<p>At the end of the day is it always about your college’s ranking? My daughter is getting the royal treatment in her freshman year at a respectable but 2nd/3rd tier university (not sure how tiers are determined): accepted to nationally highly regarded program in her field of interst, lot’s of merit scholarship, honors program that includes: special access to counselors/faculty, newest and only dorm with A/C, key to honors lounge, etc. However, she was told that she could easily transfer into a program at an Ivy that she applied to for freshman year but was rejected. The associate dean of that program was impressed with her and encouraged her to transfer for sophomore year. I’m sure she will get no money (need blind school) and no special accommodations there. She is currently on top of the world and has not mentioned transfering. I’m inclined not to interfere if she doesn’t mention it, but I do wonder how others would anticipate this could play-out in her future.</p>
<p>Correction: i just found info on the tier system (on CC imagine that):</p>
<p>“The second tier seems to have vanished entirely, although in popular parlance, “first tier” is reserved for only the top 50 schools. Any college ranked below 50 but above Tier 3 is commonly called “second tier,” even though you won’t find it so labeled in the magazine any longer.”</p>
<p>By this defintion, while not an ivy, her current school is a first tier.</p>
<p>I can’t imagine transferring. She likes where she is at and is thriving. The name of her school is not going to be what makes or breaks her future. She will make the most of where she is at and succeed. I am actually surprised that a dean at her current school would encourage her to transfer! You’d think they’d want to keep her. Also, I would never encourage any freshman as early as September to even be contemplating a transfer for ANY reason. </p>
<p>Congratulations to your D and may she continue to have the royal treatment and a wonderful experience full of opportunities at her present school, and most of all, to be happy with where she is at (the latter would mean the most to me as a parent).</p>
<p>PS…I even missed the part that she is in a nationally recognized program in her field of interest! I can’t think of ANY reason she would contemplate transferring unless she were miserable at her school and even then, I’d wait to determine that mid year.</p>
<p>I would second what Soozie says but I have to wonder why the dean would suggest transferring. This means exploring what the offerings are in subsequent years, not only in terms of courses but also research opportunities with funding. Is there something the dean knows about the current school that might make it far less attractive than the Ivy s/he suggests transferring to?</p>
<p>If not, then why bother transferring? If your D is happy and challenged where she is, that is all that matters.</p>
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<p>My reading of the original post is that the dean in question is at the Ivy that rejected her for freshman year. It is hard to imagine a dean at her current school encouraging her to leave.</p>
<p>dpeck: I agree with soovie and marite. If your daughter doesn’t bring it up, you shouldn’t either. Doing so might make her think you are disappointed in her for not attending an Ivy.</p>
<p>I may have misunderstood the post and if so, forgive me. I thought the OP meant that the dean of her D’s current college encouraged her to transfer. That was hard to imagine. </p>
<p>My opinion, however, about transferring is not changed. </p>
<p>I will add that IF it was the dean at the IVY that encouraged her to transfer, that’s nice but why didn’t she get in originally? I’m not sure what new information that school has that they didn’t have before.</p>
<p>It may happen. Heaps of kids talk about transferring. My guy talked about it before he even got to his school. (Girl). Let them talk it through but be very very wary of encouraging transfer to an Ivy.</p>
<p>My basic response to my guy? “Uh huh…uh huh…hmmmmmm.”</p>
<p>Eventually his peers in his study abroad program talked him around to sense. (The girl is long gone).</p>
<p>Yes you’re right, midmo. Sorry if confusing. It was the dean at the Ivy who encouraged her to transfer.</p>
<p>This person/dean was surprisingly candid and said that if we were not from such a highly achieving part of the country where it is not uncommon for students to ace the SAT and have unweighted 4.0 GPA, etc, she would have been accepted. My D is no slouch by any stretch but competition is tough around here. She said highschool testing and stats would not be considered for transfer admissions?? I think she felt bad that in a pre-admission interview she carelessly told D she was basically in–used words like “perfect fit” etc and then didn’t have the pull with admissions that she thought she did. HUGE heartbreak for D to get the rejection but she has landed on her feet. </p>
<p>In any case, all of your comments reaffirm my inclination. I hope this is helpful to others making a decision this year. And beware of interviewers with loose lips.</p>
<p>dkpeck:</p>
<p>I had indeed misread your post. Two things: Having reread your post and your subsequent amplification, I am more convinced than ever that your D’s current school, with its nationally renowned program, is where she should be and stay.</p>
<p>Second, deans do not make admissions decisions unless they are deans of admissions. A dean might tell the admissions office that he or she is very interested in a particular applicant, and his/her recommendation would be taken very seriously. But the dean does not have the last word.
