As a high school senior who has now received all of their admission decisions, I am pretty happy.
I got into my 3rd choice out of the 11 schools I applied to: UCLA
I know UCLA is a great school and as a California resident myself I can’t quite imagine living anywhere else but like every honor kid I took a stab at the Ivy League (albeit a fail). I’m not too knowledgable on the whole transfer route so I would appreciate some input from other transfer students who have tried.
Is getting to an Ivy League harder for two year transfers that came from a UC? (I heard CC students get priorities)
Is it hard for credits to transfer over? Will I have problems with that?
How likely is it that I will get in? What are the chances?
Will they base it solely on my GPA and efforts at UCLA or will my HS record be considered?
Did you ever try the transfer route? If so how did you do?
Thank you in advance for helping a future undergrad out!
I think the ivy leagues look at both your college work and high school career when transferring. It’s hard to say how likely it is. Really depends on how well you do at UCLA, that said, there’s nothing in your way of transferring. I’m sure if you got into UCLA you had good HS stays. Why are you so set on the ivy leagues? I say give it a couple semesters at UCLA then decide if you actually wanna transfer. LA is an amazing school!
Before you begin to think about transferring, you should ask yourself why you should even transfer. It seems that you are drawn to the ivies because of their prestige - that is a poor reason to transfer, IMHO.
First of all, be sure to experience UCLA thoroughly before thinking about transferring. It’s one of the best colleges in the world, and it’s generally viewed as the ideal college (in terms of the experience, academics, etc.). Focus on succeeding at UCLA first - if you do well (3.9+ well), then maybe you can consider applying to transfer to Ivies.
Secondly - can your family afford the Ivies? Transfer students get minimal aid. Being as you’re a CA resident, UCLA seems like a superb option (academically, financially, and holistically).
IMO, you should stay put. Transferring is disorienting - you know fewer people, make fewer friends, etc. - therefore, you should really only attempt to transfer if you hate it at UCLA & if an Ivy league school offers a program that is far superior to UCLA’s program (which is unlikely, as UCLA is very strong all across the board).
For what it’s worth, I went to community college and I plan to transfer to Berkeley. If I could have gone to a good university immediately after high school, I would have. Transferring should be avoided if possible.
Do you plan to go to graduate or professional school after college? If so, you can have a shot at the Ivies at that point. At UCLA, you will be getting a high quality education at a relatively low cost.
I think it was just the initial rejection that made me ponder it, thank you for your input. Hopefully UCLA will turn out just fine for me and I can try again at the ivies for graduate school!
What ever you do, enroll in UCLA or what ever school you want to now, and if you do want to pursue a transfer to a ivy, go for it from the university you attend (not community college) as there is literally no harm in doing so as it is virtually impossible as a community college transfer to get accepted in an ivy. Worse things that comes to worst is that you get denied and still left attending UCLA.
Transfer rates are a small percentage of freshman applications.
Be aware that an important part of your application is your academic reason for transferring: why your current college can’t meet your academic needs and the college you are applying to does.