<p>fairly good student (around 2100 sats, but mostly Bs with some Cs in all honors and AP classes at a competitive high school, good SAT IIs though), but didn’t get into anywhere he applied. he wants to stay with his class year, so he will probably do a year at community college or at a lower ranked state school in our home state with the intentions of transfering somewhere next year. </p>
<p>how much would his original college matter if his high school stats were decent in terms of transfer?</p>
<p>What schools he has in mind and the strength of his college transcript, recommendations, and statements/essays will be critical; but generally, yes, the original college is important inasmuch as it provides a context for his performance and achievements. That said, it is entirely possible to transfer up from a community college or large state school (easier from the latter), the only question is how far you wish to shoot. Going from a community college to an Ivy, for example, is quite unlikely unless the student was legitimately competitive for an Ivy as a freshman, which does not seem to be the case here.</p>