Though this may be in the Harvard forum, it is a universal issue for students at other colleges that take on few transfer students, and to some extent even at colleges many transfer students. My S transferred to Cornell, and while they have lots of transfer students, and some transfer orientation for the first weekend, after that, you are on your own, socially. There are many services available to new students, freshman and transfers alike, but socially there is not much after the first weekend. They do have an academic support office for new students. But for instance, most returning sophs live in a particular set of dorms and few transfers are placed there with their academic/age peers.
Yes there are more transfers, but it's a big school and they are scattered across many dorms and classrooms.
It is tough, you don't feel settled in until you are a junior and your already starting to think about life after college.
Not a Harvard problem at all.
A related Harvard experience is the "Visiting Undergraduate Student" program, whereby you can apply and go to Harvard for a year. You don't get the Harvard degree, but you do get the ability to put Harvard on your resume. Same access to all of Harvard as any Harvard student, and while Harvard says it won't guarantee Harvard housing, it nearly always does. Worthwhile for the exposure, and you do get a Harvard transcript, so the TShirt is "real."
I'm definitely planning on applying to Harvard, and am currently a high-schooler. I was just wondering, what are some of the basic requirements that the admission officers are looking for? Thanks!
There are plenty of individual reasons why HYS may serve a student better than Penn, Cornell, Berkeley, etc. If you don't know about the faculty who are leaders in obscure subfields of a discipline, then you don't know what those reasons might be. I have barely heard of some of my clients' specializations before I worked with them. I had a Cornell-to-Harvard transfer 15 years ago whose life's work was Francophone literature. I learned all about it from him.
@Hanna
Penn and Columbia and Cornell have offerings that one cannot find at HYPS undergrad. However I haven't heard of anyone trying to transfer from HYS to those three, yet there are plenty every year trying to transfer the other way around. I dont doubt that there are some genuine cases but I think prestige pays a huge part in this decision for most, and in some cases it is the only consideration.
"I think prestige pays a huge part in this decision for most, and in some cases it is the only consideration."
You offer zero evidence to support these assertions, but even as a thought experiment, does it make sense that HY would accept such students? They have 25 or 50 or even 100 applicants for every transfer spot. How are you going to stand out in that kind of competition without an outstanding and well-supported explanation for the transfer? The recommendation letters, transcript, essay, and (where applicable) interview all have to match.
I make no statement about HY transfers to Penn etc. because I haven't known or counseled any, and I'm not interested in offering speculation where I have no observation to rely on. The Penn transfer class in the fall of '97 did have one Stanford student.
@MaterS Yes, Harvard transfers who have the right connections are invited to join final clubs. I knew several who joined. The clubs are mainly people who know each other from high school or certain sports teams; if they know you and like you, they don't care if you're a transfer.
exlibris97Registered UserPosts: 1,039Senior Member
@menloparkmom I frankly don't see what the problem is. It's not as if the 'prominent placement' of this thread is preventing people from easily accessing other ones. And transfer student integration has been an issue at the College for several years.
exlibris97Registered UserPosts: 1,039Senior Member
@Studious99 At least this year, very few transfers are from other Ivy League colleges. The majority I've met have been from public universities and LACs.
Replies to: 'A Second Freshman Year': Harvard’s Transfer Students
Yes there are more transfers, but it's a big school and they are scattered across many dorms and classrooms.
It is tough, you don't feel settled in until you are a junior and your already starting to think about life after college.
Not a Harvard problem at all.
@Hanna
Penn and Columbia and Cornell have offerings that one cannot find at HYPS undergrad. However I haven't heard of anyone trying to transfer from HYS to those three, yet there are plenty every year trying to transfer the other way around. I dont doubt that there are some genuine cases but I think prestige pays a huge part in this decision for most, and in some cases it is the only consideration.
You offer zero evidence to support these assertions, but even as a thought experiment, does it make sense that HY would accept such students? They have 25 or 50 or even 100 applicants for every transfer spot. How are you going to stand out in that kind of competition without an outstanding and well-supported explanation for the transfer? The recommendation letters, transcript, essay, and (where applicable) interview all have to match.
I make no statement about HY transfers to Penn etc. because I haven't known or counseled any, and I'm not interested in offering speculation where I have no observation to rely on. The Penn transfer class in the fall of '97 did have one Stanford student.
@MaterS Yes, Harvard transfers who have the right connections are invited to join final clubs. I knew several who joined. The clubs are mainly people who know each other from high school or certain sports teams; if they know you and like you, they don't care if you're a transfer.