<p>Before I begin, I thank you for taking interest in helping me. </p>
<p>To begin, I am a current freshman (going to be sophomore) at a community college. Majoring in finance. With my grades, my counselor asked me to attempt to transfer into more reputable schools.
I did not have time to raise my SAT scores or report my recent accomplishments. Nor did I meet the prereqs for most of the colleges.
Accepted: Emory
Waitlisted: BC
Still to hear: Villanova
Rejected: NYU, Upenn, Cornell</p>
<p>My dilemma is:
I strongly believe I could transfer into these schools that I got rejected from (and more) if I continued here for one more year. However, do I take the sure thing with Emory?</p>
<p>Pros of staying (to build resume):
-maintain my 4.0
-president Phi Theta Kappa Honors society
-president student government
-recommendations from current school's president
-job at bank while in school
-save money
-improve SAT
-opportunity to go to UPenn
-so much community service
-lots of extra stuff to add to application
-meet all transfer requirements that Upenn and other schools want</p>
<p>Cons of staying:
-Give up Emory
-lose a possible year of credits transferring</p>
<p>So again, my dilemma is:
Do I stay at my school in hopes of making it into Penn?
Or
Go to Emory and try for MBA up north?</p>
<p>I am looking to get into Investment Banking or Corporate Finance. </p>
<p>Thank you SOOO much for any opinions or advice.</p>
<p>Assuming that there isn’t a financial barrier that prevents you from doing so go to Emory. A second year at a CC is a poor option. Spending time on another round of applications is likely to be defocusing, a distraction. Emory is highly regarded. Focus on doing very well once there.</p>
<p>You have two sure things, Emory or CC. Emory is vastly superior to CC. UPenn has already rejected you, and the chances of getting in on a second try are no better than anyone else trying to get in as a freshman, probably worse, which means very, very small. UPenn is better than Emory, but one is a sure thing, the other a remote possibility, and the consequence of pursuing the best may be that you wind up with neither.</p>
<p>If you aren’t familiar with the saying “Do not let the best be the enemy of the very, very good”, you should be because THIS is exactly what that saying refers to. Go to Emory and don’t look back.</p>
<p>This is what everyone has been saying. Does this remain true if I say I will apply to schools like Virginia, Penn, Cornell, NYU, Indianna, UNC, BC, Villanova?</p>
<p>Basically do you think any of these schools are significantly better, and plausible, than Emory, enough to stay at CC and risk it. </p>
<p>But ultimately, I agree with you and believe that is what I may end up doing. </p>
<p>No school is so much better that you should give up your sure thing to Emory to try and move up. If all you had was Big State U, I’d say it’s not worth another year of CC. There’s always grad school, and Coca Cola U is not a bad place to start a business career.</p>
<p>Is Emory affordable for you to attend? If so, it seems to be the clear choice. Staying at the CC for an additional year would significantly reduce your odds of graduating in 4 years. Any difference in quality between the schools on your list are minor. And odds of transfer acceptance at the ones ranked higher than Emory are low. </p>
<p>Personally, I wouldn’t pass up Emory to try again at UPenn or Cornell (and definitely not NYU). UPenn lets in very few transfer students every year, and most transfer from comparable institutions, not community colleges. Cornell is similar in that respect. Emory is an excellent university, and you can get a very good education there. It’s got a top-rated business school if you want to go there, too. And personally, I think Emory is a better place to be than NYU and BC.</p>
<p>I agree with whenhen. Emory is a great university with an excellent reputation, especially in business - and particularly in the South, although it’s also an excellent national one. I definitely wouldn’t give up Emory for Villanova, Indiana, UNC, BC, or NYU - even if you were already admitted to those schools. Emory has a better reputation than all of them (perhaps with the exception of BC, or they’re roughly equal). I personally wouldn’t give up Emory for Cornell, either, but that’s more of a personal decision than a reputation question.</p>
<p>Really, the only school I think giving up Emory for might be worth is Penn - if it were a bird-in-the-hand thing. But the chances of getting into Penn as a transfer are vanishingly small. I think the transfer admit rate is even less than the regular admission one - something like 1-4% of transfers every year. So if Emory is affordable and you are already in - go!</p>
<p>You are right. The thing is that there are so many variables if I were to stay…whereas Emory is already set and ready to go. Also, the more I research Emory, the more I fall in love. The language requirement, the physical education requirement, the business study abroad program, emory scholars, research opportunities, beautiful weather and school in general, fantastic dorms (for most part), relatively low population, and did I mention the beautiful weather!!!</p>