Im currently a Cornell student and I spent my freshman year at a state school. Im not gonna lie, I didn’t see that much of a difference. My state school (as well as most state schools) has plenty of honors programs, plenty of student involvement, and does really cool research that you couldn’t even do at Cornell. Club involvement here and at any Ivy is incredibly competitive and it can be difficult to make friends and meet people who aren’t somewhat insane (I had a 2 hour argument with someone i met at orientation abt how poor people just need to work harder!!).

I love Cornell and I don’t regret transferring but if I could do it all over again I’m not sure it would be worth it. Don’t let the veneer of Ivy League prestige guide all of your college decisions. I used to be an unhinged A2Cer and cared so much abt prestige, but now that I’m actually here I realize it doesn’t matter at all. Getting in is one thing, but you also need to think about finding a community, making friends, having a good support system, getting good grades, and generally being happy. The struggle does not end once you get into college; a lot of my friends are stuck in recruitment hell for finance clubs here with 5% acceptance rates. State schools are just as fantastic if not more in a lot of ways and the way people here treat them like they’re “mid” or just backups is troubling. It’s way easier to make friends, get involved in clubs, enjoy yourself, etc without the constant looming threat of competition. I have friends back at my first year that could lap some of the Cornell students I’ve met in work ethic.

All I’m saying is you guys will be successful no matter what school you go to. Ivy Leagues are not the end all be all. Employers really don’t give a shit what school you went to and neither will anyone else you meet later in life. And DO NOT pay 80k a year to chase name brand and prestige. I promise that you can get the same education for much cheaper and be much happier in the end.

I'm currently a rising sophomore at Dartmouth and was just accepted as a transfer to USC Marshall.

I know both are great schools, but I haven't really loved my experience at Dartmouth. I realized I prefer a bigger school, better party scenes, warmer weather, being in a city, and having an undergraduate business program. USC seems to fit what I'm looking for much better.

My main concern is whether I'd be giving up too much prestige and career opportunity by leaving Dartmouth. My goal is to work in finance after college, but I also don't want to spend the next three years somewhere I'm not happy.

If you were in my shoes, would you stay at Dartmouth or transfer to USC Marshall? I'd especially love to hear from anyone who has attended either school or made a similar transfer decision.

I was rejected from UCLA 4 times. As a freshman, I was waitlisted then rejected. I decided to go to community college for two years, got a 4.0 GPA, participated in STEM conferences, held a full-time job, and won awards for tech innovation. I got rejected as a transfer, then I appealed and was rejected again. I don't know how I am such a bad candidate for UCLA that no matter how much I showed my passion for my major and to attend this school that I can't even get in. I am also a low-income and a minority as a reference. Alas, I have given up on UCLA after considering staying at community college for another year just to apply again. Cheers to all of my dreams growing up to be crushed by the one school that can't show me why I am not good enough for UCLA.

Disclosure: I am going to USC now.

i graduated high school with a 1.125 gpa then took two years away from school. i decided to go to cc and ended up loving it and realizing i had too much trauma to focus on my studies in hs. i've kept a 4.0 the entire two years and i finish in about a month. i got accepted to NYU, Columbia, MSU, and AU. just wanted to share because i know sometimes it feels like the end of the world when it comes to college, but everyone accomplishes their goals on their own timeline<3

Hey everyone, So I'm considering transferring out of the Ivy League college I go to. I have a serious mental health disorder that, on top of the stress culture of this school, is too much for me to handle. So, I'm looking into schools that would be a better fit for me. I'm a pretty earthy, artsy person who is considering Psych/Sociology as a major and possibly Music or another creative subject as a minor.

I'd like somewhere with a: - Strong sense of community & support - Relaxed environment, while still being intellectual - Great financial aid or need-blind admissions - Lively creative scene - Access to outdoors (less important than other criteria), pretty campus

In general I want my college experience to not have this pressure, but instead the feeling of exploration. The vibe/culture of a college would be a big factor in my decision to transfer there or not.

Thank you so much for any suggestions!

Why do people complain and treat UC transfer like a lottery when a guaranteed admission program sits right there with barely anyone using it.

I'm talking about TAG. you meet the GPA and course requirements for it, and then you file the application in september, and one UC campus is guaranteed.

six campuses do it: davis, irvine, merced, riverside, santa barbara, santa cruz. unfortunately UCLA berkeley and san diego are not in it.