I believe that the high school profile and SATs are factors in transfers since the college will have only one semester’s worth of record for a transfer applicant.</p>
<p>I’m not clear…the Dean of the program at the Ivy told your D that she was a perfect fit (which is not the same as implying she “is in.”) In any case, you acknowledge this person didn’t have the “clout” to get her in. Now, this person is encouraging her to transfer. He has acknowledged how difficult it was to get in earlier (indeed, many HIGHLY qualified kids are rejected who the school might have taken if there was room…they could fill the class twice with a similarly talented class most likely at an Ivy). What is different now? Again, this person is encouraging her and says she has a good chance. She had a good chance before. There is not much new about that. She may get in, but he can’t guarantee it. If he didn’t have the “clout” before, what is new now? I am unclear.</p>
<p>I am just discussing it but in any case, I see no need at all for your D to transfer if she is happy at her school and has opportunities there…and you even say it is a nationally recognized program in her field of interest no less. There is not any need to transfer just to go to a more prestigious school…I can’t see doing so for that reason at all. I certainly can’t imagine contemplating it in Sept. of freshman year (though some kids do, they ought to be discouraged from doing so and rather give their school a fair shake and assess their thoughts come winter). Today, I ran into the father (a friend) of one of the kids who my younger D grew up with and was friends with. Last year, the girl was a freshman in college. By October, she wanted to transfer and they wanted to engage me as a counselor to help her with that. It was SO early to be thinking that way, I felt. But they kept saying their D wanted to do so. I feel that early on, you can’t separate whether the child is not yet used to college and would feel this way at any school or if it is truly the school/match. I encouraged her to give it more time and reassess after the first semester over the holiday. In January, she was still talking of it and the parents were lining me up. Then, the kid never followed through. Lo and behold, I hear today from the dad…she LOVES her school…wanted to even be there over the summer. This is not so unusual! I realize your D is not saying she doesn’t like her school, but I am commenting on the idea of transferring being contemplated in Sept. of freshman year.</p>
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<p>AHA!</p>
<p>All good points and anecdotes. No guarantees on the transfer either. Wouldn’t that be an awful double blow!</p>
<p>ellemenope: I might need further elaboration on your response/comment, “AHA!”</p>
<p>I guess I would look at it as their loss. Your D sounds like a great kid and I am SURE SHE will be successful where ever she ends up. </p>
<p>A question I have is post grad in the picture? </p>
<p>If yes, here’s how I would view it… School “A” wants me, is willing to give me…
“nationally highly regarded program in her field of interst, lot’s of merit scholarship, honors program that includes: special access to counselors/faculty, newest and only dorm with A/C, key to honors lounge, etc”</p>
<p>School B tells me “next year.” maybe… and you’ll give up a,b,c…</p>
<p>Is it really that hard of a choice? </p>
<p>I would suggest getting undergrad done as cheaply as possible and if it’s in a place where your name is at the top of every list…hey, that’s not so bad is it?</p>
<p>"At the end of the day is it always about your college’s ranking? "</p>
<p>No it’s always about your having a fulfilling college experience that helps you become the very best you that’s possible. Depending on one’s personality and needs, that probably has little to nothing to do with the college’s ranking.</p>
<p>AHA moment for me–</p>
<p>This reminds me of that college counselor who suggested that the student (a female Asian) move from the competitive high school she was attending to another school much lower on the competitive chain and in a lower socioeconomic area to increase the girl’s chances of getting an Ivy acceptance.</p>
<p>The ploy worked for the young lady–she did get her Ivy acceptance. But I figured that it didn’t have anything to do with moving, surely!</p>
<p>Looks like those “tricks” could be successful…</p>
<p>There’s always grad school. There are also always going to be "what if"s in life so don’t agonize over any decision/nonaction in this. Likewise there are always tradeoffs; I would let her enjoy college where she’s at (not UW- no special dorms for the Honors program students…) without ruining the experience by trying to optimize it further. If the more elite school really wants her and she sees a potential advantage in taking the upper level courses at that school she can plan a transfer for, say, junior year. This will give her time to relax this year and investigate the programs with more information.</p>
<p>Northstarmom- you must have been reading my son’s subconscience mind when he was(n’t) working on his elite college apps 2 years ago (he might cringe at his unmentored essays later in life- no one else ever saw them). My son is doing well and happy with his public top 50 school. We all have to remember that life is not over if our child doesn’t always maximize his/her academic potential at every opportunity.</p>
<p>I observe that sometimes parents or students can interpret what a college rep says in certain ways. When a person says, “you are a perfect fit” that doesn’t equate with “you’re in.” I had a parent recently tell me that a college is very interested in her daughter and I asked how did they know that. And it was because when they contacted a department/faculty, the person was very interested in having this student come in and meet with them. In my view, this is very common. They DO want to meet with you. They want you to be interested. And yes, they may think well of you too. This happens in lots of meetings between prospies and faculty members. But it should not be interpretted as “this school wants me and will admit me ,” at all. I think many of these meetings are encouraging to students. But the real deal is the admissions office. Yes, a positive meeting with a faculty member may end up with a note going over to the admissions office about the student. In any case, such folks are eager and willing to meet with students and can be very encouraging. This can’t always be interpretted as “the school wants me and will admit me.” But I am seeing this interpretation being made sometimes by parents and students.</p>
<p>Agree with soozievt, et. al.
She is over the heartbreak, is happy and thriving. Why mess that up?</p>
<p>Also, as I understand it, the college ranking might matter for graduate school admission and your first job (you would hope that what matters is the person’s abilities and achievements). After the first job, does anyone really care where someone went to school? It is job performance that matters at that point.</p>