For a little background: I am currently enrolled at Cornell University but am now strongly considering transferring to a school in California. My dream in high school was to go to college in California, but I was recruited to play a sport at Cornell and chose that route. However, I have decided that it is best to follow my real interests and wish to pursue my studies on the West Coast. Currently, I have about a 3.6 gpa after completing my sophomore year and would have to take a semester/year off since I am late in applying.
Intended major?
What you can afford to pay each year?
Home state?
Are you looking to get recruited for your sport?
What type of school are you looking for such as a large public or smaller small private?
Why California and do you plan to stay after graduation?
Thank you both for your quick replies. I am looking to be an econ major and have the prerequisites done for most school’s programs. I am from Maryland, but have visited California several times; the why is hard to answer except that it just feels right. The sport I play is one that schools on the west coast do not have, but I would play club. I would prefer a larger school such as one of the UCs, but I have a friend who graduated from pitzer and loved it so would be open to any of the claremont mckenna schools as well.
Actually, could be lacrosse - very popular in Maryland. The UC’s will not give you any money. Can your family afford the full cost at those schools? With 2 years already in at Cornell, have you considered just finishing there? You can always move to California after you graduate if you still want to be in California. Good luck.
Why don’t you finish up where you are and then move to CA? If/when covid clears you could consider doing a semester (or maybe even a year) abroad or perhaps in an Cornell-approved program in CA to break things up.
Wow, playing D1 ice hockey or LAX at Cornell is pretty cool and very impressive. Finish up at Cornell and do grad school here. I’d play the puck or whatever the LAX players throw around. Shuttlecock? ?
I agree with the consensus above, finishing at Cornell then moving to CA for work is probably the smoothest path forward. I like the study abroad idea too…
its pretty late for next year - and It seems most of the CA public schools are leaning toward distance learning for most classes for Fall. So, you even if you found a way in, you wouldn’t be having the CA student experience you are looking for. (not to mention paying for)
That said, I think many private colleges are scrambling for full pay students right now. If your family can afford it, I’d reach out to the larger, accessible CA privates like LMU, USD, USF, Santa Clara, St Mary’s, Chapman - maybe even USC to see if they can find a seat for you.
Stanford, Cal Tech and Harvey Mudd might be very tough
Schools/programs for which your program of studies to date did not prepare you might be very tough.
Pomona might be tough.
Schools that highly emphasize GPA and do not give much weight to non-academic factors such as non-varsity sports might be tough- eg Berkeley? (the Cal people might know which these are)
Pitzer shot depends on your essays and how well you “fit”, IMO.
Everyplace else: you have a shot. Bear in mind that LACs (eg Claremont) likely don’t have many transfer slots though.
“Wow, playing D1 ice hockey or LAX at Cornell is pretty cool and very impressive.”
I quite agree.
Do you have an academic reason for leaving Cornell? Is there something that you can’t find in your department there, but that you can find elsewhere?
Are you tired of varsity athletics and would like to drop back down to the club level?
What would you do in your time off?
What can your family afford to pay?
What about just finishing up at Cornell, and using the career center there to get an internship for summer 2021 in CA, and eventually landing a job in CA?
The school year 2020-2021 is likely to be online and possibly further disrupted, but 2021-2022 might be more normal. Cornell has exchange programs with a number of institutions, and you might be able to spend a semester or year in CA but still graduate with the Cornell degree.
The top graduate schools in California definitely know how strong Cornell is. So do employers in California.
Personally I would finish your last two years at Cornell, work hard to keep your GPA up, and look for internships. Having graduated you can certainly look for jobs in both the northeast and in California. In fact there are quite a few companies with sites in both California and the northeast. Then if you are considering graduate school in the future (which seems quite possible with an economics major) then definitely apply to a range of schools, including universities in California.