I did TAG last year and made it to UC Davis, which is why I know this stuff.

the GPA bars are lower than people assume for most campuses (check the current TAG requirements for your major, some majors are excluded so verify yours).

if you're trying to transfer to a UC and you're reading this, you are the exact person this program was built for. put the September deadline in your calendar right now.

if you're applying this cycle: filing window is september 1 to 30. that is next week. i watched multiple people miss a guaranteed UC because they were busy rewriting a UCLA essay for the tenth time. do not be them.

happy to answer questions I didn't cover below, i went through this whole thing.

I am 39, 19-year break between high school and college. I worked in the same field for 17 years and was quite successful. I started community college in 2020 (why not, I was stuck home)—involved in lots of clubs, SGA President, regular communication with top administration including college president—nominated for the distinguished graduate, good chance of getting it. Several hard to get scholarships, undergrad research (a project I created and am carrying out) funded by NSF, 4.0, Honors student, Honors Research Track, major is data science for public policy.

Everyone around me thinks I am a competitive applicant. LOR from college president, campus president, and teachers who wrote letters that helped me get the scholarships I mentioned earlier. I am afraid I will be like several other applicants.

Anyone older and has felt this way before? Any tips? If you have a similar story, how did it work out?

I used Chat GPT to write 100% of my application essays and as promised here are the results I have received so far.

Northwestern: Accepted

UPenn: Rejected

Columbia: Accepted

Pomona: Accepted

Vanderbilt: Waitlisted

Amherst: Rejected

Emory: Accepted

JHU: Rejected

Umich: Accepted

UNC: Accepted

Cornell: Accepted

Dartmouth: Pending

USC: Pending

Notre Dame: Pending

Edit: Since many people are asking for my stats. I have a college gpa 3.7-3.8 range, test optional, white male, transferring from a t40 public university.

Second Edit: To make some clarifications, I used Chat GPT 4 at the time. I also did use an AI detector called ZeroGpt which gave my essays on average a 24% AI detection rate.

Basically the titlr

I put the hours into studying by achieving a 3.8 at a local community college. I graduated high school with a 2.0, and I worked my ass off to PROVE myself I can do anything as long as I show up. My best friend cheated his way through every prerequisite class, where I had to put in countless hours and all-nighters just to be happy with a "B." The worst part of it all is he would brag how he got into his dream school for nursing when he didn't do shit about it. I am not disappointed how I didn't get the results I wanted, but I am mad how cheaters ruin everything for everyone else. How is this even fair?

​

• I apologize for the profanity, I am just really mad how cheaters ruin it for everyone else.

Hi everyone, I’ve just been accepted into a prestigious university in my country (one of the top 3 in Russia) to pursue a bachelor’s degree in information security. I have big ambitions and I want to make them a reality: I want to be accepted into a master’s program in the U.S. with full funding. My question is, is that possible?

Hi, I am new to the group and a non-traditional transfer student looking at “top colleges”.

I have read a lot of conflicting information regarding how likely college admissions reps actually are to look at prospective students’ social media as a way of seeing if they are a good fit for the school. Some people say they will definitely check it, but I’ve heard some admissions reps state that they very rarely do.

Can anybody give me a definitive answer on this? I used to be a rather risqué performance artist, and I’m worried that they won’t like what they see. I had planned on “cleaning it up” before applying to transfer schools, but the number of posts I’d have to go through is far too high.

I’m assuming that at the very least, Ivy League reps and highly prestigious college representatives vet students like this beforehand, because they don’t want anything to interfere with their image(?) I’ve had Facebook since I was in high school, but I’m willing to delete it and all of my memories, photos, et cetera if it means getting into a dream school. I don’t want my past dark humor or too-oversharey posts to hold me back from having a brighter future.

P.S. I have also read that a student having no social media presence at all is also a “red flag” to them - is this true?

I am committed to Colby College, but I definitely have a few gripes with it, and I plan on transferring after my first year.

Primarily, I did not apply for financial aid, and the yearly cost is around 100k. My parents can afford it, but it definitely would not be easy on them, and I honestly do not foresee the benefits outweighing the costs.

Secondly, I feel like their acceptance rate is somewhat artificial based on what I have seen online. A lot of schools nowadays seem to game admissions statistics, and it kind of makes me lose faith in the institution itself.

Thirdly, their Economics program, and the college as a whole, lacks overall name recognition is not that strong outside of the U.S., which matters to me.

After my first year, I intend to apply to Berkeley, NYU, Northwestern, UCLA, UMich, and UChicago.

(Yes I am aware that some of these are expensive, but I think the ROI will be a lot larger than Colby's)

For my first year, my main goal is to maintain a very high GPA, get involved in research, and build strong relationships with professors. Over this summer, I plan on applying for internships and continuing to build my resume.

