<p>I phrased my question the way I did so as to not permit any confusion. You repeated “leg work” and “initiative” as if that was my concern. My concern was whether such a plan would fall in place before sophomore year. It is certainly reasonable to worry about something like that. I only brought up the time issue once, so there’s no need to be fussy about it.</p>
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<p>You didn’t say anything about student organizations that I didn’t already know. “Student organization” is such a broad and obvious option that I don’t even know why you even brought it up again as if I had missed it. I just ignored it because it was already something I was planning to be involved in.</p>
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<p>Once again, I already am familiar with the mechanics. I was wondering whether it was possible within 3 semesters. Thank you for clarifying, and sorry for being irritating.</p>
<p>Dear OP.
Currently I am a second year college student.</p>
<p>I understand just how bad the stress can be. I have been through it. I was the kid in high school who saw kid after kid get accepted to schools like UGA when I was rejected because of some mistake I made in the past. One kid who often showed off his accomplishments was accepted into Harvard and he teased me, one person said I was a disappointment and it hurt. All I can say is high school is a b*tch for some of us, for me the second semester of the senior year was the most painful because I was helpless, didn’t know if I ever had a chance at a top university or if I was going to end up a bum or what the heck does fate have in store for me.</p>
<p>I walked into college with a good attitude, confidence rose, grades rose and I understood that the past is the past. Leave it behind, if a college wants to reject me because my tough upbringing impacted my grades then let it be, I have other colleges to look at. My dream was to go to Stanford but the second I heard of that 1 percent transfer acceptance rate, well my dream was shot down but I can guarantee you that if you work hard at whichever top level school accepts you and if you stay committed. You will be better off than some Stanford or Harvard graduates.</p>
<p>Currently I have been accepted into UGA (the first college to accept me as a transfer), Georgia Tech, UConn and U of M college park.</p>
<p>I know how bad the second semester of your senior year of high school can be. You have been through so much and now you don’t even know how bad that bad grade in the 9th grade will haunt you for the rest of your life. I saw under qualified applicants with lower SAT scores than mines get into UGA because some were URMs and some went to easier high schools so their GPA was better. </p>
<p>I would sit in my room and look at the ceiling, my classmates were accepted into some good schools while I was not even accepted into the state flagship university. Kids who I knew outside of school were deciding whether they should go to Harvard or Yale while I was deciding whether I should go to a local tier 4 or a tier 4 in another town. I can say I kind of know how you feel.</p>
<p>Here are my recommendations (my professor told me that I will be able to get into Georgetown, he used to teach at Georgetown and he knows some people up there, must say I like my chances).</p>
<ol>
<li>First time you step into a college class, get on the task. Attend every class, take notes, study after class and work on the 4.0 GPA. Play time is OVER.</li>
<li>During the summer vacation after your senior year, plan out how you will get that 4.0 GPA and if you will be able to join any clubs. I say join about 4 or 5 clubs and during Spring break do something that you like and can put on your resume, I love socializing and teaching my skills to others so I did the alternative spring break program where I helped tutor kids.</li>
<li>Instead of using the spare time to vacation or just hang out with old friends, use it to rack up volunteer hours. I have over 200 of them from red cross. I will keep adding to them and they have helped me tremendously.</li>
<li>I know this sounds contradictory but enjoy. College is a good experience and honestly I am jealous of you. You get to go to college in NYC, heck, I am currently at a tier 4 university in the deep south. I would do so much to be in NYC because honestly the stereotypes about the deep south are pretty much true. You have MORE opportunities than I had at my university but I managed to make the most of them, you should do the same. Enjoy your first two years at college, make friends and socialize when you get the time, use the ECs as a way for you to become more social because believe it or not, TOP college LOVE that.</li>
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<p>I would really like it if I end up at Columbia or Penn but I know that those are top schools. If I don’t get in there as a transfer, there is always grad school and I know that will look great on my resume. You said you wanted to attend a top university because you think you can contend with the students there and chances are you can, but don’t obsess over going to a Columbia or an NYU. Make your list carefully, UNC Chapel Hill is ranked higher than NYU last time I checked and it has a 40 percent or so transfer acceptance rate. It is an excellent undergrad university that I wish I would have applied to.</p>
