Unique Situation - Ivy Transfer from UCLA

nthrrvltn · 11-03-2012, 04:35 PM

Hey guys,

I’m a freshman at UCLA, and I could use some honest opinions. First let me give you a little background on myself.

HIGH SCHOOL – Chaminade College Preparatory

(Avg. Unweighted GPA)
9th – 2.50
10th – 3.15
11th – 3.79
12th – 4.00

SAT 1
CR – 750
Math – 690
Writing – 800

SAT 2
Biology E – 640
Literature – 650

AP Scores (all taken senior year)
Environ. Science – 4
Macro Econ – 4
Psych – 3
Gov - 4

UC GPA – 3.42

ECs
Eagle Eye Videos
- Held position of Chief Financial Officer
- Competed at a local level in Los Angeles and at a national level in Washington DC
- Selected as a national finalist by the New York Stock Exchange for Financial
Performance
- Awarded Junior Achievement Company of the Year both regionally and nationally
(From an original pool of over 4,000 companies)

RDC Tutoring Basics
- Built up/ran an extensive online database for peer and professional tutor
networking
- Personally tutored 42 clients
- Licensed company and adhered to the tax code by following proper procedure
expected of a small business

Facultees
- Co-founded a profitable school spirit t-shirt company
- Instigated a cash buyout of the company by my high school upon our departure,
and assisted in the merger
__________________________________________________ ____________________________

COLLEGE – UCLA

Major – Admitted Mathematics/Economics, switched to Pre-Business Economics

Course Load (15 units)
- Cosmos Cluster
- Math 1
- History of Modern Art

ECs
Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity
- President of Associate Members
- Awarded AM Scholarship for both Leadership and Academics
- Spearheading (COO position) entire involvement with the National Canned Food
Drive

Undergraduate Business Society
- Member of the Executive Committee
(Roughly 500 applicants are considered, 13 are interviewed, 2 are chosen)
- 1 of 7 executives responsible for running one of the largest collegiate business
clubs in the world (over 4,000 active members)
__________________________________________________ _____________________________

Now let me clarify a few things. First, there are very real and tangible reasons for my high school transcript. (Parent died my freshman year, other parent battled cancer from my sophomore to my junior year. During this time, I was the primary caregiver) Secondly, Eagle Eye competed in the Junior Achievement Competition the summer after my senior year of high school, meaning it wasn’t considered in any of my college admission decisions.

In short, I feel like I am both under and over-qualified for my school. My dream is to attend an Ivy League School for Business (a major not offered at UCLA), and this is where I am seeking advice. Am I a strong enough candidate for transfer? If so, should I transfer as a sophomore when my extra-curriculars are red hot or as a junior when there is more weight on my college GPA? Currently, I am considering Cornell, Columbia, and Penn. Thank you so much for your time, any and all advice is welcome ☺

Feel free to also send me a PM at nthrrvltn or email me at nthrrvltn@********** (I'm new to the board, looking forward to becoming an active member of College Confidential though)

entomom · 11-03-2012, 05:12 PM

^posting of email addresses is not permitted per CCs Terms of Service.

sakacar · 11-03-2012, 05:14 PM

This probably isn't the reply you want, but here it is. So far, your college GPA is too low to transfer.

You sound like you are getting involved, so have fun, and prep for an MBA at an Ivy.

nthrrvltn · 11-03-2012, 05:33 PM

Thanks for the replies (sorry about the email address, I'll be sure to reread the CC Terms of Service) and @sakacar I'm a freshman so I haven't received any grades. Thank you for the input though.

entomom · 11-03-2012, 06:04 PM

Quote:

In short, I feel like I am both under and over-qualified for my school. My dream is to attend an Ivy League School for Business (a major not offered at UCLA), and this is where I am seeking advice.

I can guarantee you that you're not overqualified for UCLA; you may not be satisfied there, but it offers more than any student could take advantage of in 4 yrs.

I think you need to do a little more study of potential transfer schools. The Ivy League is a sports conference, the colleges within it vary widely. And while UCLA doesn't offer an UG business major, 6 of the 8 IL colleges don't either.

earlygrad123 · 11-03-2012, 07:41 PM

UCLA is a top 15 economics school. But, if you really want to switch to business, I would recommend Berkeley! I know it's not an ivy league, but it still has an amazing business program with a name to go with it!
If you're really strung up on ivy leagues, though..
UPENN and Cornell.
Keep your GPA high, and those EC's going.
chance back please.

nthrrvltn · 11-03-2012, 07:49 PM

@earlygrad123 thank you for the reply and advice! I will definitely take all of that into consideration, my only fear is the difficulty to transfer from UC to UC. Haven't really done any research into that possibility, will look into it more for sure. Ill be sure to chance back in a bit.

eklee311 · 11-09-2012, 04:08 PM

@nthrrvltn I am also a freshman at UCLA (Pre Business Economics) wanting to transfer as well, with pretty much the same idea as you! I am also looking at Penn, but I'd just like to say that you have to fulfill their requirements for the business school. Some of the requirements off the top of my head would be to take MATH 31A (or B), ECON 1, ECON 2.

When will you apply for transfer?

hellojan · 11-10-2012, 12:02 PM

Don't apply to an ivy as a transfer?

I got into two ivies from a community college. Two other people in my class went from a CC to an ivy, too. It happens all the time.

sometransfer · 11-10-2012, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hellojan

Don't apply to an ivy as a transfer?

I got into two ivies from a community college. Two other people in my class went from a CC to an ivy, too. It happens all the time.

For every transfer student who gets accepted into an Ivy League school, there are at least nine others who are rejected. The average transfer acceptance rate for Ivy League universities is well below 10%, with Brown and Cornell being the two out of eight over 10%. Even then, Cornell's transfer acceptance rate is inflated as guaranteed transfers make up at least 200 of the acceptances.

So while you and your friends might have gotten in, there are many, many people who were rejected.

hellojan · 11-11-2012, 12:02 PM

It's certainly worth a shot for those who are interested. There's always a bit of luck involved in admissions and it may be on the side of applicants who post on this forum.

That said, apply without considering overall admissions statistics. The only criteria for self selection should be that you think, as an applicant, you are a good fit for a particular school.