Transfer to Ivy League Universities from India - Chances?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hello everyone,

I am a first year student at Shri Ram College of Commerce, University of Delhi (Ranked No. 1 in the country for the program I am enrolled in). I am enrolled in the Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) programme. I have listed below my details and would like to know what are my chances to get transferred to an Ivy League university (Harvard, Yale, UPenn, Stanford, Columbia and Cornell).

High School Scores: Business Studies - 100/100, Economics - 95/100, Accountancy - 95/100, English - 95/100, Physical Education - 89/100.

Received a letter of commendation from the Human Resource Development Minister of India for my performance in High School (I also was the school topper).

Received a certificate stating that I was among the top 0.1% successful candidates in Business Studies.

College 1st Semester Result: 313/400 (Scored 93% in Economics, 85% in Business, 75% in Accountancy and 63% in Business Law).

Member of the Commerce Society of my College (one of the 6 registered societies of the college) and am likely to make it to the cabinet of my society in my second year. Tasks performed: Organised the society annual fest, wrote articles for the monthly newsletter and the annual magazine, and helped design the annual magazine.

Member of Cognizance (the start up society of my college) and am likely to be the president in my second year. Tasks performed: Wrote articles for the society blog.

I also took online courses from coursera, the details are below:

Principles of Microeconomics by University of Illinois, Urbana-Champagne: Score - 100% (Was in the quiz mastery hall of fame)

Introduction to Marketing by the Wharton School: Score - 92/100

Currently pursuing a course in Negotiations by University of Michigan and CS50 by Harvard.

I’ll be interning with Ernst and Young this summer and will be working for their “Indian Entrepreneur of the Year” initiative.

Could someone please help me out and tell me what are my chances of getting accepted as a transfer student to any of the universities mentioned above? I’ll be giving my SAT I in October. Also, could someone please tell me where I need to work on to improve my chances?

Thank you.

2

Obviously, you have a great set of accomplishments.

Equally obviously, the transfer admission rates at these schools are even lower than the regular admission rates. The odds range from teeny to tiny between them.

Your biggest challenge won’t be proving that you are a great student, it will be making the case that you have a good, clear reason why you should be at [x]- and you can bet that the assumption in the admissions office at [x] is that a given number of people just want to get in for the name.

So, you will improve your chances most if you can articulate what you really want from [x] -that you can’t get at Shri Ram- in a way that shows that you have some understanding of [x] beyond it’s famous name.

On a practical level, be sure to read each college’s transfer info page. For example, Harvard wants you to be coming from a similar type of course. Columbia is really specific about international transfers - you have to be in a “US style” college now- and it also has a tough core curriculum requirement that is worth being sure about, as it will be harder to get that done and get your major coursework done as well. And so on.

3

Thanks a lot! I do have very strong reasons for transferring. My primary reasons are that I wish to indulge in research at undergraduate level and I also want to take up courses from other disciples such as computer science. The flexibility of the curriculum of these institutions is also one of the main reasons I wish to apply to them. I wish to take up graduate level courses too.

4

What you should know about the seats available for transfers is largely tied to attrition. Since attrition is almost non-existent in the top Ivy schools, so are the seats available. By way of example, recently, Harvard had over 1500 applicants and admitted about 15, and Yale had over a 1000 applicants in which about 2 dozen were offered seats. So, while being qualified is certainly a criteria, the other portion must convey why these schools; typical reasons are that these schools offer programs and/or degrees not offered at your existing institution. Good luck–

5

I do understand that fact. The problem with my course is that it is highly rigid and I am not allowed to take up any courses that are not in the syllabi of my course. I also intend to change my major to economics. Our college offers only introductory courses in economics under the course I am enrolled in. Could you kindly suggest me ways in which I can improve my application further? I understand that the online courses I take up are not considered by the universities I apply to, but they are the only means by which I can expand my level of knowledge.

6

Read up on what these schools websites say.
For example, here’s what Yale says:

Basically you need to articulate (convincingly) why Yale and only Yale could meet your educational needs. This would be tough to do (bordering on impossible) and add to that the staggeringly low acceptance rate for transfers with the additional challenges of being an international applicant and it doesn’t look good.

7

Thank you for your helpful reply! I will be applying in February, 2016. I need to know what I can do now to improve my chances. I won’t start writing my essays until December, 2015 (although I have already started thinking about how I will approach them).

8

[ I need to know what I can do now to improve my chances./quote]

There is no magic formula of statistics or qualifications that will do it. You have superlative marks- so keep them up. You have a great summer plan lined up, keep your eye our for somebody who will write a recommendation that suggests he knows more about you than that you are hard working and ambitious.

Four people have told you what you need to do: research the schools that you are planning to apply to thoroughly. Know their programs, and how you fit in them. Know you and what you bring to them. Build your case for each school individually: Columbia & me because… I will bet that when you have done that work you will change at least one of the schools, b/c you will learn something about it that means it is not a strong fit for you and where you are going.

If you are trying to dazzle them into taking you with more numbers, don’t. Dazzle them with more you.

9

@collegemom3717 Well said. Too may students, want to make a case on academic superlatives and their numbers, not realizing, everyone who is a legitimate candidate has similar credentials. The more apt and productive posit, is how you would add to this existing community, and what might set you apart?

10

Thanks a lot for your time. I will make sure that I do all that you’ve said! :slight_smile: