Transfer to the Ivy League

Are you a college student looking to transfer to the Ivy League? Maybe you’re a Jewish student at Georgetown, a school with a Jesuit tradition but one that happens to have a number of Jewish students as well as a Hillel. Maybe you just don’t want to attend a Jesuit school anymore. Maybe your mom wants you to find a nice Jewish boy and she convinces you that the only way to do this is by transferring to the University of Pennsylvania. While this is a ridiculous reason to transfer and you might strongly consider keeping this reason to yourself on your college application, you nonetheless want to transfer so let’s fill you in on some transfer information.

You don't have to publish in "Science" to successfully transfer to the Ivy League from community college. But it couldn't hurt!

It’s difficult to get into the Ivy League as a high schooler. Look at the Ivy League Admissions Statistics for yourself. It doesn’t get easier for transfer students. In fact, it only gets more difficult. If you find yourself nonetheless wanting to transfer to an Ivy League college, know that your college grades matter big time. College admissions counselors at Ivy League colleges want to see great grades. They also want to see your SAT’s or ACT’s. Are they going to look at your high school work and scores? Yes. But they also want to see what’s happened since and this takes priority.

While it is more difficult to gain admission as a transfer, also know that college admissions counselors at Ivy League colleges are in some ways more lenient for transfers. Lenient only in that they’ll make an exception that they wouldn’t make during the regular admissions cycle. They aren’t necessarily searching for the same kinds of students during the transfer cycle. Maybe they’ll find a student who didn’t do that well in high school but since he matriculated to a state school or – yes, even a community college – he’s done exceptionally. Maybe he’s gotten involved in science research and is going to be the first author on a paper to be published in “Science.” Now that would be exceptional! That is the kind of student who just might surprisingly gain admission to an Ivy League college as a transfer.

Check out this post on transferring to the Ivy League. And let us know your thoughts by posting below!