Transferring to an Ivy League from Community College/Other

So I have been doing a lot of thinking and I, at this moment, have come to the conclusion that I am not ready for a 4 year university. My grades in high school are okay (I have a 3.77 GPA atm) but I know I could have done better and I feel as if it is too late into the game to try to change it. I also did not take the SAT very seriously as I should have a ended up with a 1540 so thats not good really. My question is that if i decided to go to a JC what classes would i need to take to really have a chance at being accepted into an Ivy League? The two Ivy leagues that I am interested in is University of Pennsylvania and Cornell University. At UPenn I would like to major in Psychology and at Cornell i would like to major in Human Biology, Health, and Society.( My main goal is to become a physical therapist)

It would be awesome if people who have transferred from a jc to an ivy league would comment on their experience and anyone who knows what its like to transfer. Thanks!

First you’ll have to recognize what a long shot you are talking about. UPenn accepted ~10% of transfer students who applied and they use the HS transcript as well as college info (only 240 admitted). http://www.upenn.edu/ir/Common%20Data%20Set/UPenn%20Common%20Data%20Set%202015-16.pdf

Cornell has a couple of public supported colleges so they have agreements with some NY CCs and they do accept more. They do look at the Transcript though not the SAT. http://dpb.cornell.edu/documents/1000567.pdf

@“Erin’s Dad” yeah I do understand that it is a long shot but i personally believe that if I work hard enough I could have that chance of getting in . I also forgot but I put community college/other. What I didn’t write was that I did get into a private university and maybe that could make my chance of transferring better. But I’m really looking out more for my parents because ivy leagues are expensive and not having to pay the full amount for 4 years would be a better option for them and for me as well.

@“Erin’s Dad” but also thank you for replying. Sometimes I don’t get a reply and I’m just left wondering haha

Cornell’s Land Grant Colleges - CALS, ILR and CVM - accept a lot of CC / Transfer students. You can go to their websites for each college and see requirements for transfer apps - That’s probably your best bet. Just make sure you take required courses before applying to transfer. Good luck!

Successful transfer students (besides the Cornell situation above) are typically students who were viable applicants as HS seniors but for some reason, went to other schools or delayed matriculation. Did the applicant get multiple acceptances from Ivy type schools? Then he/she MIGHT be a viable transfer applicant. For you, you should focus on less selective transfer destinations. Good luck

Some super-selective schools (e.g. Stanford and Columbia’s General Studies division) appear to favor transfers with non-traditional backgrounds (e.g. older students, those with military backgrounds, etc.).

“My main goal is to become a physical therapist”

Then you should be concentrating on getting yourself into DPT programs. A detour through an undergrad degree at U Penn or Cornell won’t make you a more viable applicant for those programs. Did you apply anywhere that had direct entry BS/DPT?

@ucbalumnus I agree that some schools value the non-traditional transfer applicant – ones with great academic promise. But let me emphasize to this poster that he/she is NOT one of them based on the self reported GPA and SAT. OP: typical admits to Penn and Cornell were the students who were likely the most academically gifted and influential students in your HS in the last ten years. While you weren’t a complete slacker, your academic profile doesn’t match those sorts of applicants. As others have said, if your goal truly is to be a PT, then investigate pathways for that. Chasing the Ivy label will only be a hindrance. Good luck to you.