Again, what are you falling in love with?
i wish people would stop harassing the OP. for those of you forgetting these are young, often confused kids who are trying to figure stuff out. @mmmmeliI56 what is it exactly that you love about yale or columbia that you wouldn’t find at chicago? is there anything concrete? yes Yale and Columbia are ivies, but Chicago is very comparable. So if deep down you just want the ivy league name, trust me it will not make any practical difference in your life. Sure you could try to transfer but dont plan your future around it. and you should definitely not make your choice based on which provides the better chances fro transferring. transferring to able or columbia is as likely as winning the lottery.
^ agreed. Please do not pick your school based on your transfer application because you’re going to set yourself up for disappointment.
As to whether a 3.8 from Chicago or a 4.0 from Pitt, even if those were the 2 options on the table, I wouldn’t be able to say which was better. Too many other factors, from your essay to your recs to your activities/awards.
And do pick what school you think you’ll be happier at. I worked with a student who wanted to transfer from UChicago and applied to 4 schools. She wasn’t socially happy at Chicago–it was the most prestigious school she was accepted to, but once she got there she realized she didn’t fit into Chicago’s social vibe (she thought it was too “intense” and “nerdy” for her…her words not mine.) None of her 4 transfer applications worked out.
Anyway long spiel short try to figure out what school you’d be happier at and do your due diligence now.
Thanks once again to the comments who were there to help. I think I have decided on the University of Pittsburgh!
@Arwen1: The thing is, Columbia, at least from many accounts, would also be “intense” and “nerdy”.
Which is why I and others are trying to figure what exactly the OP is falling in love with.
If the goal (discovered late in the process) is to leave home in Chicagoland for a good college, then you might decide you like Pitt enough to stay. If not, then you should be able to find attractive schools with higher transfer admission rates than Yale’s or Columbia’s (as back-up to Yale & Columbia, if not as primary targets).
However, an issue I haven’t seen mentioned is financial aid.
Even if your transfer application is accepted, you may not get as much FA as you would have for first time, first year admission. I don’t think colleges that are need-blind, and claim to cover 100% of demonstrated need, necessarily extend the same policies to transfer applicants. But if you’re a full-pay applicant, perhaps that would help your chances at some schools.
Good choice, best of luck. #:-S
@tk21769 Are you saying Yale and Columbia use a different financial aid formula for transfers?
Because the Ivies don’t give any merit aid. I believe they treat all domestic students the same for financial aid,
@ClarinetDad16: Colleges that meet full need for freshmen applicants may not meet full need for transfers.
Curious, but if you got into UChicago, why at all would you want to transfer to Yale or Columbia. UChicago is an Ivy peer and is as good as, if not better, than any of them. Just go there.
@IsaacTheFuture Too late, OP chose Pitt.
All transfer applicants who are citizens or permanent residents of the United States or students granted refugee visas by the United States are read in a need-blind manner. Foreign students applying for aid must understand that such aid is awarded on an extremely limited basis. Columbia meets 100% of demonstrated financial need for admitted transfer students and Columbia does not give any scholarships for academic, athletic or artistic merit.
Yale College admits transfer students on the basis of academic and personal promise without regard to their ability to pay. This policy helps to ensure that Yale will always be accessible to talented students from the widest possible range of backgrounds. Financial aid is available to U.S. citizens and permanent residents as well as to international students. Financial aid is awarded solely on the basis of financial need, and Yale meets 100 percent of a student’s demonstrated financial need. See the Yale Financial Aid website for more information about financial aid at Yale.
@ClarinetDad16: “Need-blind” is not the same as “Meet full-need”.
I don’t know about Yale, but I know that Columbia states that they do not guarantee meeting full need for transfers through their 3-2 engineering Combined Plan program. Does Columbia state that they meet full need for “regular” transfers? Can you point to a link stating that?
Hmm. Looks like Columbia contradicts itself.
On here, they say:
"Full Need
We meet 100% of the demonstrated financial need for all first-years and transfers pursuing their first degree."
https://cc-seas.financialaid.columbia.edu/how/aid/works
But on here, they say:
“Transfer Students: Columbia is need blind when admitting transfer students. However, Columbia has a limited financial aid budget for transfer students. As a result, we are unable to meet the full need of all transfer admits. All complete applications at the time of Admission will be considered for financial aid.”
https://cc-seas.financialaid.columbia.edu/eligibility/myths
Whatever the truth is, Columbia is misleading.