Hello all! I currently go to a private liberal arts school in Illinois. I only attended because with the scholarships I got and being a commuter student, I was able to save a good amount of money. However, my first year there was absolutely awful (for many reasons I won’t get into). I always planned on transferring out though. I am striving to gain admission into any one of the Ivy League schools, Harvard being the dream, or any other equivalent institution such Stanford or MIT. Yes, I know the odds are extremely slim and in the end it’s really up to luck, but I’ve gone over it in my head and am applying anyway. I do have safety schools though! That being so, the liberal arts school I currently attend is raising tuition considerably and I’m not sure I’ll be able to afford it for my sophomore year so I’ve been thinking about calling it quits and going to a local community college for my second year. I’m afraid this will make the already tiny chances of me being accepted into top colleges even more unattainable, however. So I kind of feel stuck and don’t know what to do. Will going to 2 different schools before (especially going from a private 4 year school to an underfunded community college) hurt my admission decisions for top colleges?
A practical question first: can you walk away from your current school without owing any money? if you have already re-enrolled for this autumn that might be a problem. Have the tuition increases just been announced, and are to come into effect for this academic year? (that would be unusual ime).
Don’t make any plans contingent on getting into Harvard; that’s like buying a house you can’t afford because you’re sure you’ll win the lottery tomorrow.
In other words…if it makes more sense for you (financially and academically) to go to a CC and then onto a four-year school, whether that school is Safety School U or Harvard, do that; if it makes more sense to stay at your school (eg, if your CC is so underfunded it doesn’t offer your major or the credits won’t transfer to other schools), then do that. Apply to Harvard, but know that they only admit 1%, sometimes 0%, of transfer applicants – so finish your application and then make the rest of your decisions as if Harvard doesn’t exist. That way, you’ll be prepared if you get rejected and pleasantly surprised if you get accepted.