Considering Transferring in a odd situation

Transfer Students
1

Here is my background,

By the time I graduate from high school, I will have completed all the requirements for the AA in Economics at my local community college. That being said, so far have 2 bs in Intro English and Intro Speech. I can not apply for graduation until I graduate high school says the counselor and I can not apply to colleges as a transfer student without graduating from high school and matriculating at the community college.

I want to go into investment banking, I know to do that I must go to an “Elite” College, I also kind of really want to go to a really good college as it has been my goal since middle school, but I also do not have my standardized test scores ready and up to par and probably won’t until the February ACT (Which will be too late for any Ultra competitive school except for like 5 and those are crapshoot).

I am in an odd situation in that if I matriculate as a freshman I will not have any classes (besides retaking the 2 classes I go B’s in) to take and it will not be in time for fall transfer admission to any of the Elite colleges.

Also, I am homeschooled and used recommendations from the professor I know best for high school college application and I do not know what college expect from recommendations as I will have taken them in high school.

Also, I do not know what to do for clubs and activities as I did all of them in high school, not at the college. I will join some for spring admission but probably won’t get any officer position except for the ones I start on my own. Most people at the college get officer position after 2 year as it is common to do 3 years not 2 at this CC.

If I applied for somewhere for Spring or next year fall 2020 I would have wasted a semester or year and I would be depressed at home with my parents
(and everyone would wonder what happened as they would always hear about my achievements in academic activities and school).

I could retake the classes I got B’s in over the summer and bring my GPA to a 4.0, but what should I do for recommendations.

Should I matriculate but what should I do from there to be competitive for Transfer as I have limited time.

I am not sure what route to take as my mom wants me to transfer but I can do it for next year and all that.

I could apply for scholarships at a smaller school and possibly go there, but I do know what transfer admissions will be like.

To top it all off I do not know if I want to do economics anymore.

I am in a really odd place, could someone give me some guidance I do not know what to do from here. Most peoples back up is a CC but I will be done so I do not know what to do.

One last thing, if I just went to the state school and tried to finish the degree in a year and a half, would it be like for Bussiness school, for that, I want to go to like Harvard or Wharton.

This is probably all over the place, sorry.

2

Here is the gist.

I will finish the requirements for the AA at the community college. I can not officially receive the degree until I graduate high school, and the earliest time possible would be summer because graduate from high school is after the deadline for spring. I want to transfer to a school like an Ivy or Georgetown but I do not know how competitive I would be for them or any school transfer really as I would have only practiced in college actives for a semester(i would start during spring). I would retake/take all the standardized test for freshman I would definitely get 99+ percentile on all of them (probably almost perfect honestly with my schedule).

Likely I would not be able to apply anywhere until Fall 2020 and I don’t know what classes to take in that year as I would have finished. Also, do I use high school recommendations or do I need them after for transferring?

3

It seems you would have been better off getting your test scores in order and applying as a freshman for next fall. May I ask why you preferred to apply as a transfer? It seems it would be exceptionally hard to transfer to an ivy from a CC.

4

@milgymfam I don’t prefer to apply as a transfer I just do not have my test scores or essays in order for admission as a freshman this fall. Part of it is my need to get a perfect score or very close and if I didn’t think I would do well I would cancel or not take it. I didn’t keep track but I must have done this about 8 times. I am taking the ACT Saturday but I don’t know if I will even be able to break 30.

5

I can try to help - my daughter has taken a similar path. Her last two years of HS are being spent pursuing a math AS at the local CC. I’m confused about your timeline, though. Where are you right now in HS and where are you right now in CC? When do you graduate HS? When do you graduate CC? Are you sure you can’t graduate HS early if that is the problem you are describing? I guess I am missing why you would need to matriculate at the CC as a freshman and also why you can’t get your associate’s without having graduated HS? Can you take your GED?

6

My daughter has also done CC as her high school the past two years. She had no intention of graduating though, she was just showing rigor as a homeschooler and enjoying her classes. That said, if you keep canceling your scores how do you even have a benchmark and why hasn’t anyone guided you before now to keep your timeline solid for applications? Do you need the associates from the CC? I don’t think the classes would transfer to an ivy whether you graduate or not, honestly.

7

I agree that you just need to let that ACT go and see what you score.

