Hi, first time posting here and I hope to get some college selection advice. I am currently deciding between BU, NEU, UMiami, and Rutgers. My intended major is political science/philosophy, and I’ll probably minor in business as well.
I have 1560 SAT, 4.3 GPA, 6 APs, and really good ECs. However, I have transferred four times in the four years of my high school due to family reasons, so I was rejected by the Ivies and waitlisted by my reaches. Both BU and Northeastern also seem to find my application fishy. Therefore, I was only accepted to BU’s CGS (College of General Studies) program and Northeastern’s Global Scholar program. The CGS program basically means I can’t declare a major and I have to study general courses for two years before I transfer to BU’s College of Arts and Sciences. The Global Scholar program is similar: I have to study in London and Oakland each for a semester, and the courses are all pretty basic.
My school counselor told me both programs are just glorified community colleges. Personally, I want to transfer to a Top 20 school, and my counselor told me going to CGS and Global Scholar would hurt my chances of transferring. He believes that I should choose UMiami and Rutgers because they both have decent poli-sci and philosophy courses, and Rutgers’ philosophy department is even ranked No. 2 in the country.
I don’t have any financial concerns or preference for location. I care about academics, and my family cares only about prestige.
What should I do? Does anyone have experience transferring to a Top 20 out of CGS or the Global Scholar program? I really hope to get some advice. Thank you.
BU and NEU aren’t good for what you want so that leaves Rutgers or UMiami. You wouldn’t be able to pursue your academic interests at either one.
Did you get into the Honors College at Rutgers?
Why did you pick Miami for your list (AFAIK it’s not especially strong in philosophy but Florida can be interesting in terms of politics) and would these reasons trump Rutgers?
Are there any other possibilities?
Had you applied to the UK or Canada where admissions are more predictable? To the top LACs for Humanities? Would you be open to that if places open in any of these 3 settings?
I think you should choose amongst your acceptances with the intention of staying there…and graduating from there…not transferring. So…choose the one where you feel you could be for all four years. Sounds like that would be Rutgers or Miami.
But if you go to either of these programs, you are guaranteed acceptance to the main college…and both are highly ranked. Your degree would be from either BU or Northeastern.
You don’t know why you were rejected from the Ivies and waitlisted from your other reaches. There is a reason why these schools are reaches. This does not mean you are not an outstanding student- you clearly appear to be one.
I agree that you should choose one of the schools that accepted you…with the intention of staying. You could also attend one of the other schools and transfer, but that might not be your best choice…as noted.
Why not attend Miami or Rutgers and focus on getting really good internships, etc? Did you make honors at Rutgers?
Re: the BU and Northeastern options… what kind of high school are you attending right now, that your school counselor would refer to BU CGS and NEU Global Scholars as “glorified community colleges?” Is it an “Ivy feeder” type private/prep school? I can’t imagine most school counselors being so dismissive. Did you transfer four times in four years, or are you already doing a PG year at a prep school as a “T20 or bust” strategy?
Global Scholars only affects the first year, but honestly even if you had a Boston campus offer, I’m not really seeing how this school fits you and your interests. As you say, Rutgers is just as strong or arguably stronger in your interests, and you’re not saying anything about wanting a co-op school so - even though money seems not to be a concern, I’m just not seeing how Northeastern would be worth the considerable expense. (Although it can be for some students and some programs, so I don’t mean that as anything against Northeastern when it’s the right fit.)
The only resemblance between CGS and community college is that CGS provides a “way in” for students that BU wouldn’t otherwise accept, just as a cc transfer pathway would for a top flagship university. But that doesn’t mean the student experience of CGS would feel like community college. And you could enter any major you wanted at BU, which (more so than Northeastern) could be a good fit for what you’re looking for academically. But, if you aren’t satisfied with the idea of remaining at BU, and want to use it as a springboard to transfer somewhere else, then you’re right that CGS wouldn’t be the best choice, particularly since it’s a spring start, and you would want to start establishing a strong college record right away.
I’m not a fan of starting anywhere with one foot out the door, but if you’re determined to transfer, Rutgers is probably your best option. UMiami is also fine if you prefer it. If you’re really unhappy with your choices and aren’t already doing a PG year, that might be a possibility. Or, as MYOS said, the top UK schools if your AP scores are stellar (or Canadian U’s.)
Sorry this isn’t coming together the way you hoped for; the schools you’ve got will not hold you back, though.
Here’s an out-of-the-box thought, if you don’t like any of your choices.
