<p>I was rejected from Yale (freshman app), but the only thing that was negative on my application were my grades from freshman and sophomore year (I ended up earning a 4.0 2nd semester junior year and 1st semester senior year at a competitive high school in Illinois). I applied for engineering, and my mother attended Yale and is a donor.</p>
<p>Anyway, I truly believe Yale would be the best environment--both culturally and academically--for me to thrive in. With that being said, I would still like to try and get there my sophomore or junior year of college. I plan on studying physics and/or engineering in college, am an accomplished musician, athlete and do a lot of service. What would be the best path in order to get into Yale next year, and do activities/stats from high school carry over into the transfer admission process?</p>
<p>I can choose between attending Boston College, George Washington, University of Michigan, Tulane, or NYU, but am leaning toward GWU, Michigan or Tulane. I really plan on "hitting the books" and earning a 4.0, so given this information, what would be the best option for attempting to transfer to Yale next year? All advice is welcome.</p>
<p>Those are great schools that you’re choosing between. Just a bit of middle-aged-person-advice-- I think you would be much happier to fall in love with the school you attend, and plan to stay there for four years. College is a special time, and those four years are something that will stay with you forever. Make friends, develop interests, get involved, fall in love… you get the idea. If you go with the idea that this is “just a stop-over”, none of that will happen.</p>
<p>I think you’ve been given sound advice. But if I may comment – you said: “but the only thing that was negative on my application were my grades from freshman and sophomore year”</p>
<p>Maybe. Maybe other features were lacking as well. You were rejected and not offered a waitlist option. That also should signal to you that the 1000 applications or so on the WL captured Yale’s attn more than what you presented. I’m not trying to pass any judgment on you – I fully concur to the mercurial nature of admissions. But you should also be realistic about how close you were.</p>
<p>And then know that with a 2% transfer admit rate, you really should bank on your school in Sept and give your heart to that. No one should plan on successfully transferring to Yale.</p>
<p>Yes…Actually I’ve heard Yale only accepts around 20-25% of legacies. Obviously that’s 4-5 times the regular acceptance rate, but granted that a Yale alum probably has a high emphasis on education for their children, their kids probably have rather good applications consistently.</p>
<p>And, in addition, considering there are multiple donors (I have seen this in the alumni donor packet that was sent out after their recent campaign) who have donated over A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS just in the past 10 years, I dont think donating really helps that much. (It was three families. One of the family’s names is used often on American TV shows as the “Rich Kid” in high school situations)</p>
<p>I was rejected too, and I feel the same way.
At the same time, though, I know it’s awfully unhealthy to go in to college thinking you’re going to transfer to Yale. I’m definitely going to try - Yale has captured my mind like no other college can - but at the same time, I’ll try to learn to love the colleges I’ve been accepted to.</p>
<p>In my case though, there was no discernible flaw in my application. I was, after all, accepted into a top LAC. I was (and am) heartbroken, but this has definitely given me the drive to get that 4.0, get involved in ECs and whatnot, and try once more to get into Yale.
However, you have to remember the transfer rate is about 2-3% … much less than the RD rate.</p>