Hey WSO, would love some advice on transferring colleges. I have an alright SAT (>2000) and alright HS GPA (>3.4). I just got a 3.9GPA my senior year and feel confident my initial high school grades/SAT are not indicative of what I can do. I'll be attending a Big 10 university (Penn State/Rutgers/Ohio) and would love some feedback on what I should do to make myself more competitive for this coming year. I'm looking at Georgetown MSB and Cornell specifically.
| +40 | Wharton Huntsman Program vs Yale vs Dartmouth | 43 | 2h | |
| +32 | Umich Ross vs Rice vs Notre Dame Mendoza | 17 | 1d | |
| St Andrews vs LSE vs Middlebury | 19 | 7h | ||
| +26 | LSE BSc Economics vs Cambridge BA Economics | 8 | 5m | |
| +26 | Target School Kids Stop Complaining | 6 | 1d | |
| +23 | Imperial College Finance Masters' | 5 | 2d | |
| +20 | Washu a target school now. | 39 | 2h | |
| +18 | UK/EU MSc's in Finance | 7 | 1d | |
| +16 | Succeeding at Penn CAS? | 3 | 8h | |
| +16 | LSE MSc Finance vs Oxford MFE? | 2 | 2h |
Career Resources
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
Why these two, if I may ask?
I think I have decent shots at both of them and I love the associated atmospheres. I really connected with Georgetown and Cornell has always been a school I have wanted to attend.
I am going to shoot for some other schools as well though, I'm not locked into Georgetown and Cornell only.
delete
Thank you @"ps517" ! I can definitely articulate various other reasons for transferring aside from the school's target status and I definitely will follow the structure you gave. I am already involved with a few organizations and some community service ventures (ahead of the game, I know) so I will be sure to highlight those.
Is Michigan worth the chance though? I have heard that its Econ program is not worth trying to break into Ross for. I am definitely also considering Columbia and Penn (both for personal reasons) but would like to stay in the northeast. Are Austin and UVA (even with their alumni networks) worth the applications if I want to end up back in NYC (I heard they get more southern banks)?
Thank you for the advice so far!
Absolutely, from a friend who did that I know that Econ majors can attend all the Ross recruiting events and no one really cares. You can also minor in business at mich and you apply into that after your sophomore year if you don't want to do the 5 year option.
Uva places a megaton of people into NYC banks as well as southern banks. I honestly think it's a great option since you can get into the bschool and not be behind. UT Austin does place some kids on the street and is a good option to have but isn't nearly as solid as any ivy, gtown, uva or mich Ross. I would also apply to Indian Kelly as a safety school. This all assumes that you can keep a 3.9-4.0 your first and second semester.
Id say take all classes that you are interested in but can also get good grades in to try and max out your gpa. Eg: don't take calc 3 unless you love math but take a Polisci or business class that is relatively interesting but not a known gpa killer. As long as you're not taking bs like acting or a sports elective they don't care that much about courseload. You can also call the admissions office and get recommendations from them on what courses they like to see or what their criteria for taking transfer students is.
I'm signed up for classes I like (we'll see if I get them). I'll definitely apply liberally then come January and make sure I apply to a lot of targets. So far (for anyone who wants to help further or wants to see what is going on) my list is: Georgetown Cornell Penn Columbia Michigan UVA UT-Austin NYU-Stern
Hey, you never know.
just get one thing straight... Penn as UPenn or Penn State? totally different tiers...
Cornell U-M Georgetown & Columbia (maybe UVa) should be your top ladder,
Hey man, looks like you are in the same situation that I was not a long ago. I just transfered as an incoming junior from big10 to one of the schools that you've listed above.
I don't know what would matter most for a freshman but make sure to get super solid recommendations from your professors. Work your ass off and good luck!
I definitely will, I'm so ready! Thanks man and congratulations on the transfer, good luck at the new school!
Also, take a look at the thread called "the comprehensive list of transfer friendly schools for investment banking" (it doesn't let me post the link).
It helped me a lot.
In terms of the Ivies and top private schools, you're facing an uphill battle. I'm assuming that your SAT is around a 2000 and your high school GPA is around a 3.4. Those numbers would definitely be on the lower end for schools like Columbia, UPenn, Cornell, NYU-Stern, and Georgetown.
Get close to a 4.0 in college and cast a wide net. Definitely apply to the public schools you mentioned and look at other private schools too. Good luck.
I'll definitely keep that in mind, thanks!
Cornell accepts a high number of transfer students, so you may very well have a good chance of getting in if you manage to get good grades (ideally all A's) during the first semester of your freshman year.
If I am not mistaken, I think transfer admissions decisions are based only on first semester grades? (Though you will obviously still have to send in a full transcript if you get accepted)
The odds for Georgetown are not very good... is MSB the undergraduate business school of Georgetown? You might consider applying to a less selective school within Georgetown (e.g. "Arts and Sciences" or equivalent) and then transferring internally to the business school.
I agree, the odds are not amazing...but I really am dedicated to proving myself. I am also a NY state resident, so perhaps that will help a bit with Cornell.
