Transfering to an ivy

<p>@hyperlite I know college level classes are harder i took ap euro in hs it was a lot more work than my other classes but it was the only class that didnt bore me so i tried harder and ended the year with an A. got a 4 on the test tho :/</p>

<p>@ HGFDCVB: that’s good :slight_smile: i wasn’t trying to be rude or anything, i just think a lot of kids expect a 4.0 and you really have to work hard to earn the grades. there material isn’t that much more difficult (concept wise) but i found there was a greater amount of work required in a shorter amount of time.</p>

<p>Yes hyperlite that is all true (post #20) but I feel like this needs to be emphasized:

</p>

<p>Most transfers at Cornell (and most other elite schools, I presume) fall into one of two categories and every transfer I’ve personally met follows the rule.</p>

<p>Hyperlite, you epitomize the first category. Significant life experience. Unique story. Time taken off between HS and college. Steep upward tragectory after a generally uncompetitive HS academic career.</p>

<p>I most likely epitomize the other category. 3.93 GPA from a LAC, 33 ACT, 4.0 HS GPA, etc. Admissible out of HS but just never applied for whatever reason. I didn’t transfer because I needed a year of college to build my resume but simply becasue I *wanted * to.</p>

<p>People who can’t solidly identify with either category don’t fare well in my experience. *If you merely did poorly in HS and improve in college, that isn’t a compelling enough reason to be admitted to an Ivy League school *because there are people who rocked high school AND college, and thus are deemed more deserving of the spot.</p>

<p>^ totally agree. well-said.</p>

<p>Caillebotte could not have said it any better. For every one person you hear about gaining admission with less than stellar portions of their application (Ivy’s considered), there are a hundred more who were denied.</p>

<p>Try exploring for schools that are related to your major. Ivy league schools are just names and prestige. They don’t define your own individual personality. Like what posters above me said, there are many great top 50 schools to attend for just your 4 years in college. You don’t have to be hectic about working hard to gain admission to Ivy League schools. You may want to try some top schools that are lenient on transfer rates such as Rice, Vanderbilt, NYU, UNC Chapel Hill, Notre Dame, or Cornell.</p>

<p>@caillebotte I was going to write about a significant life experience i had in hs or like seachai86442 said fabricate unique extracurricular activities. Id still apply to other top non-ivy schools of course.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>You plan to perhaps “fabricate a unique extracurricular activity” and you think you are heading for one of the Ivies? Please…this is just plan dishonest…and truthfully getting caught would be just.</p>

<p>If you don’t really have something significant to write about, don’t lie. BE HONEST. And look at other schools.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>1.) cornell is an ivy…</p>

<p>2.) rice, vanderbilt, nyu, unc, notre dame are all EXTREMELY competitive schools. right below the ivies. so while the OP may have a better shot at those schools, it will only be a marginal increase.</p>

<p>none of these schools are, as you say, lenient in their transfer rates.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>I disagree. Vanderbilt has around 50-55% transfer rate. While UNC has about 40% transfer rate. These are known as a friendly transfer schools. I believe UNC opts our HS GPA & SATs after you have completed a certain number of college credits. </p>

<p>Cornell follows a policy of transfer agreement, which is completing their pre-requisites on the course catalog. This leads to completing about 60 credits in 2 years. But you’re right, it’s still either a hit in the middle or miss.</p>

<p>transfer agreements are only for in-state residents at select ny community colleges. and even then, all they do is set-you up with an advisor early to help make sure you take all of the necessary pre-reqs. but i see your general point about the other schools.</p>

<p>I have already told OP that there is also gradute school ahead of him. I believe some of the other good schools he can look into are BU and GWU too.</p>

<p>

would that be the unfair treatment received in a small southern town? Please, enough already. </p>

<p>Seachai- aren’t your antennae up too?? This story sound familiar?</p>

<p>Caillebotte’s posts continue to be spot on.</p>

<p>Tough crowd here.</p>

<p>If the kid wants to attempt to transfer then let him. It’s his/her problem if they think the road will be facile.</p>

<p>No need to rip them a new one.</p>

<p>You are new around these parts, Mitch. There is history behind why posters are firm here.</p>

<p>Actually my other account was suspended for “spamming”. Haha. Hence the low post count. But I do concur with you. I too have seen the countless threads all aiming at Ivy’s with no prospect.</p>

<p>I guess you’re right. There needs to be some firmness to bring the posters back to reality.</p>

<p>A few months ago I went through the same process as the OP is going through now. As the months have passed since my college acceptance (I start in a week), I’ve come to realize that is it pretty much impossible to transfer to the best schools in the country with nothing on your back when you graduate. Even as a junior transfer (which on first impression may seem like it gives you a good amount of time to do things in college), a prospective transfer applicant literally has ONLY about a year before it’s time to apply. You would be preparing your applications a year from now during the beginning of your sophomore year. Applications would be due around the end of next year. College semesters are shorter than high school semesters, and there are longer breaks. You just don’t have enough time. If you want to continue on this road and delude yourself you’ll only end up disappointed, and if the disappointment doesn’t hit you in an instant but slowly over the course of a few months then you’ll have wasted even more time dwelling on something that’s so improbable.</p>

<p>It is best to shoot as low as possible (think of which schools would be the lowest upgrade from your current school). From there, find, partake in, and stay committed to a few extracurricular activities; try to explore the world; become a more interesting person; and maybe when it comes time to apply you’ll be reasonably satisfied. But if you start high you’ll just be disappointed.</p>

<p>Also…if you have enough skill or, more accurately, luck to transfer to a top school following a very insignificant high school career then you will probably be very successful graduating from an unknown school anyway (I wouldn’t say probably, but you get my point). If you have what it takes to do a complete academic 180 then maybe you don’t even need a brand name.</p>

<p>Plenty of people have transferred to highly selective schools from CC’s or other Universities so just go for it and see what happens. Why would someone shoot for the lowest school possible?</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Yes, I am in the same quandary. However, I already have much knowledge on the hecticness of transferring. If I didn’t comprehend as much, I wouldn’t be sharing them with OP.</p>

<p>

What are you talking about? I’m not even in college yet. None of what I’ve said is based on experience. I have good judgment. You rely on emotion, because it feels better to encourage someone than to give him the cold, hard truth.

You are as deluded as I was. The OP doesn’t just have a poor GPA. He has nothing. He either has a 0% chance (i.e., he has nothing going for him) or a high one (i.e., he has an interesting story to tell, a hook, or a decent chance to begin with). You can’t just combine those two probabilities and say that he has an OK chance of getting into a top school.</p>

<p>You’re still studying for the SAT. You don’t understand the transfer process. He should start as low as possible and work his way up realistically, not start at the very best schools in the country and work his way down. Your little snippet “plenty of people have transferred to highly selective schools from CC’s or other Universities” is hugely irrelevant to the OP. He doesn’t fit in that category because he has nothing going for him, while many at CC’s or state/local schools do.</p>