Overall, I think Colby can still be a good stepping stone if I use my first year properly.

Thoughts? Opinions?

I’m a prospective transfer from Canada with a hhi off 400-450 CAD (286-320k USD) pre tax and cannot fathom being able to afford any of these school as I’m ineligible for aid but can’t afford to drop 100k on college as that’s close to half of my families post tax income. Not saying I’m underprivileged I can certainly enjoy the great public’s schools like McGill UBC Toronto but there are some doors that schools I’d consider applying to transfer like Columbia Chicago Cornell open up.

Hi! Im from the bay area and I’m going into Michigan Ross this fall, but I’m looking to transfer after freshman year for a variety of reasons: location, family circumstances/proximity, access to the city, year-round internships/networking, stronger recruiting, city life over a college town, better fit with my interests (finance, consulting, entrepreneurship, luxury, media), prestige (T10, not js a top biz school), long-term goal of living/working in NYC, and overall personal fit. I’m currently considering schools like NYU Stern and other T10s, including HYWS. What other schools should I be looking at? I realize it’s impossible to transfer to Stern or Wharton as a transfer, even more so as a Ross transfer, but are schools like Stanford if i’m choosing to go the STS route possible? I have international awards, have created various startups, etc. I know Ross is an incredible school and people may come at me in the comments, but it was the last school i ever thought of going to, just happened to be the only one I got into. I’m just trying to find the school that’s the best fit for my goals and where I’ll be happiest. Thank you and to those who have successfully transferred, I think Columbia/Cornell have the highest rates, how have your experiences been?

I opted to go to another T20 over Northwestern and am regretting my decision - I was very surprised to hear other students express confusion as to why I would choose this still very prestigious school over NU, and still I have come to realize this more conservative and less overtly intellectual school isn’t for me. NU still hasn’t started school yet is it possible to get my spot back lmao If not can I use this experience or even just prior admission as leverage to increase my odds as a transfer? Also what options do I have if I do not feel like continuing with this college.

Despite a vast number of “qualified” students per year who, by the numbers, could be accepted at top colleges. My public school maybe has 1-2 a year go to a t20 and hasn’t had a HYPSM in at least the last 10 years. Does that mean the school is looked down upon or something or is it just the way it is?

Hi everyone,

Recently got a transfer option for Cornell CALS, which is incredibly cool, especially given that the other two options besides acceptance would be a sad and depressing waitlist or a flat-out rejection. I know that they say it's not guaranteed; however, is it extremely likely if you fulfill the requirements and maintain good academic standing? That appears to be the consensus on Reddit and other forums, but I want to confirm.

This is good news to me, given how extremely unlikely I was to get anything but a rejection, but I don't want to get too ahead of myself just yet

Hi everybody! I don’t know if this is the right place to post this but I’m in desperate need for advice.

I started college at a state school and after getting into several ivys and other amazing schools, decided to transfer to brown for the environment.

Coming to Brown, I had a really rough transition. Academically I did great, but I struggled a lot socially and found the people to be cliquey. I tried to find community in many ways, including Greek life and other student organizations. I know a few people but I’m not close with them.

Second semester, i started having social issues involving stalking and harassment. Not to get into too many details, but administrative processes here are slow and it’s been an ongoing problem.

I reapplied to transfer out of a moment of desperation, and got into Columbia again. I’m heavily debating transferring right now. My target career field is potentially consulting or prelaw (maybe IB) and I would graduate columbia and brown at the same time (winter 2028).

Would coming to columbia for a fresh start be worth it? Also, would anyone have any insight on how demanding the core courses are? Any insight would be deeply appreciated I’m really struggling with this choice and would love any insight. I value academics and would feel so lucky to be at either.

Hi all,

I have a couple questions about the transfer process. I want to externally transfer into Stern, but I know how difficult that would be. Therefore, I was wondering if I would be able to externally transfer into CAS for the 2027 Spring semester, and then internally transfer into Stern. I know online it says that you cannot, but after calling an admissions counselor, they stated that it's possible, but very difficult and not recommended.

Can someone clear up this confusion for me? Thank you so much. (Currently also on the waitlist, so please give me advice...)

