I was waitlisted but out of curiosity which one correlates with the school regarding your application to a higher standard?
They’re both very similar but I would say the transfer would be ever so slightly higher. This is because the transfer option guarantees you a spot at BU assuming you do weel enough your freshmen year. They want you but want you in a year from now. It’s like signing an international player but letting them play for another year before joining your league. Waitlist, however, means you are great but not good enough to be in the top n of their applicants, the n they accepted. They both seem similar as to how the college viewed your application, but in practicality, one basically means no (waitlist) and the other can mean just as good of a yes as a normal yes, and you might even save some money by attending a nearby public school to transfer from.
This isn’t by any means to drag you down, but I’ve never thought about the intricacies of the college decision process before outside of acceptance and denied.
Hopes to you getting off the waitlist however rare it may be.
I disagree, waitlisted are people who are slightly under qualified but willing to be taken into the college. For guaranteed transfers it’s just like saying that college does not want your grades/test scores to hurt their freshmen profile so they’d rather take you after a year.
I think you’re right on with this, lomna17. My daughter just received the offer of guaranteed transfer from BU on Saturday. Her dad and I were confused as far as what this meant. I wanted to know if it was better or worse to be on the waitlist or offered guaranteed transfer. Called and spoke with Admissions just today, and it was her opinion that GT is, because it guarantees (provided you meet GPA requirement your first year in college). She said they haven’t gone to the waitlist for the past 3 years. She did tell me, though, that sometimes they do rereview people off the waitlist (which kind of contradicted what she just told me). I also asked her which speaks better to where the applicant stands among the pool of applicants. She said neither speak to the strength of the applicant (waitlist or guaranteed transfer), but has more to do with best fit. Confusing, I know! I’m seeing this as a good thing. Because, it means she has another option out there. We also found out accepting this offer is non-binding, which is nice if she chooses to go with another offer.
Just to chime in here, my girls got the Jamuary/London CGS program. They are both wishing they had received the guaranteed transfer.
They need to decide if they want to enter school in January, (plus what to do for 1 semester) and then deal with CGS.
They are 3.95 GPA students who are in the top 5% of their class at a rigorous prep school. They have mediocre SAT scores, so I’m sure that drove the decision, but not sure that CGS is the place for them.
At least with the transfer option they could have attended one of their other choices (Syracuse, Fordham, Penn State) for a year.
Long way of saying, I think the Transfer option is the best.
Hello, flute1298. Love your Winnie The Poo, btw. What is the January/London Program? I’m just curious, did they apply for this program, or was it offered as an option for them? My daughter was offered the guaranteed transfer option. We spoke with admissions, and were told it is better than being on the waitlist. The important thing with this offer is to go to another college and maintain the required GPA (for the option). GPA requirement is 3.0. Kind of a nice option, because you can save some money this way (going to less expensive school the first year).
The January London CGS program starts school at BU in the college of General Studies in January. They then spend 6 weeks in London over the summer. The cost is the same are for 2 full semesters.
The CGS is a liberal arts program where all the students take the same classes, pre assigned by the curriculum for their first 4 semesters. My understanding so far, is that there is very little (if any) flexibility in scheduling/ class choice.
My girls really wish they were offered the guaranteed transfer. For our situation, it would be a much more palatable option