<p>Hi Guys,
I'm new to this forum, so please excuse me if this question has already been addressed etc.
However, although A level results don't come out till 20th August, I've almost certainly missed my conditional offer to study Economics at the London School of Economics and will hence have to do so at the University of York (UK). I've been suffering from severe depression and such over the past year and this massively affected my performance, although I've almost fully overcome that barrier now. My question lies in that if I go to the University of York would it be at all possible to then transfer to Yale?
I'm planning on using my 'failure' as motivation for future success instead of giving up now and acquiring amazing credentials at York in every sense before applying for transfer application to Yale- what would be the best way to do so, and when is the best time to make such a transfer; i.e. after first year or second, and when would you have to apply to do so?
Also, York offers an exchange programme for the second year (of a UK 3 year batchelors degree) to Columbia or Berkeley- if I can attain a place on one of those, would it be benefitial to do so before making a transfer application?</p>
<p>Also, would I have to take SATs and SAT II's? If so, I have no qualms about doing so- I'm very academicly gifted when I apply myself (although I regrettably haven't done so lately, I'm well equiped and willing to do so now), but am unsure of the procedure in the UK.</p>
<p>Thank you very much for any advice in advance- it's much appreciated. :)</p>
<p>I can’t answer all of your questions - but the answer to your basic question (would it be possible to transfer to Yale) is yes. I have a friend at Yale who transferred from Oxford - I believe after her second year there. Though she could have entered Yale as a Junior (3rd year), she chose to enter as a sophomore (2nd year), which, though it isn’t possible for American transfer students to do, seems to be possible for Brits. You’ll want to do very well at York to be able to have a chance transfer, but Yale definitely does accept transfers from British universities. Just remember that the transfer admission rate is very low, and thus there are no guarantees, no matter how well you do at York.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply svalbardlutefish, it’s much appreciated.
I understand the transfer rate is very low and am mindful of the fact that stastically speaking chances would be very low. In light of this, as a current Yalie, do you (or anyone else for that matter) have any tips on maximising transfer chances?</p>
<p>The exchange program with Columbia or Berkeley sounds very good - and it’s a sure bet, unlike the plan of gaining transfer admission to Yale, which sounds very very unlikely.</p>
<p>What qualities are admired in a transfer application though? Pure academics or do extra-cirriculars take front seat? I ask this so that I can plan my time accordingly from the onset. What really makes an application stand out? I hear it’s the ‘Why Yale’ part but surely that’s largely generic?</p>
<p>I’d say both just about equally. Getting into Yale is tough for anyone. Even tougher for internationals. And eeeveeeen tougher for international transfers. Either way though, York is a great college! And getting to study abroad at Columbia or Berkeley would be great in itself :)</p>
<p>“Why Yale?” is probably not largely generic for successful applicants. It isn’t a matter of saying that you love the residential colleges and think Yale has a strong (fill in the blank) department. It might be about a specific professor whose research you’ve followed and would like to work with. It might be about how you go to Caltech and have discovered that you want to be a theater studies major. My understanding is that Yale is more swayed by people who can describe what they can’t get at their current school that they can at Yale.</p>
<p>Yeah, the why yale is often what sets people apart because the vast majority of responses are very generic (ie great funding for research/travel, housing system, etc). I agree with admissionaddict that yale really wants to know why you have to leave your school, its not enough to just think that yale is a great school, you have to have a reason you’re school is not capable of meeting your needs.</p>
<p>Don’t go to York planning to transfer to Yale. Transferring to Yale is like a fantasy of winning the lottery, not a plan.</p>
<p>I understand that you feel a huge sense of loss from blowing your LSE acceptance, and you want a project that will let you roar back from that with something sensational. But here’s how you do it: You go to York and suck it dry – get everything you can from it. And use that to boost you into a great graduate program, which will have a much greater effect on your life than anything else. You’re not going to accomplish that if you have one foot out the door before you even put one foot in the door.</p>