<p>Tentative conclusions are fine, but they need to be useful heuristics, hypotheses to be checked out. We all need to make interim judgments. Thanks.</p>
<p>You can't transfer into Princeton. And this year Harvard, Dartmouth, Yale, and Stanford took about 30 kids or less as transfers. Realistically, he has almost no chance at being accepted at these schools. If he is extremely unhappy at his current school he can try, but I doubt he will develop an interest that Columbia can't fill.</p>
<p>addy189, thanks a lot. I know Princeton does not accept transfers; he was accepted at Dartmouth. He might have been interested in HY but the stress is not worth it, plus if he thinks of transfer he won't commit to Columbia and if he is rejected at transfer will feel a misfit at Columbia. As you rightly point out, there is nothing that Columbia cannot satisfy. Thanks.</p>
<p>To addy189, </p>
<p>I wouldn't say he has no chance at being accepted. His chances are just as good as any other applicant, perhaps moreso coming from Columbia, if he can justify his reasons for transferring.</p>
<p>that's why I said almost no chance. a 4% acceptance rate means almost no chance for everyone, regardless of reason. and you are less likely to have compelling reasons if you are coming from a school like Columbia, not that it's not possible. But again b/c of the unlikelihood of being accepted I wouldn't encourage thinking about this in advance.</p>
<p>I am just curious. What are the so-called good reasons for transferring?</p>
<p>addy189,</p>
<p>Coming from Columbia in no way means he will have less compelling reasons for transferring. He just has to present the reasons he does have, should they arise, in the correct light. Furthermore, because of the unlikelihood of acceptance I would argue he should start considering the possibility now. This way he can consider what he needs to do to be the most competitive candidate he can possibly be. We have no idea why exactly his son may want to transfer. But, given that he has some early apprehension, we just can't say whether or not this will be the best move for him.</p>
<p>CX3, excellent response. Now, please opine some good reasons for transfer.</p>
<p>4% is not a statistically insignificant percentage...</p>
<p>Except that as of now his only reason appears to be lack of prestige. Looking at the accepted transfers from this board, I think nearly all of them were not from top ten private schools. I am saying that it is unlikely that this boy will have a legitimate reason and unlikely that he will be accepted as a transfer. I stated that if he somehow becomes extremely unhappy (due to a reason other than prestige) than he can apply. I'm wasn't discouraging that course of action or stating that it is absolutely impossible to transfer. I'm saying, that he should only consider transferring after he spends some time at Columbia. And it seems like this boy only wants to trade up, not truly find a school that would be a better fit for him, if that's even needed. I don't know the specifics of what he's looking for or why on earth he's apprehensive about Columbia. Judging by his father's posts, I will stick with my above theory that he's solely concerned with prestige.</p>
<p>In which case, CX3 are you actually advising rami's son to go into Columbia with the intent to trade up? Should he actively look for faults in Columbia's program and then use those as reasons for transfer? It's obvious by ramiswami's constant posts asking for legitimate reasons one might dump Columbia for Yale, that his son does not have a legitimate reason. In which case, starting to "prepare now" would involve figuring out what he wanted out of his education and then deciding why Columbia couldn't fill this need. This is a terrible way to start your first year of college, and I doubt Columbia wants a student who thinks this way.</p>
<p>addy189, at least from my perspective, most of the Harvard transfers I know are from really good schools in the first place.</p>
<p>Please don't put words in my mouth. In no way am I suggesting that he should "trade up." As a matter-of-fact, if you look at my other post in this thread I wrote he would need compelling reasons for a transfer, rather than a hope of "trading up." While it does seem as though prestige is the factor we've seen so far, who knows what the real motivation is ? We have not heard from his son, and maybe for some reason he doesn't believe Columbia will be a good fit. Maybe he really did prefer the programs being offered by Harvard or Yale. When I said he should begin to consider all that transferring would entail now, I meant he should take into acccount what kind of GPA/SATs/ECs would be required. And if his son really is legitimately apprehensive about Columbia's environment, it seems like sound advice.</p>
<p>I'm sure you're right WindCloud. I was just going off of the posts in the Harvard transfer thread. </p>
<p>CX3- I think the problem is that we're operating under different assumptions about said boy. I really do think his primary concern is prestige which is why I've perhaps been overly discouraging about transferring. </p>
<p>Regardless of his reason though, I would still advise against trying to transfer to H or Y from Columbia (already a very fine institution with a lot of similarities) just because I believe the amount of effort needed isn't worth it considering the acceptance rates, when you are already guaranteed to receive an equally/almost equally education in the first place. I guess if the applicant has a really compelling reason, my view on this would change. </p>
<p>I'm sure his sats are fine if he was accepted at Dartmouth and Columbia in the first place, and re-taking them in college to get a 100 point increase would not really impress adcoms. As for GPA, having to worry about getting all A's your first semester in college can be extremely stressful and put a damper on the year. And seeking out ECs for transfer admission is again one more thing you need to worry about, and this shouldn't be your primary motivation for participating in an EC anyway. If it is, you're probably not going to enjoy it very much.</p>
<p>So, even with a perfect GPA and unique ECs are his chances good? No. Because they are not good for anyone when Harvard is cutting it's already low transfer acceptance rate in half.</p>