8

@CCtoAlaska I am currently a high school and senior and have 12 credit left at the community college, which I will do next semester. I graduate high school next fall. If I was to graduates the earliest I could do it is summer although I would have completed the requirements during the spring. I am not sure if I can graduate high school early. I am not sure why I can not get my associates as a high schooler, the counselor at the college said I had to matriculate first.

9

@milgymfam I am homeschooled and my co-op is not focused on college admissions, out of the 10+ senior I am probably the only one applying to colleges. No one has given me guidance because no one has experience with this, It is really a bit of a racial and regional thing because I know many people in private schools who do not have soil timelines either. I do not need the associates from the CC. I was taking the classes at the community college to show rigor as a homeschooler as well as get recommendations from outside sources. I did not really have much choice in classes though so I didn’t really enjoy anything either then getting A’s.

10

It’s a shame that you haven’t experienced the actual freedom of homeschooling- without allowing a teen to drive their own education and make their own choices, I don’t personally see the point. That said, I am sorry that no one in person is helping you. Will you graduate high school this spring with your full high school requirements met? If you will and you’re not ready to apply to colleges right now or very soon- and since you have no test scores, you’re not ready (for the schools you are interested in), you have a choice to make. You can either apply to test optional, rolling admission, or lower ranked four-years this year to start in the fall (without completing your associates)…: or you can graduate high school, complete the associates, and then transfer. Just have your eyes open. There are less scholarships/aid available for transfer students than freshman. Also, in either scenario the tippy top schools become such a reach as to be minuscule chances (unless you’re interested in Chicago, which is test optional). You should rethink the top schools in terms of grad school- all that matters is where your last degree comes from. I’m not sure why you think you have to attend an ivy, though. No one has to in order to be successful- thank goodness.

11

Ok, that is weird. Why would you be graduating in the Fall? Is that when you complete your homeschool coop courses for HS? I would spend a lot of time with the community college advising office to get an idea of what they have in mind but they might have bad advice. I would go to any college fairs you can and talk to admissions people about how they view your situation. And, note that college will be no more pleasant at a 4 year selective school. If it’s not your cup of tea, it’s just not. I would think hard about how long you want to spend in school in that case. What schools does your college have transfer agreements with? Start with those schools and call and ask how they would handle you. Some schools transfer coursework; some transfer degrees.

12

If you will finish next fall, then plan for a gap semester in Spring 2020, and apply for colleges for fall 2020.

I am much more concerned about your repeated testing and score cancelling. That sure likes a big waving red flag for anxiety issues. You need to think about getting counselling for that. If you head off to college withiut having a handle on your perfectionism and anxiety, you will have a lot of trouble once you get there.

13

Also, let go of the idea that if you want to do IB you need to go to particular schools. Your initial opportunities may be different by recruiters but my spouse used to work in the tech side of IB and knew many wall street bankers that had varied starts. I know a young banker right now that came out of a moderately competitive public school in a western state as a strong student. He works for Goldman Sachs. Started working in a western city and was offered a transfer to NYC. If you go to any strong school tied into a major metro, you are likely to have good recruiting and opportunities.

I agree with researching first where your CC has transfer agreements. If you’ve taken the ACT 8 times have you prepped? I really think some students just plateau on standardized tests at some point. If it were easy to obtain a 33+, it wouldn’t be the 99%. If your last several scores have been close to each other, I would just stop spinning your wheels on that. There are MANY great schools and options out there.

14

No one has mentioned this, but you want to get the AA classes complete before “graduating” from HS. Then you apply to college as a freshman with better financial aid and scholarship opportunities.

Let’s discuss the reality of elite colleges. Your test scores very likely aren’t going to be sufficient. They take fewer transfers than frosh, too, so that path likely isn’t open.

My advice is to apply to look into applying to your state flagship. If you apply as a freshman, will they take most of your AA credits? If you are in a state where your test scores won’t get you into the flagship, look at the other state 4 year options.

In addition to IB, there are a lot of very good jobs in the financial services sector. I’ve consulted in the industry for years, and I often think many people don’t realize how many good jobs and room for advancement there is in those companies. Don’t fixate on IB, which may or may not happen. Focus on getting your degree in Econ or finance, finding some solid internship opportunities, and landing a good intro level job out of college.