This whole process I know will be one of the most difficult things I have done (not saying much since I am 18, but still). I don't want to lateral in terms of school ranking, so the only question I have is, what can I do to even the playing field a bit more? I can't change my grades, so I'd rather focus on what I can do, like college grades and extra curricular activities.
Would I even be able to internally transfer once I get into Georgetown? I know it is a common practice to force external transfer to stay in the school they matriculate to.
Thank you for the help!
An update: My real GPA is most likely a ~3.5, not a ~3.4 Don't think that changes much, but maybe it's something. Also, what are people's thoughts on retaking the SAT? Is it worth the investment?
Delete
Thanks for the solid advice monkeyz, it is good to have a strategy. And I definitely will enjoy my freshman year, I just don't want to not have a plan for my future (I think that is part of what happened in high school). Thank you to everyone else who has helped me out on this thread! I'll be coming back to it intermittently, so if anyone posts on it in the future, I'll see it! Also, feel free to PM me about transfer stuff future monkeys!
As someone else mentioned elsewhere, you can't transfer between schools as a Georgetown transfer. HOWEVER, you'll probably be able to take courses in other schools if there's room on the roster. Or you can design your own major.
The most important thing, especially if you're serious about transferring and are set on Georgetown and Cornell, is figuring out which classes you can take now so that they transfer to your new school. I've seen a number of friends stay an extra semester or year because they didn't think this through. Email admissions or look online for course equivalencies by Googling "[x school] transfer credit equivalency" to see which of your current courses can transfer to your new school and fulfill the new school's requirements.
Thanks for the advice dcrowoar. I designed my first semester curriculum with generic courses (Bio, Micro, Calc, etc.) so that I KNOW they do transfer.
I do like finance (the major) so I will most likely be applying to MSB. All things considered, I have heard that both the College and MSB are around the same in terms of acceptance rates, so it really is just what I want in the end of this situation. For Cornell, I am taking the Bio course because they recommend incoming transfers have some Bio. I'll be applying to the Dyson School at Cornell, so it is the same situation as Georgetown (I like finance, so that's what I'll shoot for). If I want to do business, I think AEM will get me the furthest.
That's very smart! I'd double-check the science courses (I say that because some bio and chemistry classes, especially the ones for non-science majors, tend not to transfer given that they're so full of fluff in place of actual science), but picking generic classes is a smart move. You're not only knocking out gen-eds but business pre-requisites, too (through econ, math, etc).
Yeah, the acceptance rate for MSB and the College is more or less equal. Have you looked at the Hotel School at Cornell or ILR? I've seen a number of people break in IB/PE/etc from those schools, too.
I just saw UVA and UT on your list of schools. Both have great recruiting opportunities and lots of on-campus opportunities to have fun (UT more so, in my opinion). Tuition considerations aside, you can't go wrong with any of those if you want to work in finance in NYC.
Hi, everyone! I'd just like to jump in the boat because I'm in sort of a similar position and I really need some answers..
I'm a South American male currently living in the Middle Eastern region due to family reasons, majoring in finance in a decently known university around the area but "extremely-non-targetish" as I may put it in a global perspective.
Stats are: 3.7 college GPA (after full two years, would be transferring in as junior) 2200's SAT Two solid leadership positions + good EC's (Volunteer teaching, debate club...) National champion in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (martial arts) Good REC letters, I have a great relationship with the Dean of the business school in my uni and could get other two professors to write as well...
What do you guys feel about my position? Am I competitive against other students for those unis mentioned above? Does being international put me in a disadvantage or advantage?
Goals are to ultimately break into IBD but also to move to the US by myself and learn as much as I can; not necessarily about finance, but about life in general.
Thank you!
Do you mean transferring after 3 years at college? I doubt that it's possible. If no, I'd assume your 3.7 it's a prediction for this year's grades.
I'd say you have a pretty good chance. My GPA was higher but SAT was lower, so you should be fine. Your ECs are solid - especially Jiu Jitsu part, are you still doing it as a part of a team/club in college? If no, you should start a jiu jitsu club at your university it would help you a lot. Make sure your recommendations are not just good, but great. Take more classes with professors that you want to ask for recs to get to know them better, go to office hours and become best friends with them!
Good luck
Earum laboriosam officiis iure ut aut libero eos. Rerum necessitatibus laudantium quidem a quia. Earum a quod voluptatem omnis explicabo id ducimus.
Dolorum laudantium et beatae similique architecto at. Sed earum quae dolore exercitationem.
Ex pariatur distinctio rerum hic at perspiciatis quo sit. Sint explicabo ut at et aut.
Accusantium dolor explicabo nesciunt quibusdam quidem. Neque assumenda aut dolorum deleniti tempore repellendus aspernatur.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Eaque odio exercitationem aliquid unde non. Voluptas totam delectus at velit labore fugit ipsum tempore. Qui voluptatem expedita unde nostrum sed.
Et dolores ex dolores necessitatibus non accusamus facere unde. Saepe numquam dolores corrupti rem est qui repudiandae. Aspernatur voluptatibus unde consequatur eius est ipsa.
Dolores quas pariatur eos iure dolorem autem et ipsa. Eum recusandae veritatis incidunt nesciunt. Ea quos molestiae aut dolorem voluptate aperiam. Quisquam consectetur ipsum animi non libero sit fuga.