Hi I’m a freshmen thinking of transferring out of Cornell. My first semester GPA was 4.15 and I had strong ECs in my first semester here as well. More so I was also able to get a really strong letter of recommendation from one of my professors. However I have two downsides to my application. Number one that I’m an international student and number two is my reason to transfer. I don’t have any financial aid at Cornell and I want to transfer to a place which is less strict on their aid distribution policy. That being said the colleges I’m thinking of transferring to are the Ivys (except Princeton). U Chicago, Stanford and MIT. What do you think my chances are ?
I think you have a decent shot. An Ivy League student with a good GPA and extracurriculars is attractive to schools. Although being international hurts,I think you’re in a better position than most of your competitors.
I would actually plan on applying next year. The GPA is good, but since you are a freshman and an international student, it would be helpful to show colleges that you were committed with your original school first, and that you have spent a decent amount of time in an American university
Also, it would be helpful to be active in clubs/orgs at Cornell
Are you looking to transfer to another school just so you can get more aid?
If so, I think you won’t have much success. There are limited transfer slots in these schools with many US and international students seeking admission. Many of these expect to pay full tuition and the schools know it.
Transfer students, at most Ivy plus schools are admitted under a “need-aware Admission policy”. Need aware means that financial need will be taken into account in making the admission decision. To be considered for financial assistance at any time, for most all these schools, must be made during their initial application, or in other words, students must apply for financial aid when they initially apply for admission. Thus, generally speaking to these schools, no international students admitted through the transfer process will only be considered for need based assistance—well, that is at least my understanding. For instance…at Brown and Northwestern, there is a blanket no financial aid available policy for international transfer applicants.
You seem to have good chances… may I ask why you are transferring out of Cornell?
Hmmn, again, it is not so much your grades and scores–that is not a problem. Again, and not to be a downer, it is the policy that these mentioned schools tether to both transfer admission for international students and their current financial situation, that is problematic for you. For instance, in regards to Stanford–If you are not a U.S. citizen or U.S. legal permanent resident, your request for financial aid will be a factor in our admission evaluation–for transfer students. You can also take a peek at a previous string on this very same topic several years ago—http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1260596-financial-aid-for-international-transfer-student.html
@boolaHI - The schools that are need blind for internationals ((Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, MIT,and Amherst, but not Princeton, which does not accept transfers) make it clear that their need-blind admissions policies extend to transfer students, including internationals.
https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/application-process/transferring-harvard-college
http://admissions.yale.edu/transfer
http://admissions.dartmouth.edu/apply/choose-your-path/transfer/financial-aid
http://mitadmissions.org/apply/transfer/before
https://www.amherst.edu/offices/financialaid/firstyear_transfer
@ToMuchAtOnce - It’s extremely difficult to get accepted to any of these schools as a transfer student, however someone with a 4.15 GPA at Cornell is likely to get noticed. I’m not convinced that mentioning financial need as the primary reason you intend to transfer is a good strategy - it will be far more important that you explain why would want to attend the college you are hoping to transfer to, and what you can offer them.
It doesn’t hurt to try this year. If you don’t succeed in transferring, and continue to do well academically, try again next year!