<p>I will be attending Cornell this fall, but I'd like to transfer to Yale.
Assume that I work hard and join activities, what is my chance?</p>
<p>My stats are
SAT 2270
SAT II 3 800s</p>
<p>200 hr volunteering in high school
tri-lingual
lived in other countries
single-parent family
father is a cancer survivor (part of my reason for transferring so I can be closeto home)</p>
<p>Also, what should I do to distinguish myself? Should I do more community service? Find a job? I am pretty lost...</p>
<p>There have been two other threads in the past three days from Cornell students wanting transfer info. Go back a page or two and you'll find them. I think the word transfer was in the title of both threads.</p>
<p>Cornell is great school. You may love it and never want to leave it. Go in with the attitude that you're going to be there all four years and fully immerse yourself in undergraduate life. If transferring is always on your mind, you won't make the best of the amazing opportunities Cornell offers. Don't waste your freshman year pining after another school, especially when chances are EXTREMELY low that you'll get into it as a transfer. Yale accepts around 4% of transfer applicants.</p>
<p>As I stated in at least one of the recent transfer threads, a very high GPA from Cornell and having a carefully articulated and valid reason for wanting to transfer will be the two most important things.</p>
<p>When I chose Cornell, I definitely thought I'd enjoy the opportunities that the school offered. When I look back though, I think Cornell basically ditched me financially and also more importantly, I want to be close to home for my dad. Do you think on my application I should emphasize my dad's illness more or Yale's programs more?</p>
<p>cornell not meeting your needs + yale fulfilling them</p>
<p>I would only mention your father's illness in passing unless your family absolutely needs you near home, which they apparently do not because you'll be away next year. You need to very carefully research what programs Yale offers that Cornell does not or doesn't offer to an adequate extent.</p>
<p>You might want to talk to the Cornell financial aid folks as your father's illness no doubt changes your financial picture dramatically. Your financial aid there can be revisited. If you truly can't afford Cornell and the debt you'll incur this next year, you might want to consider a gap year. This would allow you to give your family the support they need and to apply to schools that would serve you better financially. I doubt you can take a gap and apply elsewhere while holding a spot at Cornell, however.</p>
<p>Perfect grades (4.0) </p>
<p>+</p>
<p>professors willing to write a recommendation for you based on your performance in their classes (you may want to take a couple of smaller classes in your area of interest so this is easier to accomplish)</p>
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<li></li>
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<p>a good reason to want to transfer so you can write a decent essay about it (e.g., Yale's specific programs, Yale's tremendous advantage because it is a smaller, more intimate university, opportunities in your field) </p>
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<li></li>
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<p>being involved in something as an undergraduate at a high level, e.g., writing great stories for the campus paper, volunteering, etc.</p>
<p>=</p>
<p>decent chance at admission to the hardest school in the country to transfer into, i.e., Yale</p>
<p>My info is dated, but it seems like extracurriculars at your current college are the least important ingredient for transfer students. While I'm sure extraordinary extracurricular commitment can only help, the transfer students I knew had amazing grades in tough classes but had nothing exceptional going for them extracurricularly at the college they were tranferring from.</p>
<p>^Agree. I listed that fourth because the first three factors are more important.</p>
<p>thanks for the info! I guess I should really focus on academics and relationship with the professors. Do you think that if I don't get a 4.0 GPA, yale would understand that in some part it is because Cornell has grade deflation?</p>
<p>123orange--You don't need a 4.0, but your GPA needs to be very high. They'll understand about the grade deflation, but only to a point. The transfer students I knew had at least 3.8s from USNWR top 25 universities (including a transfer student from Cornell).</p>
<p>right, a perfect 4.0 is not needed, but 3.8+ is about standard. Get EXCELLENT recs and have solid reasons for why yale is good for you.</p>
<p>On the admissions page it says that transfer applicants must send in their SAT scores. Does this mean that I have to take the SATs again after I go to Cornell? Or I can just send the scores from when I was in high school?</p>
<p>Send your scores from HS.</p>
<p>I see. Thanks for the info guys!</p>