Transfer Student Trying to Get Into an Ivy League School?

Question

I read that transfer students applying to an ivy league should forget about it. Is this concept true? Are transfer students at a disadvantage when applying to an ivy league school? I'm currently in one of the top community colleges with a 4.0 GPA. I'm currently in the honor society for community/junior colleges Phi Theta Kappa. I have a lot of volunteer and community service experience, and I know I can write an awesome essay. Is this still not enough to get into an ivy league college?

Answer 1

Some Ivy League colleges, like Princeton, do not accept any transfer students. Others, like Harvard, only accept about 35 students per year -- out of hundreds of applicants. Most of these students are coming from good four year schools where they can't study the field they want (e.g., a student at Williams who decides he wants to do engineering).

The one Ivy League school that accepts more transfer students is Cornell. However, most of them are for the state supported colleges (the Ag school, the Engineering school, etc) and not the completely private schools -- like Arts and Sciences.

With your record, you can probably get into some excellent private universities just below the top schools -- or the best public universities like Berkeley, Georgia Tech, Michigan, UNC or Virginia.

Good luck.

Answer 2

You do have a chance at some. Though it is not an Ivey league school, I went to a community college and got into the best private college in my state, which is also one of the best in the country.

Answer 3

It's true, I think, if you're coming from a Community College. If you were coming from a school like Amherst--or at least one of the top 25 schools in the country--you would have a chance of getting in. Of course you can try, but your chances are VERY slim. Sorry :/
Why not try for a "little Ivy" instead?