Too old to transfer?

Transfer Students
1

<p>Hello everyone,</p>

<p>I'm turning 23 this year. I worked for several years after high school before enrolling into college. </p>

<p>I'm currently studying in a top 25 university, and I will be a sophomore this coming academic year. I want to transfer (as a junior) to a top 10 university, such as one of the Ivy leagues. I;m planning to apply to most of the top 10 universities. By the time I apply for transfer, I am already 24.</p>

<p>Do you think its possible for me to transfer? Or do you think the Ivy League transfer committees will discriminate against mature students?</p>

2

<p>Nope. I don't. A couple of my entering classmates are significantly older than that.</p>

3

<p>Hey Point, I'm in the same exact position you are in. I agree 100% with Bourne. Don't let your age discourage you. Good luck this year!</p>

4

<p>I think it goes by years spent at the (prior) institution and/or # of credits. I am pretty sure you are allowed to apply regardless of your age, you just have to meet the requirements aforementioned. </p>

<p>However your age might have an negative affect on your admissions decision. It only makes sense because it would be unfair for the youngsters if veterans were applying for the same slots...also younger people learn better (no offense), and will absorb more from their college experience than one who has already established a strong resume of experiences.</p>

5

<p>


</p>

<p>I'll have to disagree with this assessment on all counts. First, colleges are in the business of educating all interested people that demonstrate ability and drive, not just "youngsters", fair or not. Second, the difference between what an 18 yo and a 24 yo can absorb is much less than the variability between individuals. Third, having a "strong resume of experiences" is likely to be seen as adding a welcome dimension to the student body.</p>

6

<p>Yeah, I agree with entomom here. I very much doubt that your age would be a huge deterrent. But you should also ask yourself if you think you're too old for some of the universities. That is, if some of the universities require you to live on campus dorms/colleges/whatever, would you really want to live with a bunch of 19 and 20 year olds? Just a thought.</p>

7

<p>There are always exemptions. Most uni's offer you the choice of having UG housing or Grad student housing.</p>

8

<p>I'm neither a psychologist, nor an admissions officer. You may be correct.</p>

<p>I personally don't know what "business" universities are in, and until I know exactly what business they are in, I could not say for sure what is going on. What I said in the previous post is just my opinion...it could be wrong though.</p>

<p>Bottom line is that they do look at you age when making a decision. This could be good or bad for any age.</p>

9

<p>I'm 23, too. Honestly, I find this notion that somehow twenty-three is too old to transfer a bit silly and even insulting.</p>

<p>In my opinion, most people in the range of 18-27 years of age can easily fit in together. Most of my community college peers didn't even know I was older than them unless I mentioned it myself. </p>

<p>Plus, being more mature can score you some extra points when it comes to college dating or getting into bars/clubs/parties on weekends. </p>

<p>I also worked in sales right after high school for couple years before going to college and actually kept working while at college, so I am planning to list that experience instead of EC's in my applications to universities (I think sales experience is pretty relevant to Business major).</p>

10

<p>I agree with entomom.
I'm 25 years old and completed the transfer process from a cc to Caltech; EE major. From my experience after applying to eight schools which most of them were in the top ten (over all or in EE), I was accpted to all but one. I think that older students are often more mature and more focused than 18-20 years old. Older students usually have other valuable life experience. Thus, agreeing with entomom, older students add some color to the otherwise black-white conventional student body.</p>

11

<p>I have to concur with this statement. When speaking of Transfer students, more weight is given to "experience" than EC's, and standardized tests, though the latter is also evaluated.
I have supplied a link that confirms this information.
Traditionally Transfer students tend to be non-traditional in nature.
I say go for it!!
YAM</a> March 2002 - Degree of Commitment</p>

12

<p>Age doesn't matter on admission because that is part of their policies.</p>

13

<p>I'm 36 and only wish it were true that 'younger people learn better' -- I wouldn't be subjected to so much boredom and frustration in school, praying every morning that my youthful classmates will be able to find the footnotes with both hands and a map. Older students traditionally are better organized and more highly motivated. Since they typically are paying for their own education, they're more serious about getting the most out of class, and aren't the ones asking 'is this going to be on the test?' every five minutes.</p>

<p>Also, frankly, 24 is still very young.</p>

14

<p>Psychologically speaking, older students (25+) have a little disadvantages as well, their brains are not in the learning stage, rather they are in the stage of applying what they learned previously to solve problems. 24 is still considered young. </p>

<p>If we take a closer look at the age, highschool students usually graduate at 18 and then they start college and finish at 22-25 (4 to 7 years) and that range of age is their best learning stage. That is why I believe that we should finish our BA/BS degree before we commit to full time working position.</p>

15

<p>as bad as it might sound that is typically true at my cc as well... for some reason the older students seem to have a hard time in my classes. I take almost exclusively night classes so over half my class is probably aged 30+. Although it isn't true for all of them most seem to really struggle.</p>

16

<p>They are trying really hard though. They constantly ask questions and they are really listening every words of the lectures.</p>

17

<p>I'm 27 and have gotten nothing but A's since I came back to school. I graduated h.s. with something like a 2.4 gpa. I don't buy into that psychology of the "learning stage" being only for younger people. I figure if you are enrolled in school, then you are in the "learning stage" and if you have graduated and gotten a job then you are in the stage of "applying what you have learned". It's that simple.</p>

18

<p>Hello all, thanks for your replies. I'm just wondering that the top schools, specifically Yale, Stanford, Columbia, Dartmouth, Williams, Brown, and Penn, might turn down my transfer application because of my age. Or will I be disadvantaged in any way? Any one with "official answers"? I will be 24 next year and i'm applying as a junior.</p>

19

<p>From what I've read, they like older students. Older students are more mature and more likely to be able to handle the intense workload of a higher education school like those of the Ivys.</p>

20

<p>I wrote a response to this thread yesterday, forgot to login, and lost it before I had a chance to copy it, darned CC! :(</p>

<p>Pointdexter, no, universities will not automatically 'turn down' your transfer application because of your age. Most schools, if not all, (I'm pre-med, not pre-law, lol) boast non-discrimination policies due to legal obligation, detailed rules which prohibit admissions committees from engaging in discrimination against any applicant due to their age, gender, color, religion, etc. </p>

<p>Granted, your age, or more specifically, the gap in your education, will be more of an important topic, as most universities will request an explanation regarding the time you spent away from college, whether it be due to employment, pre-professional activities (sports, dance, performing, etc.), volunteer pursuits, travelling, etc. </p>

<p>In terms of the 'decaying' brain, lol, if 22+ means you are 'over the hill' in terms of your general intellectual ability, as well as your capacity to process, comprehend, analyze and retain new material, I wonder why so many medical schools, law schools, graduate schools, and other postgraduate institutions are still in business? (I believe the average age of a medical school applicant is 25, according to my pre-professional advisor.) They surely must have gotten something wrong. ;)</p>

<p>Making sweeping generalizations regarding older folk is not very nice, each individual is different, especially in terms of their life story, ability, skills, secondary education, experience, etc. Some can hack it, some can't. IMO age, in combination with other factors, such as maturity level, motivation, dedication, organization, life experiences, etc., can impact overall academic success, however, that's an idea that really applies to both the younger and older crowd. </p>

<p>During my time at Hopkins, I've seen a very young student who graduated HS early pursue a difficult major with flying colors, another regularly aged student totally throw their educational opportunity away, and yet another, older postdoc student (25+) return to Hopkins to complete pre-med courses, and end up with one of the highest grades in the class/lab. It's all relative. :)</p>