prospective transfer kid needs advice
hey guys, I’m an incoming freshman at UC davis, I was admitted as a cs major but I don’t really want to pursue cs anymore. i’ve been recently drawn to entrepreneurship and business and wanted to maybe major in finance. I will take cs as a minor, if possible.
Unfortunately, they don’t offer a business major at davis. The closest I can get is Managerial Economics. I chose Davis because I’m a low income student and they have me a substantial scholarship into their honors program. However, I still have to take loans every year to pay the fee and was hoping to apply for a transfer to a private college that has a great business/finance program.
I’ve shortlisted - Notre Dame -NYU -UPENN -WashU -USC I don’t know any other schools with a good business program and a good transfer acceptance rate.
I had earlier applied to two of these schools last year as a CS major and I didn’t get in.
For reference, I’m at the top 3% of graduating class. I couldn’t take the SATs recently because I reside abroad and the covid situation here hasn’t allowed me to even go to school the entire year.
I would love some input about how I should go about my freshman year to maximise my chances of having a successful transfer. What ECs I should take part in, maybe an internship I could do over the summer. I should also mention that I may be involved in intermural sports at Davis.
Thanks in advance:)
Are you a US Citizen? You mentioned you reside abroad. If you're not - I'm sorry to break it to you man, but you're not getting into these schools - you have to lower your bar. Schools aren't need blind for international students so it's super tough to get aid at schools, and then on top of that being a transfer is also harder than getting in as a freshman. I don't know if you can take loans in your home country to be financial aid free from the school's perspective, but that would certainly help.
If you are a US citizen who is just living abroad, then I would target NYU, ND, Penn first as those probably have the best placements (Wharton obviously really tough to get in so don't hold your breath). USC is decent esp. for the west coast and WashU is meh but still can place decently.
Other places you should look at are:
UVA McIntire, UMich Ross, UT McCombs - top tier publics but selective
UNC Kenan Flagler - still probably selective but not on the same tier as the above
Idk I would just apply to all schools that have good placements into finance, whether it's a business school or not. UC Davis will probs be an uphill battle. Try UCLA, Cal.
Oh, and while at UCD. Get a 4.0 or as close as you can (this is like probably the most important), and take as financ-y classes as you can. Join all the finance/business ECs, and do some other stuff as well that gives you dimension, like your sports stuff etc. There's a ton of random ECs in college so pick some up too. Be Freshman Class President or on council or something. Basically there's no right/wrong answer. Just gotta make yourself seem as impressive as possible.
Agree with this as someone who transferred up (regional semi target to top 20 school). Heavy emphasis on the fact that you need to get a 4.0 (your app will only be based on first semester grades but they’ll also ask for a mid semester update on second semester grades). I’d suggest getting involved in 2-3 extracurriculars that show depth (1 business / finance type club, 1-2 volunteer organization or other miscellaneous club) and intramural sports does not count towards that (no one really cares if you do that). Try to be engaged in your classes as you’ll need to ask a professor or two for letters of recommendation. In addition to the above schools, I would also add Cornell to the list as they take a decent number of transfer students. Good luck!
UCD had quarter system so I think I’ll have two quarter grades before I apply. I’ll definitely will add cornell to the list, are there any other colleges you suggest? also, do you think playing sports won’t help at all? I really thought it’ll make my application stand out.
Got it makes sense on the quarter system: If you were playing a varsity or even club sport sure, but playing intramural sports isn’t a meaningful extracurricular for the transfer app unless you’re involved in the organizational team or something
Thank you so much for such a detailed response. I’m a US citizen, I’ll look into the list of schools you’ve mentioned. Are there any other private schools you would suggest? I’m also in need of financial aid and I’ll probably be oos for Michigan and UNC. Also, do you advise that I take the SATs/ACTs? They are optional for freshman and transfer this year as well and i’ve read that the exam is just meant to test college readiness, if I’m already in college will it matter a lot?
If you are interested in entrepreneurship then you are in the perfect place! The easiest way to do entrepreneurship is to know how to code. Pick up an economics minor and join business clubs. No need to transfer
Would like to add. That transferring within the UC system is supposed to be much easier. Maybe you can try for Berkeley or UCLA.
It's actually extremely hard to transfer between UCs as there are a lot of slots reserved for transfers from California CCs. Not impossible to transfer to a better UC, but it would be easier to transfer out to non UC schools of a similar caliber. On the other hand, it is supposed to be helpful to have gone to a UC for undergrad when applying to a different UC for grad school.
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