<p>I'm mentoring a student through the transfer process. He hopes to transfer for his sophomore year to another college that will give him more financial aid and get him out of NYC. Currently he attends NYU-Poly as a commuting student. During his first application round, he was accepted at RPI, rejected at Cornell, and waitlisted at Columbia. I'm not clear on his other apps but that should give a decent snapshot.</p>
<p>Here are his highschool stats:
-Inner city HS (South Bronx)
-4.0 GPA (Valedictorian)
-AP US History 4 (I think he took 1 or 2 other APs but did not get a 3)
-SAT 1720 (CR-520, M-590, W-610)
-SAT2 MI-610, MII-570, Chem-560
-Recent immigrant from Nigeria</p>
<p>NYU Poly</p>
<p>Projected 1st semester GPA 3.1-3.2
Courseload:
Intro to Engineering (sounds like a typical welcome to engineering school freshman course)
Intro Chem (for engineers)
Calc I
Engineering Forum (1 credit speaker series)
Humanities and Writing (writing requirement)</p>
<p>Seems light but he's not slacking--this is what NYU-Poly gives them as the standard for 1st semester freshmen.</p>
<p>Here is the list of potential places to transfer:</p>
<p>Syracuse
Lehigh
Cornell (big reach)
Columbia (big reach)
RPI
U of Rochester
RIT
Drexel?</p>
<p>My question to all of you is how would you assess his attractiveness as a candidate and what schools would you add or subtract from that list. Keep in mind, he's not prepared to be that far away from NYC.</p>
<p>I think he has a “hook”, the recent Nigerian immigrant situation. </p>
<p>The big issue to me is the financial aid one. I assume that by “better”, you mean a school that has more generous financial aid in general for its students. The problem is that many schools are substantially less generous to transfer admits than to freshman admits.</p>
<p>He may need to make comments in his apps about the, as you say, sort of light freshman schedule. If he can beef it up second term, I think that would be a good idea. Many of these schools have Engineering freshmen taking 18± credits per term.</p>
<p>I believe that Lehigh has transfer-specific admissions officer(s). I think it would be a good idea for you (as mentor) or the student to have a phone interview with this person, asking for an honest assessment of financial aid prospects should he be admitted. Ditto with RPI… not sure why he chose not to attend there at first, but a call to them saying that he now thinks it would be a better fit for him if readmitted (and I’m betting he would be) if the $$ could work.</p>
<p>Great good luck to you and him. My experience is that transfer admissions officers are a very helpful lot, and often take their “counselor” role quite seriously.</p>
<p>It seems that the various SUNY schools are not on the top of mind list for Engineering. But do any of them have decent programs in MechE and good prospects for financial aid? Just wondering.</p>
<p>Other possibles with no particular reason for suggesting them other than geography:
Trinity, CT
Lafayette, PA (LAC-like atmosphere with respected Engineering program)
Villanova - yes
Fairleigh Dickinson (safety?)
Hofstra (safety?)
Fairfield (safety?)</p>
<p>-He demonstrates substantial need–likely the overwhelming majority of the tuition anywhere. (By saying that transfer applicants don’t get good aid, would he be looking at more loans more often than not? Would a financial aid office see his exceptional need and his academic/personal profile and take leniency or are big loans standard across the board for transfers?)</p>
<p>Also, does anyone have a good sense of NYU-Poly itself? As far as I can tell it was local, not great engineering program that was swallowed recently by NYU. Does anyone know where it stands among these other schools and in general among engineering programs in the northeast?</p>
<p>Check out Stevens Tech. It is across the river from NYC in Hoboken, New Jersey. Strong and historical engineering school and they are usually pretty generous with financial aid. They are an unbelievable campus too.</p>
<p>Stevens Tech is still relatively low-ranked by US News. I do not think it is that worthwhile to go there.</p>
<p>I would suggest checking out SUNY Stony Brook and Buffalo. You can get a very decent engineering education at a relatively low cost. He might even be eligible for in-state tuition if he has a Green Card and is currently residing in New York.</p>
<p>I’m not saying Stevens Tech is a one of the best schools, but it is certainly a very credible school, especially for engineering. If your going to bash it based off the U.S. World News Reports it would probably look better if you actually took a look at it. It is ranked 86th. Not spectacular, but higher than SUNY Stony Brook (99th) and Buffalo (120th). Considering this student is also looking at Drexel (86th) it seemed like Stevens would be worth a suggestion. I think rankings are all bogus, They change too drastically from year to year to get an accurate perception of a schools value. The other reason I suggested Stevens is because your location, being in NYC. It might not be the school for you, but its definitely worth taking a look at.</p>
<p>BTW, I’m assuming if this student is an international student, He isn’t going to qualify for In-State in New York. From the information I have learned, it seems that he would probably be more likely to recieve a generous financial aid package at a private school instead of a state, especially as a transfer.</p>
<p>This is going to sound stupid, but I don’t think he should leave NYU-Poly. He’s probably getting a lot of financial aid here. Also, you said he doesn’t want to be that far from NYC. Plus, he’s struggling a bit at NYU-Poly and seeks a more rigorous/intensive education. A 3.1 GPA isn’t impressive lol. For a first semester? It gets harder, not easier. But he can find help here once he figures out where the resources are. If he wants to appeal for financial aid, maybe guide him through that process. Frankly…it sounds like he’s got an undeserved sense of entitlement. I’m sure he’s a wonderful, intelligent human being with great ambitions, and Poly can totally nurture/handle that. I don’t think one semester is a long enough period of time to get comfortable. I hated the city, and I dormed. It really grows on you, and then you come home to urban suburbia, and you crave action/something more dynamic.</p>
<p>If it’s money he wants, he should ask Poly for it. Or take out some loans. All college students do that lol</p>
<p>Well, that’s my two cents. I’ve probably been the opp of helpful but hey, worth a shot appealing haha :P</p>
I’m sure he’s a wonderful, intelligent human being with great ambitions, and Poly can totally nurture/handle that. I don’t think one semester is a long enough period of time to get comfortable. I hated the city, and I dormed. It really grows on you, and then you come home to urban suburbia, and you crave action/something more dynamic.</p>