You won't know until you try but is it worth a shot? I really need advices..

Transfer Students
1

<p>So I'm a sophomore at a community college in CA majoring in econ. I was majoring in business at first coz I thought a bus. admin. degree is essential if you want to do business later on. Now coz I have to write app essays, I started reading n searching a lot about majors (too late I know!), and found out an undergrad degree in ECON would be the best preparation for MBA. (Yep, my goal is a MBA in finance). Since studying econ seems interesting for me so far, I decided to change major.</p>

<p>When it comes to Econ major, Ivy League, UChicago, top econ undergrad schools in East Cost got in my mind which I never thought of as a transfer student. But now it's too late to do anything since deadlines for those schools are very near (around Feb, March) and my stats is BAD. Ok here:
GPA: 3.6_ Honor Program
EC: some positions in Student Government, leader of a club, member of 2 clubs, some minor volunteers/ leadership conferences..
Toefl, SAT.. haven't taken..
(0 chance)..</p>

<p>In California, UCB is my no. 1 choice but I doubt if I can make it becoz of my too low GPA. I think I have a slight chance at Marshall USC. That's it for what I want from CA. Out-state schools, I'm not interested in LAC but national universities. Other than that, none of the rest satisfies the reason of studying in America. Why?</p>

<ol>
<li><p>I'm international student and most ppl in Asian countries only know FOREVER BIG names like Harvard, Stanford, Berkeley, Yale, Princeton, UChicago.. the thing is they don't even know Dartmouth, Brown, MIT, UT, Baruch, top LACs (I heard it myself). So if I come from an ok school (not mentioning good ones above), I can hardly get far when I come back to my home country. Sorry, don't mean to offend anyone, but this is reality in Asia.</p></li>
<li><p>Ppl always say it doesn't matter which undergrad school you go to, if you tend to get a MBA, grad school is what that matters. But seriously, isn't your chance lower to get a good job after graduating from an ok undergrad compared to a top one? You have to work for few years before applying for MBA anyway! Ok, 'nothing is impossible', 'chances are everywhere', but let's not count on exceptions! coz that's not too realistic!</p></li>
<li><p>What if something happens, I can't pursue an MBA, my bachelor degree's the highest one? </p></li>
<li><p>You only go to undergrad school once in a life time, why not make it top?</p></li>
</ol>

<p>So, my option is to stay another year here to allow myself more time to prepare apps again. I'm still doing apps for admissions in fall2010, but if I can't get into either UCB or USC, I'll stay here for one more year. I've been thinking a lot n came up with some pros n cons:</p>

<p>Pros:
- give myself a try to top notches in econ field (as I mentioned) so I wouldnt regret coz at least I try.
- pull up GPA
- more time to explore my major before facing real university courses.
- more time to improve reading/ writing skills and other skills necessary for business world.
- just got a call from mom and she kinda wants me to stay another year to take care of my sis coming here to study next year. (she's immature xD) >>> one more reason to stay.</p>

<p>Cons:
- time + money consuming
- staying another year while most of my friends get out after 2 years here = very frustrating
- econ major + 3 yrs in a community college = big loser
- family + friends. This is my life after all.. buut still..
- study SATs = pain in the neck</p>

<p>I'm being very narrow-minded here.. I hope for advices from outsiders who have experiences and are open-minded. What would you guys do? Go to an ok school and work the a** off for grad school or TOP 10? I'm almost done with all my classes required for the major.. what would I do if I stay another yr? get internships? join more activities, study SATs all day long? double major? </p>

<p>Please clear up my mind..
Thanks for reading the long post. I really appreciate it.</p>

2

<p>Asian countries don’t know MIT? lol</p>

3

<p>You think way too much. You need to relax. If Asian nations are critical of your education then work in the U.S. More jobs, higher paying, more respect for non ivy schools. I mean come on if your nation has never heard of MIT or Cal Tech, why the hell are they so advanced in technology? Have they heard of NASA, or JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory)? Both entities employ 80% graduates from MIT and Cal Tech.</p>

4

<p>maybe I think too much but I wasn’t making things up! I asked my uncle working in one of the top banks in my country though, for which schools for best recruitments in finance industry… he mentioned only top half of the Ivy Leagues, UChicago, and NYU. ‘~’ no idea about top LACs…
But thank you so much for spending time reading this long post even though you guys haven’t answered the questions.</p>

5

<p>acuteball, unfortunately acceptance rate for top schools (Ivy league, Chicago, LACs) are very low. With your GPA, you will have very difficult time to get in. The best chance is still UC schools like UCB or UCLA since there is transfer agreement between community college and those UC schools.</p>

6

<p>^ Terrible, false advice. UCB and UCLA have no transfer agreement and are both highly competitive to begin with.</p>

7

<p>I guess you are a transfer student in bay area too, Cupertinotransfr? You have any advice for me?</p>

<p>Hmph, I think again, and one more year at this community college is a waste of time. I’ll be done with all required classes by the end of this spring quarter anyway.</p>

8

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</p>

<p>A problem with 3 yrs of CC credits is that some schools will not accept transfers with more than 2 yrs of college. Y for example:</p>

<p>[Who</a> is Eligible to Transfer? | Transfer Students | Office of Undergraduate Admissions](<a href=“http://www.yale.edu/admit/other/transfer/who.html]Who”>http://www.yale.edu/admit/other/transfer/who.html)</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>And all require that you spend at least 2 years in residence.</p>

9

<p>Cupertinotransfr is right. There is no agreement between UCB, UCLA and community college. I mean to say that UCB and UCLA give preference treatment to California CC. However, there are agreements between community college with other UCs college (such as UC San Diego or UC Davis). Going that routine is probably the best routine.</p>

10

<p>Since you will be working outside the US, it is very smart to find out which colleges/universities are most likely to help you get a job in the country where you will be working. You will need to put those schools on your list of places to apply.</p>

<p>The best MBA programs rarely admit students straight out of undergraduate college. They expect a minimum of three years of professional experience with increasing responsibility. Right now you need a degree that will get you a job in your home country. Work there for two years, and then start looking for an MBA program that will meet your individual professional needs. MBA admission is based in large part on undergraduate GPA, letters of recommendation, and GMAT score. Read more about MBA admissions in the MBA forum: [Business</a> School - MBA - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/business-school-mba/]Business”>Business School - MBA - College Confidential Forums)</p>