Transferring from a State School

<p>I posted this on the Transfer Forum, but thought I might post it here too:</p>

<p>This is long, so please hear me out. Basically, I am joining a state flagship university in the fall as a freshman. I have good stats, but not impressive, to say the least. I plan on majoring in Actuarial Science. When I got rejected from my top choice, which was expected, I was disappointed. It came down to this state university which I have come to really like, as well.</p>

<p>However, I still have this longing to transfer to a better college, after one or two years, and I don't really have a reason as to why I want to do this. I have no idea how to go about it. I plan on maintaining an excellent gpa and getting as involved as possible. I will definitely apply to Wharton, Columbia, NYU Stern and Michigan. </p>

<p>Sorry to drag this on long, but I really need some advice and guidelines. I have a couple of questions. Have any of you heard of students who did average in high school but excelled in their first/second year of college, and transferred to a much better university? How should I go about this? What will make me stand out among other transfer applicants? Are there any other universities you would recommend for this major? Also, should I apply for the sophomore year or the junior year? I know I am planning too far ahead, but I see it as a big possibility in the future.</p>

<p>Any insight would be extremely helpful. Thank you :)</p>

<p>I would dig through previous threads in the transfer forum by searching for “transfering from state flagship to Ivys” or something along that vein.</p>

<p>Will do, thanks.</p>

<p>Im really not sure what a “state flagship” is but I would bet that getting a good GPA and entering a summer program at your preferred school would be the safest bet. </p>

<p>btw: this happens all of the time, and with the exception of Michigan I am surprised that any of those schools actually are hard to get into… they cant even win a football game.</p>