<p>Hi guys! I'm a freshman at Hopkins currently and I'm looking to transfer out either for sophomore or junior year to either UPenn or Columbia (mainly due to family reasons, though I'm also really not enjoying the location here in Baltimore). What do you think the chances of me getting into UPenn/Columbia are if I do well academically this first year? Also, what could I do to improve my chances of getting in? The thing is, I need to transfer to be a bit closer to home due to some family circumstances but I also don't want to "downgrade" as I transfer to another university, so UPenn and Columbia are on relatively the same level as Hopkins and closer to home so these are the two universities I would most like to get into. </p>
<p>Please let me know what you think the chances are, provided I do well academically, and how I could improve my chances while I'm here?</p>
<p>Current freshman here who’s looking to transfer to Columbia as well. I thought of waiting until first semester is over before making the decision; I didn’t want to be premature.</p>
<p>I have no clue because I’m still in high school but @onerepublic96 I remember you from last year when you got accepted into Hopkins! As a junior that wants to apply to Hopkins as ED next year, can I ask you why specifically you didn’t like Baltimore? I currently live in Canada (Vancouver) and I hate it here because it rains so much and there’s nothing to do. Is Baltimore kind of like that? Is the school just really boring?
Thanks a bunch and I hope it works out for you!</p>
<p>@brilliantskies14‌ if you haven’t been to a large, American city aside from Boston or Seattle or the like, it’s a bit of a wake up call. Baltimore is poor. Obviously, not all of it is poor, but there’s a lot of poverty. With poverty comes crime. There’s a stark difference between the Hopkins campus and the surrounding area.</p>
<p>^The same could be said about Penn and Columbia though. Philly (and Penn’s surrounding area) is perhaps scarier than Baltimore. Columbia’s surrounding Harlem area emulates Hopkins as well unfortunately.</p>
@Blah2009‌ Yes, the same could be said about both schools. However, I would rather be at Columbia, because New York would likely offer more opportunities to a college student than Baltimore. I would not rather be in Philly, though, that much is true.
@Blah2009‌ Columbia isn’t really in Harlem; and the Upper West Side of Manhattan is one of the most high income places in the city; I think your a bit misinformed about that. I don’t know much about Penns campus but I would suggest visiting if you can, @onerepublic96‌ .
The area around Columbia is pretty safe and beautiful. Nothing like the area around jhu in either regard. Penn’s location is also a lot more attractive. Not sure how its safety compares. My kids both preferred penn’s campus to jhu. Both attended Columbia summer school and as we live nearby, neither wanted to apply for undergrad bc they wanted to go away. It’s a stunning campus…one of the most beautiful quads I’ve seen and between both kids, I’ve seen around 35 schools, lol.
It is subjective. Perhaps you should cite crime statistics to compare safety between penn, jhu, and columbia. I personally would pay to not live around philly and penn’s campus. Campus itself is a different matter. LeavingNY, i am plenty familiar with columbia. Saying harlem isnt surrounding columbia (separated by a singular small park) is a bit ironic. Perhaps “your” misinformed
I think Columbia is just stunning and iconic but Hopkins is lovely in a more understated way. They filmed Social Network at Hopkins to represent Harvard. To OP, I know Columbia is very hard to get into, harder than JHU, so you would have to excel in grades, etc. to be successful in transfer.
I agree with you, 1203southview! Hopkins is just lovely…gorgeous campus and I was surprised at how nice the surrounding neighborhoods are at Hopkins…Guilford just one block north is one of the most beautiful neighborhoods I’ve ever seen and Hampden, just west of campus is so quaint…surprisingly safe and nice after reading comments on the internet! And yes, I found the neighborhoods surrounding both Penn and Columbia to be way sketchier than Hopkins. And Yale for that matter…not to mention sketchiness of U of Chicago…
Well is subjective. It would be better to have stats. You should contact the dean if you want to live closer to home. That’s different from an academic reason to transfer.
I like how you’re all debating sketchiness of cities and unimportant stuff like that. If you end up applying to transfer you will realize that these debates serve no purpose. My roommate transferred from JHU to Columbia after his freshman year, and got into Penn as well. I did the same after my sophomore year from WashU (I’m a year older than him, and we met last year here at Columbia). If you do well - well, I guess it’s a little late now - but it’s possible.
^yep. My son went to private school near columbia, too. And both my sons took summer classes there while in high school. Safe & fun neighborhood. From your link:
“The overall crime rate in Morningside Heights is 70% lower than than the national average.For every 100,000 people, there are 2.54 daily crimes that occur in Morningside Heights.Morningside Heights is safer than 89% of the cities in the New York.In Morningside Heights you have a 1 in 109 chance of becoming a victim of any crime.”
As someone who has walked the columbia neighborhood quite a bit, I’d say it’s a great place to attend college.
Hi guys, I haven’t logged in here in a while but yes, I’m still seriously considering transferring, but after my sophomore year, when my campus housing guarantee runs out. I don’t know what it is exactly about Baltimore - I guess it’s just a certain vibe. When you’re somewhere you aren’t meant to be, you can just feel it. I know the area around Columbia very well and I know that I enjoyed the times I’ve been there, and since I’m from Philly, I would definitely feel more comfortable there as well. It’s not the hard facts and crime statistics really, I guess, it’s more of a feeling of belonging or not, and I definitely feel like this isn’t the right city for me. I love Hopkins, I just don’t like where it’s located, and that’s the main part of my dilemma. If Hopkins were in Philly or New York, I wouldn’t even be thinking about transferring.