<p>I was accepted into:
NYU
McGill University
Vassar College
Reed College</p>
<p>On totally opposite ends of the spectrum I know.</p>
<p>Would I be at an advantage applying to an Ivy League school or top LAC: such as Brown, Yale, Amherst coming from any of these schools in particular. My instinct is that colleges would probably look most favorably upon Vassar, but I don't want to go there. I am Canadian and I think I'm inclined to go to McGill. I only want to spend the extra money on a US education if I can attend one of the very best schools.</p>
<p>Some stats..</p>
<p>My highschool GPA was probably 4.0-4.3 unweighted
AP Biology Score:5
AP Modern European History Score: 5
AP Psychology Score : 5
AP English Language and Comp. Score:4
AP English Lit. Score:4</p>
<p>SAT I:2030
SAT II:
English Lit:720
Biology:650</p>
<p>Definitely don’t go to Vassar if you wouldn’t want to spend all four years there (same for any of those other options). Basing where you want to go on the prospect of potentially transferring, particularly to an Ivy, is not a good strategy at all. Yale has a 3% acceptance transfer rate… and they definitely do look at your HS record. Even if you went to the Ivies’ favorite college to accept transfers from, the odds are still stacked pretty high. </p>
<p>Basically, make your choice on the assumption that you’re going to be there for the full four years. That way, you’ll enjoy yourself more and won’t be as disappointed if you aren’t able to transfer successfully.</p>
<p>Do some research before posting questions on this forum. As far as I recall, McGill does not take transfers so that won’t even be an option if you finish your first year elsewhere. Check their website to be sure.</p>
<p>First of all, McGill does take transfers… you should do some research before posting on this forum. And secondly, I’m not interested in transferring to McGill, I was already accepted.</p>
<p>I’m not sure that going to a certain school will give a advantage to transferring. Maybe going to a Vassar/McGill/Reed will help with liberal arts schools as those have the higher liberal arts area of study/classes. Maybe location could play a slight difference such as going from NYU to most Ivies isn’t that far in traveling. I think that what people said about the schools being so selective that say for a reason you don’t get into school and end up attending these schools 4 years you may want to go with whatever is the best fit personally rather than for a jumping pad to a future school. All those schools are very good and I doubt going to one over the other will make or break your future plans. Again these schools are really up there, and just under that Ivy level. Unless you dead set on transferring then I may just stick around for 4 years and build a strong foundation and go to an Ivy for grad.</p>
<p>Why don’t you just choose the one you would most like to attend and at least give it a shot before transferring out. How do you know you won’t be perfectly happy there?</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Go wherever you think you would be happiest and keep an open mind; this is important regardless of whether or not you are set on transferring.</p></li>
<li><p>In my opinion, you have an equal shot coming out of any of the four schools. Getting in as a transfer depends more on your college GPA, HS GPA, SATs, recs, and especially essays, NOT your undergrad institution.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>As long as you can articulate why you are unsatisfied at your current school, what you have done to make it better, and why x school serves your needs more, then you are fine. However, keep in mind that ivies and top LAC’s have very very low acceptance rates.</p>
<p>I agree with Jimmy completely with one minor clarification. I think your undergrad institution matters SOME when transferring, but not as much as other factors. The fact of the matter is some universities are more challenging then others. And even if that weren’t true, it might come to the school’s personal preference. Stanford, I’ve heard, prefers to take exceptional transfers from CCs and lower ranked schools, while many of the Ivies prefer transfers from other Ivies or top-ranked schools. Either way, with your list, I don’t think it’ll matter. It’s not like you’re deciding between Reed and some poorly regarded university. They’re all good and will probably be regarded equally.</p>
<p>Not all Ivies are made the same. Yale transfers come from everywhere between Oxford to community college (3 in my transfer year came from the latter). I really don’t think it’s something to fret about: and I want to echo the sentiment that you should be choosing your college for the fall with a positive attitude of staying there for all four years.</p>
<p>There’s actually no direct correlation between going to an Ivy and ending up more successful. All of the schools you list are great places to be, and awesome places to graduate from.</p>
<p>While there have been several exceptions to the notion that success does not equal college, I would say that statistically people graduate from brand name schools are more successful than people who don’t . I respectfully disagree with everyone who says that going to an Ivy doesn’t matter, they are selective for a reason - only the best and the brightest go there. I am not saying that people who go to other colleges are dumb, just that the proportion of smart people at Ivies are much greater. Therefore the brand name will help you put your foot in the door when you are looking for a job.</p>
<p>That’s flawed logic. It’s impossible to separate the success that comes from going to an Ivy school from that which comes from being a bright kid. Bright kids succeed; many bright kids go to Ivies. So is it in the school name, or is it in the kids?</p>
<p>My cousin attended Drexel for a year then transfered to Cornell Hotel; she was pretty strong acadeically so if you do well in college you could transfer to an Ivy/Top LAC. I would err away from NYU because they cost a lot of money, and would personally attend Vassar.</p>
<p>Back when Harvard took transfers, I transferred there from Northwestern. There was a McGill transfer in the year above me.</p>
<p>I think the most important thing to do is to go to a school where you can do outstanding work and get really, really good grades and letters. That means going to a school where you will be happy and where you will find academic departments that are a good fit for you. So, yeah, even if you do want to transfer, the most important thing is to go to a school that fits you. </p>
<p>All things being equal, I would DEFINITELY go to McGill because of the smaller expense. McGill is a great school, at least as good as Vassar, and it would set you up for transfers or for grad applications. You might love it for all four years.</p>
<p>i would go to vassar. if you do well there, it’ll show you can handle the rigor of another top school. as i’m sure you know, vassar is one of the best LACs out there.</p>