<p>I am going to start community college this spring and I know it may be to early, but I really want to transfer to Yale in two years. I was wondering what I can do to make myself a strong applicant. I am aware that Yale is insanely competitive as a transfer student, but I know it is possible. </p>
<p>Does anybody know the transfer requirements? </p>
<p>and the community college I am going to has a quarterly academic calender, does that matter?</p>
<p>Y lists eligibility requirements on their website.</p>
<p>Being on the quarter system doesn't matter. </p>
<p>To read about what makes a strong transfer applicant, go to the Transfer Students forum and read the sticky thread a the top: Transfer Admissions 101.</p>
<p>Make good grades, get involved with activities. Since you're at a community college, there may be less resources available to you. I suggest maybe going to a nearby university and seeking our research (I transferred, and nearly everyone that transferred with me did some sort of research). Find something interesting you can devote a LOT of time to (I did competitive ballroom dance).</p>
<p>anectdotally, cristian, it seems that viable transfer applicants are those who would otherwise be very competitive as Freshman applicants (GPA & transcript excellence, scores, etc.). If a potential transfer applicant isn't very much in the ball park as normal Freshman applicants, their chances are for all intents, non-existant.</p>
<p>Is there a reason you can not apply to enter as a Freshman next September? Your best chance is here and now, not later in two years. If finances might be a consideration, know that Yale has some of the deepest pockets of any university in the world and is completely committed to not letting financial barriers hold applicants back -- basically they're very generous.</p>
<p>Are you relatively competitive as a Freshman applicant?</p>
<p>Well, yes I was competitive as a Freshman Applicant, but I am just considering transfering because I really hoped to go to Yale as a freshman. </p>
<p>I actually applied to Yale my senior year ( last year) as early decision. I would consider myself very competitive. I had a 4.0 unweighted GPA. I took 7 AP classes in total, I got both, SAT scores of 2350, and ACT scores of 34. I was president of my class 3 years in a row and president of school council my senior year. I was in the varsity swimming team since my sophomore year. I was also officer of three clubs. I took 4 classes at my local community college. I participated in a summer program for science at University of California Davis and I also participated in a high school medical program at Stanford the summer of my junior year. When it was time to do my applications I got great letters of recommendation and I believe I did a good job on my personal statement. Not to seem egotistical, but I believe I was a strong applicant. Unfortunately, I didn't get accepted into Yale and I wanted, and still want, to really attend Yale. I got accepted into UC Berkeley, Cornell University, Brown,University, Boston College, University of Pennsylvania, and Dartmouth College, but i decided that I couldn't see myself at any other school except Yale. The only reason I had applied to all these other colleges was because I was encouraged to by peers. You can only imagine how upset my parents and teachers were when I made my decision.</p>
<p>In the end, I decided to take a break and go to community college and transfer, which is the reason I am seeking information.</p>
<p>Sorry to hear that, Cristian. Really the biggest factor in admissions is luck. There are too many super-qualified applicants and not enough spots. That was probably a very large strategic error on your part to go to a community college instead of one of those other really excellent institutions.... for a number of reasons:
1) Yale takes about 20-25 transfers a year. Your odds are WAY slimmer than they were during freshmen admissions. Forgoing incredible educational opportunities for such slim odds seems a bit off to me.
2) Out of all my transfer peers (there were about 23 of us if I recall), only ONE was from a community college. There were 3 from UC Berkeley, a few from other Ivies, and quite a few top-tier privates and public schools. It seems to me that if you wanted to optimize your chances at Yale, you should have gone to one of those other universities (they have more resources than a CC, so you could do awesome research, have better professors, your top grades will seem more impressive, etc).</p>
<p>Frankly I don't blame your parents for being upset. I would too.</p>
<p>Yeah, I realize that now. This is why I needed more information and I really appreciate the help you guys have given me. Next time, by the time I am ready to transfer, I will make a better decision and not let one denial ruin everything else ahead of me. I am sure one day I will go to Yale, maybe for med school. haha... well thank you so much you guys.</p>