<p>I'm currently enrolled at a CC. The opportunities here are great, but limited. Thus far, my GPA has been a 4.0 and, quite frankly, I can honestly say that if I were to take every course offered here (there are a ton) I could pull a 4.0 quite easily. I didn't perform very well in high school, but have been super starring it here. I'm looking into applying to Harvard, among other schools, next fall. I understand that competition is fierce, but I have multiple reasons why Harvard and other elite universities would help me out career-wise. Would applying from a CC put my application at a disadvantage in any way? For example, Harvard, Dartmouth, and a myriad of other universities offer fantastic research opportunities that I just cannot receive at my current institution. Worth a shot?</p>
<p>for harvard/yale/stanford, i wouldn’t bother applying unless you would have been a competitive candidate for freshmen admissions. </p>
<p>dartmouth is another story. if you write a strong essay and get good ECs, then you could be in the running. i’d apply for junior year. </p>
<p>as for your multiple reasons, research isn’t a key reason. you can do research at a state school. you should find some more school-specific reasons</p>
<p>I feel the same way about my CC. Except, I don’t feel I could pull a 4.0 with EVERY class. I think I could pull a 4.0 in every class except for the higher level Math, Science and Engineering courses.
I think the easiest Ivies to transfer into are Cornell, Penn and Columbia.</p>
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<p>As does every other applicant who applies.</p>
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<p>Absolutely true, particularly the “myriad of other universities” part. The majority of 4 yr colleges and universities will provide you will abundant research opportunities, not just the most selective colleges in the nation.</p>
<p>Almost anyone can think of a “compelling reason” to study at Harvard, regardless of Department or major. Great research, top notch professors etc etc. With Harvard, Yale etc, you really need to be as competitive as possible and have a compelling reason. But there are plenty of other great schools that you’d have a better chance of getting into so I’d probably focus on those.</p>
<p>I think transfer applicant admit rates at these colleges are under 2-3%, which include applicants transferring from some pretty prestigious schools.</p>
<p>I’m also interested in University of Chicago…</p>
<p>@ JMEG91 I felt how you felt at my current CC and i did end up pulling 2 years with a 4.0. However when i started to recieve my admissions letters from ivys they were all rejections. I honestly do not think a 4.0 at a CC will get you everywhere you want to go, and highschool stats do matter.</p>
<p>With a weak HS record and good years at a CC, your window will be a good state school, not an ivy unless you have an amazing EC.</p>
<p>Transferring from CC to an IVY has been done before, but it’s extremely difficult. You will be up against students from other top tier schools and you will need to distinguish yourself as an applicant. Why should they choose you over another good student from a more prestigious school? Small differences in SAT or GPA numbers aren’t as important as what you have to offer. Elite schools are looking to fill in the holes that they did not fill for that class year (as well as the whole student body). </p>
<p>It is unfortunate that you didn’t do well in high school, but that will not automatically disqualify you. However, you will need to have done something significant during your college years. I don’t mean joining and being president of multiple fluff clubs; you’ll want to pursue something you’re honestly passionate about.</p>
<p>I wonder where I would fall. I had a 3.5* GPA during my FY of HS, a 2.2 for my SY, a 3.9 for my JY and a 3.6 for my SY, I think my cumulative was a 3.3, but I’m not sure. about 5 honors courses and 2 AP courses. SAT scores 1180/1900. So I guess that’s an “average” HS record? </p>
<p>I’m starting to wonder if, as an English major, it even matters anymore (trying to transfer into an elite school). I mean if I can just get into a top 40 school, I’ll feel comfortable about my grad school chances. And I’ve heard that some schools like UVA and UNC actually have English departments comparable to, or better than a lot of the top 20 schools.</p>
<p>I even read somewhere that UCB actually has the best undergraduate English department. Don’t know if that’s true or not, it would seem credible because it’s such a great school</p>
<p>Dreaming Big,
If grad schools for english are anything like grad schools for philosophy, I’d say that the overall prestige of the school is not as important as the english department’s strength. Figure out what you want to concentrate on and research the specific departments thoroughly. I would recommend you sit in on a class or two and even talk to someone from the department to get a feel for the school. Secondly, your college GPA or teacher recommendations will not be as important as your writing sample to grad schools. Of course, schools will be evaluating you as a whole applicant and a 4.0 GPA with a glowing recommendation from a famous author would look amazing, but they want to see skill before anything else. This is obvious but: AS AN ENGLISH MAJOR, YOU’LL NEED TO BE AN AMAZING WRITER. I wouldn’t worry about a “top 40 school” and would focus on what school can provide the best education for your major. Good luck!</p>
<p>Oh and to add, Grad schools know what departments are stellar and what departments aren’t. This is because, well, it’s they’re job to know. The english professors you’ll be working with will also be the ones who will be accepting you. This will be another reason why overall school prestige is not as important as department strength.</p>
<p>I’m planning on going to law school actually, I just enjoy English as a major because I love to read and writing has always been a major strength of mine. So, I want to go to a school that has a particularly strong English department, but because undergraduate English rankings are not readily available, I assumed that the top 20 schools must have the best English departments.</p>
<p>@ JMEG91 I dont know how bad you did in hs but I dont think anyone on this fourm can beat my 1.9 gpa. Like Hegelian said I knew I had to distinguish myself from all of the other transfer students, so i did join multiple clubs, carried a part time job and internship during my 2 years at a Community College, ptk, and received about 2 awards, one for academic excellence and one in chemistry, both are the highest you can go at my school. But I guess it wasnt enough for an ivy. i’m not trying to say it is impossible but it is very hard.</p>
<p>Dreaming big,
Unfortunately, you’ll need to research each department individually. I find those overgeneralized ‘top XX lists’ to be mostly useless. Look at as many schools as you can; look at the courses offered and the professors who are currently teaching. Since you want to go to law school, maybe you would appreciate a politically active school? Or one with some good pre-law classes? Maybe that would narrow your choices.</p>
<p>Well I’ve spent the last couple of weeks thinking about it, and I think next fall I’m going to be smart and only apply to Johns Hopkins, UNC and UVA. I think those 3 have elite English departments and, unlike the Ivies, I actually have a shot at them.
I’m particularly enamored by UNC’s English department, and I’m kicking myself for not applying this year. I might have just cost myself a year out of my life, weakened my grad school application because I’ll have another year of CC coursework and maybe could have lost a summer where I could have been interning instead of working retail. :(</p>
<p>Would it be in my favor to transfer to a good state school after a year and apply as a junior transfer to an Ivy?</p>
<p>What I’m trying to ask is: How can I maximize my chances? It shouldn’t be a problem transferring to my state school (Rutgers University). However (and a number of you have made this point as well), I’m not sure what sort of “hook” schools like Harvard and the like are looking for. In the end, schools like Vanderbilt, JHU, etc. would be absolutely fine in the event that the Ivies reject my application.</p>
<p>It just sucks because I made so many dumb mistakes in HS…I wish I could go back in time and change it all. Anyway, I’ll wait for everyone’s input and post later this afternoon.</p>