I would like to transfer to Columbia or Yale for my sophomore year in college. What would help my chances?
Would it look better if I went to the University of Pittsburgh or Uchicago for my freshman year and applied as a transfer? I am debating whether attending those two.
You should probably attend whichever you’d feel more comfortable staying at, in case the ~1-4% transfer admissions rates work against you.
@mmmmeliii56 did you get into Penn?
From another thread at the columbia forum it looks like OP is now deciding between UPitt and UChicago but wants to transfer to Columbia or Yale after freshman year. @mmmmeliii56 I am guessing Yale and Columbia are your top transfer choices but you are thinking of other ivies too?
If you didn’t get in this year it’s highly doubtful you will get in as a transfer, so plan on picking the school you can live with.
Personally I would choose Pitt, better chance of making a high GPA.
^ true but what if transferring does not work out and OP has to stay at their original school? Then choosing Pitt becomes riskier.
I can’t imagine why anyone would want to transfer out of U.Chicago to an Ivy League school, unless either Chicago was too academically demanding and they want something easier or Chicago doesn’t have a good program in their major. I agree with other posts that @mmmmeliii56 should go somewhere where they would want to go for 4 years, because the chance of transferring is too small to matter.
The OP doesn’t want to go to either really, so pick the one with the best chance of transferring. Being at Pitt isn’t the worst thing in the world.
Here is the other issue, the OP could easily end up in the middle of the pack at UChicago, if that is the case how good can the LOR’s from the profs be? Also it would be a lateral move, so again how much would UChicago administration help them especially if they knew the OP showed up wanting to transfer. OTOH, if choosing Pitt, probably at the top of the class and Pitt profs might be more willing to help out if they see the OP as moving a step up even if they didn’t want to lose them.
Give up on the idea that you are going to transfer just because you didn’t get into your first choice. That is just not a legitimate reason to transfer.
You have excellent choices… pick the one that is the best academic, social fit and financial fit, and plan to be there for 4 years.
Folks, don’t entertain kids who are planning to transfer before they even step foot on campus for their first year. This is madness.
@CU123: You realize that the odds of the OP successfully transferring in from Pitt would still be incredibly low, right?
And I would not assume that your multiple assumptions hold. At all.
I do sometimes wonder about the decision-making ability of some people on CC.
So the OP evidently isn’t satisfied with the option of the U of C so they decide that they want to try to transfer to Yale and the Ivy that is most similar to the U of C in every way.
Can someone explain that logic to me?
@PurpleTitan i ll hazard a guess, he/she wants to attend an ivy league school…i feel also the title of the thread makes it pretty clear…OP probably likes many of the characteristics of UChicago but also wants the Ivy League tag so he wants to transfer to one of the ivies most similar to U of C, i.e. Yale and Columbia. I agree with you though hardly a reason to transfer.
Yale’s transfer acceptance rate is like sub 1% and Columbia has terrible financial aid for transfer students as well as a low acceptance rate. You shouldn’t choose a school right now based on the speculation that you will transfer to one of these schools. University of Chicago is an amazing school in a great city, and it is on par with Ivies. You should give it a chance.
Does Y take transfers??
I’ve heard that the answer is “no,” except maybe if a newly-hired professor’s family member is allowed to transfer in…or some other highly hooked person.
@mmmmeliii56 In the transfer application, you have to demonstrate to Yale that you want to pursue a field of study that is not offered at your current institution. That might be a tough case to make coming out of UChicago
UChicago is on par with the Ivies - why would you want to transfer out of there?
In any case, if it’s choice of Chicago vs Pitt, Chicago is better (except in Nursing, which is Pitt’s strength). I’d go there and forget about transferring (sure, apply, but don’t count on it).
Why would anybody transfer from Chicago to Columbia? They are identical.
Anyway, since transferring into Columbia or Yale is virtually impossible (Yale admits 2%-3% of transfer applicants while Columbia does not release that sort of data but likely admits just as few), I would recommend going to Chicago over Pitt.
Agree completely, Unless you have a most compelling personal reason to leave the City of Chicago to be in NY or New Haven, it makes very little sense to leave UChicago. It is also a really bad idea to go to a place with the predetermined mindset of transferring.