<p>I'm attending Stony Brook University this Fall as a freshman because it was the best school I was accepted to/only school I could afford. I didn't work very hard in high school and so I wasn't able to gain admission to top schools, but I want to make change.</p>
<p>I'm going to work very hard in college and have my sights set on transferring to a top university after 2 years (by this time I understand your high school grades don't usually matter for transfers.) Here are some schools I'm very interested in right now (my major is journalism right now, open to school suggestions):</p>
<p>UNC-Chapel Hill
NYU
USC
UCLA
Michigan-Ann Arbor
Emory
Wisconsin-Madison
Penn State-University Park
Maryland-College Park
Brown/Columbia (I can dream right?)</p>
<p>I realize these are great and very selective schools, if I do two years at Stony Brook, what kind of grades would I need to get into these schools assuming I have good ECs, essays, recs, etc?</p>
<p>For example, would a 3.5 GPA be sufficient for most of these? I just want to know what to aim for. </p>
<p>Additionally, if my High School GPA is an 80 (bad, I know) but I do very well my first year of college, would it even be worth trying to transfer to one of these schools, or am I definitely going to have to wait two years?/Would applying and getting rejected the first year hurt my chances the next time?</p>
<p>If you are admitted to an OOS public, will you be able to afford ca. 50k/yr to attend? UNC-CH is the only one of the publics listed that treat OOS students like IS for need based FA. NYU is known for very poor FA and Brown has both need-aware admissions and limited FA for transfers.</p>
<p>^For publics, only UNC-CH and UVA are known to give good FA to OOS students. For privates OOS doesn’t make a difference; generally the ones that give generous FA to fr also give good FA to transfers, a couple of exceptions (there may be more) are Brown and Columbia (sorry, forgot it in my earlier post):</p>
<p>For more information on Brown’s policies for transfers, go to the Official Brown transfer thread and I give a link to some data on one of the first few pages.</p>
<p>You have listed a relatively wide range of schools, the gpa that make you competitive for UMd is not the same as for C. I suggest you read the opening posts in the Transfer 101 sticky thread, and then go to the Resources sticky thread and read the past Results threads. They give actual data one current school, gpa and transfer results.</p>
<p>4.0 is a lot easier said than done. I’ll try my hardest to get the best gradesi can, I’m just looking for ballpark from people who know the transfer game better than me.</p>
<p>Lol, are you me from last year? I’m actually a freshman at Stony Brook right now, and the main reason I chose it was for its above average financial aid and its renowned academics. I came in with plans transferring to an urban university, more specifically NYU; I’m just waiting on that decision now. </p>
<p>Anyhow, my advice for you is to go in with an open mind. I know that sounds difficult considering you’re choosing Stony Brook because it was ‘the highest bidder’ per say, but believe me, you’re going to have a much happier experience if you at least try. You’re going to spend at least a year here, so why not make the best of your experience?</p>
<p>Also, you should really narrow down your potential transfer list. That’s wayyy to many colleges to choose from. Having such a list shows me that you are already turning your back on Stony Brook, like I said give it a chance! If you do end up wanting to transfer, you need to make sure that the school(s) you’re applying to is/are a good fit. Can you actually SEE yourself at that school, mingling with the student body, active in their extra-curricular activities? Do you like the location? Since you’re list has colleges from all over the U.S., are you going to be okay (and not emotionally strained) living far away from home? Have you actually visited these colleges, talked with actual students, read alumni statements? Or are you just applying to these colleges for their prestige? You need to really sit down and think this through, or else you’re going to set yourself up for a pretty miserable undergraduate education. Also, narrowing down your list will not only save you money on application fees, but your application essays will be stronger as you’ll know what you truly want from the college(s), as well as from an undergraduate education.</p>
<p>Best of luck, and feel free to message me if you have any personal questions.</p>
<p>I will definitely keep an open mind, but I still want to at the very least keep my options open and know what I need in case I decide to transfer. So would I have to keep a 3.8+ for all of these schools if I want to get into the journalism program?</p>
<p>Take rigorous courses and aim for A’s. Challenge yourself across the board. I would aim for a 4.0. And as stated above, maybe consider narrowing down your choices. For instance, look at 5-6 schools that have solid journalism programs, do your research on those schools, and apply. Remember to select 2 reaches, 2 targets, and 2 safeties. Also, be weary of the public universities; they are reluctant to come out of their pockets for out-of-state students.</p>
<p>@nykidd Hahaha I am actually a SBU student and just got into Umich Ann Arbor and UNC- Chapel Hill as a junior transfer. Feel free to pm me if you have any questions! :D</p>