Saint John’s College - which has two campuses, in Maryland and New Mexico - is still accepting applications on a rolling basis. It is a Great Books school, and the curriculum is entirely seminar-based, reading primary sources and discussing in depth. There is significant emphasis on both philosophy and political science. It is well-respected in academic circles for its intellectual depth. So, you could have that unique experience, and it could position you well to transfer if that’s your choice (or you might love it and stay). Great Books Reading List and Curriculum | St. John's College
Doesn’t seem like you should pick NU if you want to transfer, but here is a parent comment about the London Global Scholars program:
The NU class building is pretty impressive. Great location on the Thames next to the Tower Bridge. She is an architecture major and took all the same classes for her major that the kids in Boston were taking (all of the professors are NU employees). She didn’t miss a beat when she got back to Boston. In fact she feels that she was better prepared than some of the non London kids. She really enjoyed her experience.
You are going to college - not your counselor. BU CGS is not a glorified community college - and some schools have programs like this - Emory at Oxford where you earn an Associate degree. And you haven’t a clue why schools rejected you so stop saying the why.
You don’t go anywhere to transfer - you need to be in top mind where you are. and prestige is in the eye of the beholder and US News.
You have four wonderful options - choose where you feel best - and go with the intention of staying four years.
And given the majors, the where isn’t going to matter.
Good luck.
PS - you have four wonderful opportunities and both you and your counselor should get a dose of reality. These schools said come to us - and that matters.
You are fixated on schools that didn’t want you.
You’ll never know why and the why doesn’t matter. Be appreciative of the great opportunities you have.
After so many high school experiences with Covid schooling thrown in there, my hope for you is that you pick one of these great opportunities and embrace the full experience with limited thoughts of transferring. It is no way to kick off your college years.
I am not crazy about NEU’s two moves in the first year college launching pad for you. It may be good for you to have a more traditional, steady start to the next 4 years.
Later, you can do a semester abroad to break up things a little.
BU’s program seems to shift based on the cohort when I look at their website. One year it looked like everyone was a January start.
UMiami is great if financials are not an issue since housing gets expensive on and off campus. You may like their ease of double majoring.
Hey, thank you for your advice. I’m not sure if I made to the program tho. I was invited to the Newark Honors College program because it was the only school I applied; Then I withdrew my application at Newark and requested to apply to New Brunswick. New Brunswick admitted me but there was no letter of acceptance, so I don’t know.
Hi, thank you for your reply! I was also accepted into University of Delaware, Penn State, Urichmond, Suny Binghamton, Stony Brook, and Reed College. I didn’t apply elsewhere, but plenty of school (UNC Chapel Hill, UMichigan, NYU, Colby, Bates, UCSB, Case Western) have waitlisted me. Case Western has always used its waitlist to increase the yield rate, so it would probably accept me at last, but I want to at least commit somewhere before the waitlist decision.
Hi, thank you so much for replying me! Your advices are really helpful. And no, I’m not at a ivy feeder school, and I am currently a high school senior. I think I will probably decide between BU, URichmond, or Rutgers.
What type of college experience do you want now? Richmond is going to have a very different vibe than BU or Rutgers?
If you want a super supportive, close-knit environment I would choose Richmond (I was just there with my son last weekend). You could easily make good connections with faculty who can ultimately write you letters of recommendation if you want to transfer. As BU and Rutgers are both much larger schools, it might be more difficult to built bonds with faculty.
“PG” stands for post-graduate - elite prep schools admit students who already graduated but want to do an extra year of high school, usually in hopes of admission to an elite college. Many who do this are athletes who are also doing athletic recruitment and seeking another year of development on that front as well as academically, but some just do it for another academic year and the help with admissions that elite private schools can offer. I just wondered if that might be your situation, because your counselor’s remarks about NU Global and CGS sounded unusually elitist, and because it would have explained one of your many school-transfers.
I think URichmond sounds fantastic for you. You could do their PPEL major with a business minor, and cover all of your interests really comfortably. They’re strong in all of those areas. And you wouldn’t be spanning different divisions of a large school; they make cross-disciplinary study really easy. Small classes, lots of interaction with faculty. The fact that Richmond is a state capital also makes political involvement/internships on the state level very accessible. You could consider transferring from there, but you very well might not end up wanting to. And I don’t see anything in your list of waitlist schools that would be clearly better, for what you want, than Richmond.
Good luck with the decision, and congrats on some great admits, even if they weren’t the ones you most wanted.