<p>I am not saying he will not have a chance. I am saying the slim chance that he will have is not worth it, especially if all he wants is prestige. But who knows, maybe ramaswami thinks it is worth it to try. And maybe it won't be a stressful process for his son. I just doubt it.</p>
<p>this is insane, there is no need to turn a perfectly good thread into an argument....</p>
<p>here is a legitimate reason:</p>
<p>if you don't feel happy at the school you are currently at, and think that your experience will be better somewhere else, then consider transfering,</p>
<p>everybody has different reasons for wanting a better experience, and it is not for us to say which ones are right and which are wrong.</p>
<p>it is also not right to look for the "right" reasons to transfer...admissions officers read through thousands of applications every year, they have heard and seen everything, and I would hope that they would be able to detect duplicity....the reason needs to be personally true and unique to the applicant.</p>
<p>And ramaswami-
you asked, "What are the so-called good reasons for transferring?"</p>
<p>There is no list of good generic reasons to transfer from Columbia to HYS. I really doubt any of the posters here are going to give you possible reasons why your son might be better off at Yale, etc. If your son has a legitimate need that Columbia isn't fulfilling than he will recognize it, and this will be his "good reason for transferring." Until such a problem arises, I suggest you stop worrying about this. And I'm curious, is your son averse to Columbia purely b/c of prestige as is being speculated?</p>
<p>I am enthralled by the assumptions made here. My son has not mentioned transfer. I would strongly discourage transfer if the topic should come up: you make the best of what you have, unless it is terrible and something somewhere else will fill the void. One such example: extraordinarily strong science student goes to Harvey Mudd thinking he will enjoy engineering in a humanities environment, hates it, flunks liberal arts courses or struggles, but profs rave he is the best math genius around, he may have legit reason to transfer to MIT or Caltech. That is not the case here. I chanced upon this thread and tried a thought experiment, what if S were terribly unhappy, etc. I would give him copy of Marcus Aurelius's Meditations and tell him that the best place to practise philosophy is precisely the circumstances in which he finds himself. Yes, hypothetically, if he were to want to transfer he/I would like a place better than Columbia (trade up). I am well aware it is terrible to go to a place looking for faults. I am also aware that some of you may be thinking I was asking for reasons so that S will use those reasons. No, I am not proposing ruining my S's life by planting such ideas as he sets off on what must be an enthralling adventure in his life. All of you are bright but I am disappointed at your assumptions. Indian name and you have to think pretentious Asian parent, perhaps. I am a clinical psychologist by profession and am aware of the psychological perils of entertaining transfer idea. I used to be a college counselor, mental health (not admissions). He will be very happy at Columbia and he is not going to transfer. Thanks</p>
<p>By the way, his stats are excellent: SAT 2350, 770 Math 2C., 800 Physics, 760 Latin, perfect highest average in class, no 1 among 49 students, heaviest courseload taken by anyone in history of school, 10 APs, five 5s so far, expecting 5s in all 10. He will have perfect 4.0 average in college, studying is easy and natural for him. Had no community service, close to zero, some 30 hours per year, champion tennis player, no2 in varsity.</p>
<p>If the boy wants to transfer for prestige reason only, that's fine. I don't see why so many people are looking down on the notion of "trading up." If the boy's yearning for that prestige, if it's really an issue on his mind, then the best way for him to work through it might be to let him go for the transfer process anyways. Maybe it'll help him work through some anxieties and doubts he has, maybe he'll even realize he's happy where he is. You can't tell someone to be happy at some place when their heart is somewhere else...if it's a big issue for him it's always going to be weighing heavy on him and he might as well give it a shot.</p>
<p>Muffinking, well said. All of us have prestige at the back of our minds or we won't be on CC. Few kids in rural America are on this blog. And what is wrong with prestige? And what is wrong with attempting to trade up against impossible odds? Some things are attractive precisely because of the odds against them. Hence the attraction of Mt. Everest. Yes, Mt Everest, like this blog attracts a fair share of the neurotics of this world but so what, neuroticism is fine. Just as the process of exploring Columbia and being content there will teach my S valuable lessons so too would dissatisfaction, the difficulties of trading up, the rejection or the success. Too many non-nuanced people on this site.</p>
<p>Only one poster referred to your race. And please do not make assumptions about people based on where they live. </p>
<p>And I don't know whether you are expecting or demanding that your son get a 4.0 but either way it's an unrealistic hope. I'm sure studying is easy for him, but there are plenty of students who took 10 APs and did 500 hours of community service and are class president, Mt. Everest climbers, etc. And many of these type of students are at Columbia. If you're worried that the school won't be challenging enough for him it will be.</p>
<p>And yes prestige matters to a certain degree but when it becomes an obsession that threatens to ruin your first year it is ridiculous to pus so much weight on it. Ramaswami- be honest with your self. I don't believe your multiple posts were all hypothetical. As your son has not mentioned transfer, it is you who is considering the idea. And judging by your above and past posts it is a prestige thing. It is one thing for your son to be unhappy at C and you researching other schools but why are you preemptively seeking out reasons for him to transfer. That is the logical assumption I made when you twice asked CX3 to "opine some good reasons..."
That being said, if he is going to transfer he is going to need a hook. If tennis is his only passion/ec than I don't know how far that will go if he's not a recruited athlete. And essays are really important as well. He'll have to clearly elaborate on why Columbia is not a fit and why he would be better suited at ______.</p>