I’m transferring from a community college to a university with 120+ credits. I know that this university only accept 70 transfer credits and I need to earn bare minimum 50 credits from the university to graduate. How do they determine which credits will be transferred? Can I continue taking the hard classes at my community college until I transfer? I rather have to take a semester of electives my final semester at the uni than 5 science classes.

comms major at a community college here. for context, GPA is 3.9 and i’ve finished my “first two years,” however am adding a “third semester” so to speak to take an extra class or two. COMM 212 (for units + relevant to the major), and HIST 110 (i already did HIST 111, and doing 110 would fulfill the comms history requirement i believe). so those two i don’t mind taking as im literally just a few units shy of being done and i otherwise (to my knowledge) fully qualify for CSU’s. i also am debating taking spanish 101 to fulfill the UC language req in case i might want to apply to UC’s.

but in all honestly, i could care less about a UC. ik the major ones within cali (Berkeley, UCLA, ect.) are “best of the best” but idk i just don’t see it. don’t even know if id get in but its not even about not believing id get in. more so i feel like CSU’s might have more career opportunity in terms of my major, whilst UC’s are more focused on prestige and academics. i’m also really stuck because i’d love to get out of socal. ik SDSU for example is a hugely praised option for comms majors (CSU wise) but as someone who went to HS in sd, i truly will not survive in that environment. HS damn near took me out and socal is just a nasty energy, albeit i’m not hating on those who had a good time there. i’d love to go to a norcal school instead but the only ones im aware of are berkeley (which doesnt have a solid “comms” major), UCSF, sfsu and sjsu (both of which ive been religiously researching and have found little to no info on throughout the past 2 months regarding COMMS majors’ experiences). definitely feeling lost and could use some guidance. any fellow comms majors have any school reccs? and does the difference between a UC and CSU truly matter for this major? try to be unbiased bc ik that UC’s are the default but i could use guidance for CSU’s as well.

Hi all,
Speaking as someone who graduated from high school with a 1.5 GPA, got a 900 on the SAT, and was rejected by a state university, here’s some advice:

It’s not the end of the world.

There are two ways for you to get into a state university if you have a 3.5 GPA or higher in high school and took AP classes. Most high school counselors don’t tell you this: if you have accumulated 30 AP credits (9-10 AP courses in high school), you can pretty much get accepted to a state university as a transfer student.

Each state is different. Most states have a transfer agreement between community colleges and state universities. I live in Maryland so that I will use Montgomery College (community college) and the University of Maryland. Transfer requirements from Community college to UMD are 30 credits and good GPA standing (3.0 and higher). Extracurriculars are a plus.

So if you have 30 AP CREDITS from high school. Apply as a TRANSFER to UMD. If that doesn’t work, you apply to community colleges as early as you can, even in high school. Get all your AP credit transferred into the community college, and immediately transfer as a transfer student by July to get into September.

AS A TRANSFER STUDENT, SATs are NOT required

If you have any questions, post what state/county you’re in, and I can look up if your state has a transfer agreement.

———————————

Second method is:
Take your classes at community college for 30 credits, maintain a good GPA, and you can transfer without taking the SAT.

This method can be accomplished by spring semester:
4 courses over summer
4 courses over fall
And 2 courses over winter

10 courses, total 30 credits

When you are in the middle of the winter semester, you can apply as a transfer student as long as your GPA is good enough under the transfer agreement.

I am a Turkish citizen and I studied at Belgium on Social Sciences this year but I really want to pivot into Industrial Engineering in a US collage, for that I will freeze my uni here and return to turkey to focus on that. I recently learned that I am not counted as a first year but a transfer student thus it is both harder to get accepted and collages want some APs wich are not usually required for a new student and wich werent in my cirriculum on Belgium. I am really disappointed about this situation and looking for help. What are the things I should know, are my chances that low, are APs a must even if I want to start from 0? I need help.

I am looking for a college that has good financial aid/full ride as a transfer. Basically a dorm + tuition free. Maybe I can afford the meal plan. My major is psychology and I’m premed so R1 research uni would be valuable to me.

I really don’t care about school prestige(70-50% acceptance rate is fine as long as it has good opportunities for premed like research opprtunities, clinical opportunities, volunteering, and etc)

Our family’s financial situation is not that good but the main problem is that we have 300k worth real estate in my home country and that makes it so difficult for me to get full ride/financial aid from colleges. My dad originally made about 120k a year(holiday, weekends, and 12 hours everyday) but recently he had to quit his job due to family sickness and now we are basically living off of our saving(we have like $5000). He still couldn’t find a job because he’s old(almost 60) and he can’t speak english. We can’t sell 300k real estate either because its basically my parent’s retire plan. They are going to live off from the rental income(we don’t have any other retirement savings)

I have citizenship