Viking77

Hey guys, this is my first post here since the end of the freshman admissions process back in March....wow it feels weird to be back here haha.

Anyways, I'm a Freshman Finance major at UIUC looking to go to a school in a more urban environment (preferable east coast/west coast). I thought I could manage myself in the Midwest for a little longer (lived in the Chicago suburbs for about 8 years) but I just can't. The weather and environment seriously kill my morale (don't worry that's not the only reason guys).

Stats from HS:

3.7/4.0 UW, 4.2/4.0 W
29 ACT
5 AP classes
Tons of leadership + volunteer experience (varsity sports + congressional volunteer)

College (so far):
(Pledge) Committee man at my fraternity (yes I know it would suck to join a fraternity and then transfer, but who knows if I'll even get accepted anywhere/actually decide to leave)
Applicant for IBC (Illinois Business Consulting)
Illini Democrats
Persian Cultural Assoc. Executive

Don't know what else would be useful info.

I'm a fantastic essay writer and an even better interviewee.

Applied to 9 schools for Freshman year and got accepted to 7 (only didn't get into UCLA or Berkeley).

Chose UIUC mostly for in-state tuition.


Thinking about transferring to NYU, UPenn, USC, or Georgetown (with Georgetown being #1 on my list).

Anyone have good recommendations for what I should do if I want to transfer/where to transfer?

Like I said I really want to be in an urban environment and still receive a great education.

BruinsJEW

Here is my intake:

NYU- If you're applying to Stern, know that it is even more competitive as a transfer than it is for freshmen admissions.

UPenn (Wharton)- If you think NYU is hard, UPenn is about 10X harder for transfer admission.

USC- I think USC is your best bet. Your high school credentials are pretty good (ACT score is a little low and GPA is average for USC), but I think you have a solid shot.

Georgetown- I have no idea how transfer admissions work there.

If you want an urban environment, may I suggest Boston College, Boston University, Bentley University, Northeastern, George Washington University, UT Austin (McCombs; top B-School).

centerklaus

The keys to make you stand out of all other candidates
are A) how well you present yourself on the college app
and B) how good your future plan sounds

For A, it's like marketing.
You are not selling them a person with a list of awards or positions
You are selling them an asset that will give them future returns.
Maybe you can win sports awards for them, maybe you can win research competitions
for them, maybe you can motivate other students in joining a new activity, etc.

For B, it's like a business plan.
The school is investing in a start-up.
So tell me what's so interesting about your business
and HOW are you going to work it out.

I honestly got lower than 2000 on SAT and I still got into Stern.
And I can tell you the best thing about Stern is the FOOD
and the worst thing about it is the curve.