<p>I have a question - I have a mediocre gpa for high school but I took all AP/Honors clases and I have a really strong list for extra curriculars (student govt, newspaper editor, dance, etc.) If I were to go to a public university like UMass and do really well (which is supposedly not difficult to do), do you guys think i stand a chance for transfer to columbia after 1 year? I'd really appreciate your help. Thanks!</p>
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f I were to go to a public university like UMass and do really well (which is supposedly not difficult to do),
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<p>Don't kid yourself. You need to do extremely well to have a shot at a transfer. Going in with the attitude that it will be easy to do well in college is inappropriate, especially given that you didn't do as well as you liked in high school (which is undoubtedly easier than college).</p>
<p>Do well in college and revisit the situation once you get some grades.</p>
<p>A 4.0 applicant to Columbia is neither rare nor special. I don't even think a 3.5 is safe unless you're taking insanely difficult courses. Columbia has GPA 'suggestions' on their website for transfers--consider those a bottom line.</p>
<p>Also, SO MANY kids claim they will transfer, but the vast majority find themselves happy at their school and do not transfer. Of the 17,000 kids who got rejected from Columbia, I'm sure several thousand said they'd apply for transfer, but Columbia gets just over 1,000 applicants.</p>