Transferring to a top college

<p>I am a recent High School grad and soon to be college Freshman. My admission process was botched, and though I am happy to be attending Northeastern University, I feel I could have done better. My SAT scores were 2220 total (m:770 cr:730 w:720.) My class rank was 28/165, a statistic reflective of my indifference to school until 10th grade. I've run track and cross country continuously since 7th grade, and I was Chess Club President and Student Council VP Junior and Senior year respectfully. I applied to more schools then I can count on my fingers and toes combined, and was rejected from only two (Duke and Cornell.) Tulane gave me half tuition, as did Northeastern - offers I consider to have been my best. Though I could have gotten into many schools ranked between Tulane and Cornell, Tulane was the highest ranked school I was accepted into.</p>

<p>So now I am in the awkward position of being a smart overachiever going to a borderline 2nd tier school - a position normally reserved for smart underachievers OR not so smart overachievers. Its not the worst imaginable situation, but it could be a lot better. I have nothing to be proud of. </p>

<p>You can see where I am obviously going with this; I intend to transfer. </p>

<p>I plan on maintaining a 4.0 until I transfer, so grades - which were, as I understand it, were the primary factor in my rejections - wont hurt me this time around.</p>

<p>My question is, is transferring into a top college possible? My dream, and I recognize its unrealistic, is to transfer to down the street to Harvard or down the seaboard to UPenn.</p>

<p>All advice is welcomed, as is any chancing predictions.</p>

<p>(On another note, I can still go to Tulane. Who thinks I should go to college in the city of perpetual chaos (New Orleans) over Northeastern?)</p>

<p>So magically you will start producing 4.0 college work. Two years ago Harvard did not accept transfers. Penn accepted something like 15%. And you have to send in your HS info (including grades).</p>

<p>‘I plan on maintaining a 4.0 until I transfer…grades won’t hurt me this time around’</p>

<p>HaHa</p>

<p>Sad, sad, sad, you ought to be grateful for any school to accept a student like you with a cocky attitude. You haven’t even started and you’re complaining.</p>

<p>^^^ Agreed. Almost bashing Northeastern? I don’t see this boding very well for you with your peers at Northeastern. Ivies like Penn don’t just accept stats; they accept exception individuals. They’ll weed you right out for showing any type of ungratefulness towards your previous institution, especially with the tone of that initial post.</p>

<p>I also do not understand how you can still go to Tulane. The deadline for notification has passed, Tulane has a huge (for them) incoming class, about 100-150 more than they “wanted”, dorms have already been assigned, students are registered for classes, etc. Besides your juvenile comment about New Orleans, you seem to have an attitude issue. I guarantee there will be students at Northeastern a lot smarter than you, and more mature. Take advantage of your year there to obtain a bit of humility.</p>

<p>“So magically you will start producing 4.0 college work.”
“Take advantage of your year there to obtain a bit of humility.”</p>

<p>+1</p>

<p>Wow. Um, everyone’s pretty angry.<br>
To the OP: almost everyone who posts in this forum before they begin college insists they will get a perfect 4.0. Um, that’s pretty hard to do in college. </p>

<p>Harvard is near impossible, and Penn highly unlikely even if you DO get a 4.0. But there are some more-transfer friendly top schools like NYU, Cornell, and Georgetown that you might be more satisfied with, if you’re looking for status.</p>

<p>Not angry. A bit confused on a couple of points, and I think disgusted would be a better word for the other aspects. There were hundreds of better ways for the OP to phrase his questions and concerns, and to frame the background of the situation.</p>

<p>harvard - no way, even if you maintain a 4.0. if you were not competitive as a freshman or you don’t have some incredible hook, it’s not happening. plain and simple.</p>

<p>penn and any other ivy will still be a reach. they get applicants who have 4.0s at other top schools and who obviously had stellar HS records. don’t be fooled by cornell’s “high acceptance rates”. these are inflated by guaranteed transfers and internal transfers. you can still apply, but i hope they don’t take you. </p>