<p>Unless an undergrad education is all you will be getting, do not worry your brains off about getting into an Ivy. Apply to some if you like but do have those safeties and matches in place as well. Washington University in St Louis and Georgetown have higher transfer acceptance rates than all Ivies except Cornell and they send tons of students to the top grad programs.</p>
<p>Make your list now for the colleges you want to transfer to, by the end of your first year of college you should have your list finalized to about 10 or 11 schools or at least 8. Expand the web.</p>
<p>I started my list off with about 20 colleges and eventually I cut it down. I would recommend using college board and going to the admissions tab to see the transfer acceptance rate for some of the schools. Last time I checked it was around 30 percent for NYU and 6 percent for Columbia.</p>
<p>Last but not least, just chill out and do what you need to do, going to Columbia for your undergrad won’t make you into a millionaire and going to UConn for your undergrad won’t stop you. Many grown people have told me that what you do in college has a lot more of a say than where you go to college.</p>
<p>What if I don’t know exactly what I want to do? Do you think the most successful transfers knew exactly what their interest early on, both in their endeavors (in your first college) and in their prospection (in having and expressing interest in a particular school whose program is the perfect fit)?</p>
<p>Here are the advantages that I see in a situation where you know what you want to do or will do going into college:</p>
<p>(1) you’d know exactly what to look for in terms of clubs, internships, courses, and the like
(2) you’d be able to show dedication to a particular thing early on
(3) you’d know what types of programs and schools you’d want to transfer to, and thus would be able to build interest, which can grow into passion in your essays
(4) you’d possibly know early on whether you want to go to graduate school, which can change the course of things</p>
<p>Do you think being well-rounded (e.g., one semester doing tutoring, another semester interning at a law firm, and another semester competing in, and winning, a writing contest) is enough, or is that just padding?</p>
<p>I don’t think I communicated what I wanted to say correctly. I hope you know what I mean.</p>
<p>EDIT: Let me clarify. Baruch is known for business more than anything else. However, I don’t particularly want to do business, but I’m sure I can get into it given exploration. So should I go into college with the mindset of a prospective transfer applicant, suck it up, and just make business my interest? Or should I plan on going to graduate school (if things don’t work out in undergrad, I can still be successful in grad) and thus pick something like accounting as my major, and be a lawyer? Do you know what I mean?</p>
<p>Community college is PERFECT for undecided students. You counselor is there to help students who are unsure of what they want to do.</p>
<p>And as for ECs, don’t obsess over what colleges will think. Colleges only look at your ECs because they want to see what kind of a person you are. I’m assuming you have some interests in mind so use clubs to explore that. And in your application just mention how you used community college as an opportunity to fully explore your options and how that eventually led you to choose a certain major and career path.</p>
<p>But don’t choose random ones because that will look like padding. Choose clubs that you know will be of high interest to you and stick to those commitments. It looks better to participate in something for a long period of time than to join a bunch of clubs for a few weeks.</p>
<p>So are you saying I should go to community college instead of CUNY? The problem isn’t being undecided in itself. I want to find my interests as fast as possible so I can show who I am through my interests. The solution is geared towards going to a great school, whether it be transferring to a better undergraduate school or doing well and going to a top graduate school (or both). Surely going to community college will hinder my chances of transferring, which would in turn hinder my chances at graduate school, no? So yes, I’d develop my interests at a CC, but in the end I may not be where I want to be institutionally, which is my goal.</p>
<p>In other words, not strictly speaking, I don’t care what I do as long as I am at a good (I’m going to avoid top in this sentence) college. I’d do better in a top college than I would at a lesser college just because I’d be happier.</p>
<p>Pro tip: Always try your hardest no matter where you are. Sometimes you never know what you’re success will get you thinking and eventually better grades will assist you in some way anyway. I’m at a school I don’t think I can really stand any longer but I’ve managed to pull a 3.81 and now hopefully I’ll be transferring out next semester and I never thought I’d end up doing it, so I’m sure as hell glad I tried as hard as I did.</p>