Should we Re-Apply or Transfer

I am in 12th grade and only applied to 4 colleges outside of Ivy league colleges, since I didn’t get in Ivy league for Fall 2017 should / can I re-apply next year to few colleges I didn’t apply this year? I got into couple of Honors non Ivy colleges but not sure if I should join as freshman and try to apply as a transfer student?

My SAT score in Jan 2016 is 2280 Math - 720, Writing -780 and Critical Reading 780 My subject test scores are also 750 + with GPA of 4.35 and I am involved good extra curricular activities including NHS and NTHS

I am not sure if I can take a year off and reapply next year again to Ivy and other colleges but in the meantime improve my scores and if that helps?

Thanks!

Is this a serious question? You applied to 4 non-Ivy schools, I assume they were match and safety schools? About 90% of applicants don’t get admitted to Ivy schools, so choose your match school and attend there.

Unfortunately it is the fact and yes they were safety schools and i got in all 4 of them. I now realize my mistake and so I am here looking for options.

Your scores are not out of the ballpark and there are many many with perfect scores that don’t get in the Ivies. It is unlikely you would get in by re-applying either, sorry to be blunt, so go where you are wanted - one of the honors programs sounds interesting.

@MAGAUSA

What are your four choices? Do you have a preference? Are they affordable?

It is unlikely that taking a gap year and reapplying would make a difference WRT Ivy acceptances as they are reaches for everybody. How would you feel if you spent a year waiting and got the same result?

A quality flagship university with a well-developed honors program can be a wonderful option. There are many qualified students just like you that take this route due to rejections, finances, or both.

Chance of admitting by Ivies next year would be low anyway. You should have applied to at least one true safety school (one that is afforable, very likely to be admitted, and YOU WILL ATTEND) and several matches besides all those reach schools. There is no reason to apply to a school if you do not want to attend at the end. If you are aiming for merit aids, the best ones only go to freshmen, not transferred student. However, taking a gap year also means delaying your graduation which also has a cost to it. If you do not need merit aid, transferring to better college next year may be a better choice.

Northeastern, Rensselaer, NJIT Honors, Rutgers Honors are the 4 I got in and for NJIT & Rutgers its a free ride while for other 2 its about 55K+ out of pocket every year

Can you pay $55k a year?
If not, Rutgers and NJIT are your options.
What major are you looking at?

A list will come out May 1 of college that still have openings. There are typically some good schools on there. You might want to peruse that list. And some schools with rolling admission are still taking apps. UAH is one often mentioned with great merit aid and very good engineering. Hopefully others will chime in with suggestions

Rutgers Honors, do well, then apply to transfer if you still want to. Cornell has most favorable transfer rate at 20%+ admitted. University of Pennsylvania’s transfer admit rate is 9-10%. You can look up other selective schools to see how many transfers they take.

Don’t delay college to try the ivys again. You can get a great education at Rutgers.

I did Rutgers Honors due to cost (free vs. a sum my family could not afford at more selective schools). I had an amazing time, went into Philly and NYC frequently, made great friends, and had outstanding mentors. At the time, New Brunswick was a bit of a dive; it’s much better now and I hear the dedicated Honors housing is nice.

With my undergrad degree from Rutgers, I got full tuition & stipend offers from graduate programs at Cornell and Johns Hopkins. I finished by doctorate with zero debt. Think about it!

That’s a very good and encouraging info! Thanks for sharing

My dad is willing to do anything if I want to go but I know it might be a bit stretch if not crazy. My mom is of the opinion to go for Masters or transfer to Ivy’s but for now to go with Rutgers or NJIT
I am going for Computer Science.

I don’t think there’s much point in taking a gap year and reapplying – you’re likely to see the same results, where you’ll be admitted to several match and safety schools but you will be full pay at the match schools. So it’s a question of whether it’s worth it to pay that amount.

You really can’t do better than a full ride. What if you apply to other schools next year and your acceptances really aren’t any better, but you don’t get a full ride this time around? You’ll have given that benefit up for nothing.

I think your mom has the right idea – take the full ride; that will leave you money to go to grad school with if that’s what you want. And if your grades are good you will be able to go to a prestigious school (for fewer years than you need for a BA/BS, so it will be cheaper!)

Who is the “we” referring to in the subject of this thread? Should “we” reapply? Who is “we”?

Wouldn’t it be just the student?

I had no idea of losing aid / scholarship if I reapply.
We =me and my dad.
BTW my composition ACT score is 34 and my old SAT conversion to new comes out to 1570 /1600 so I am not sure if I have any chance…or option I should consider.

Two free rides to choose from is a good result. Just pick one and go.

You already got in to RPI.

Why would you think you’d be able to do better than the RPI tier after a gap year or in the transfer process?

Your stats are within range, but tons with your stats get denied from the Ivies/equivalents. Far more get denied than get in, as far as I know.

Is money going to be an issue?

As others have stated, the two free rides come off of the table if you do not attend one this fall after graduation (they cannot be deferred)

I only know one person crazy enough to try to reapply for an Ivy because s/he didn’t get in. This person got into top LACs and an Ivy equivalent in another geographic region. Turned those all down b/c s/he wants so badly to get into one particular Ivy. Is currently taking a year off and spending the year in another country doing a sport. I think the plan is that s/he will get an athletic recruit after a full year playing sport plus the language skills of being in another country. The thinking is that might tip the scales finally for this particular Ivy.

I have my doubts.

You never know what will happen. This family seems to be able to play the system, though, so they might get their wish this time too. I hope that it all makes them as happy as they expect it will.

In my world Ivies do not necessarily equal happiness. Not by a long measure.

I agree with the others to take a Full Ride and either transfer or find your home in one of your many great choices. Save the debt for grad school.

Take the free ride. Transferring in or re-applying to an Ivy League school is not going to happen. There are other ways into Ivy League schools over the long run, however. It must be meticulously planned, and probably only works for non-STEM majors.