<p>northeastern is not a “borderline second tier school”. it’s ranked in the top 100 in the country. there are nearly 3000 colleges in the US. i would really adjust your attitude, as others have said. you don’t deserve to be at northeastern or tulane, let alone an ivy or top school. who are you? what makes you think that? given what you said, there’s nothing special about you at all.</p>

<p>“Not angry. A bit confused on a couple of points, and I think disgusted would be a better word for the other aspects. There were hundreds of better ways for the OP to phrase his questions and concerns, and to frame the background of the situation.”</p>

<p>Yep, disgusted is about right.</p>

<p>Ahh don’t turn your nose up at Northeastern. You come in with the attitude that everyone there are underachievers and you will take your profs and classes for granted and wind up getting your ass kicked hardcore by schoolwork.</p>

<p>Peanut gallery: Why is everyone so ****ed at the OP? He has a very rational goal and it’s our job to help. His/her candor is refreshing, frankly, and it’s clearly not mean-spirited or malicious. Get off your high horses.</p>

<p>OP: To state the obvious, shoot for high grades and cultivate relationships with professors for solid recs. Honestly, these are are your primary tactical objectives to which all others are subordinated. Gun for at least a 3.8, but go as high as you can to make yourself competitive. (Similarly, choose courses accordingly.) Consider ECs peripherally if you’d like, but it’s mostly about grades and recs. How low was your HS GPA? Rank is virtually meaningless given that the top 30 have 4.0s at some schools. If it’s truly dismal, you would be wise to transfer as a junior when your HS grades matter far less.</p>

<p>It goes without saying, but do try and enjoy yourself and accept the situation as it is for the time being, but do not forget to prioritize your objectives if you do in fact want to transfer to an Ivy.</p>

<p>Caveat: Harvard’s acceptance rate (along with Yale and Stanford) is low to the point of absurdity. Apply, by all means, but choose some more realistic top schools that accept more transfers (e.g., Penn, Cornell, Dartmouth, Columbia).</p>

<p>What did I do to implore such hostility? All I said was that, after years of thinking I would attend a top school, Northeastern is disappointing for me. I acknowledge that it is still a highly regarded university that offers as good an education as many more prestigious schools.</p>

<p>In any event, thank you nahshimshimhaeyo and wayward_trojan for your reasonableness and useful advise. A 3.7 at Emory is incredible. I assumed when I decided to reach for a 4.0 that lower ranked schools are easier to get good grades at. I could never maintain a GPA in that range at whatever school I transfer to.</p>

<p>If I was to spend two years at NEU, would the colleges even ask for my HS transcript?</p>

<p>Yeah people chill. He’s looking to do better, and YES, going to a top school is BETTER. </p>

<p>My only advice is relax on Harvard which is crazy hard to transfer into. From what I hear the non-Ivies like Northwestern, Rice, Vanderbilt, Emory, UNC, UVA, Georgetown are much easier to transfer into. Get a 4.0 and I think you have a shot.</p>

<p>

No, if you were to spend two years at NEU, they would just go off your college record.</p>

<p>OP! PLEASE go to Tulane or anywhere other than Northeastern! You sound like you will fit there as comfortably as a size 6 hat on your size 12 head.</p>

<p>fallenchemist, though he/she merits applause for correctly using the subjunctive mood, is mistaken. Schools will look at your high school transcript, but it will be less of a liability the longer you are in college.</p>

<p>“OP! PLEASE go to Tulane or anywhere other than Northeastern! You sound like you will fit there as comfortably as a size 6 hat on your size 12 head.”</p>

<p>Please explain</p>

<p>OP, I am disgusted. You deserve to be eaten in your sleep by fire ants for spreading such slander against Northeastern. Why, it’s widely considered the “Harvard” of that particular section of Boston.</p>