Hi, My son is currently a freshman in school of engineering in Penn State with intended major of computer science. He did not get accepted in some of the top engineering schools, primarily because his grade 9 and 10 grades were not good, affected the overall GPA. His freshman GPA should be near-perfect! I could use some advice on transferring in his sophomore year. Some of the top CS schools that have relatively high transfer acceptance rates are Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt, UMich and NYU. Out of these, he had applied to GT and got rejected. If he applies as a transfer, does that affect him negatively? Also, we are NOT Georgia residents, he cannot be part of their pathway programs. Does that mean GT is out of his reach? Any advice on the other colleges I listed? Thanks.
Penn State has a strong engineering program and can get a successful student anywhere they want to go. Personally, I dont like the idea of students considering transferring so early in a college career. This can get in the way of the student developing friendships, creating relationships with professors, getting involved in ECs, etc.
I would focus on making the most of the current university. The student can always put in some transfer applications down the road but best to not count on a transfer working out.
Note that a studentâs HS record is typically taken into account when transferring after only one year of college.
What is your sonâs primary reason to transfer? To attend a school that ranks higher on USNWRâs list, or is there a more specific reason?
Like happy1, I too dislike the idea of students starting their college journey with an eye out the door.
It is not just the higher ranks, it is the branding of your school that stays with you forever, the resources you get, big tech companies that come for recruiting etc. He is totally happy where he is but he was extremely heartbroken with rejections from his top choice schools. If thereâs a way for him to try again, I am wondering why not? His head is not currently in to a transfer, I am trying to look at realistic possibilities while heâs completely focused on his academic and social life in PSU. Also, I was thinking sophomore year because transferring later might be more unsettling. But, I am looking for advice here. Thanks
I have a son who was a Soph->Junior transfer to a highly selective school that rejected him coming out of high school. It can be done.
However, to transfer to a highly selective school, you really need to demonstrate a compelling academic need behind the transfer. It doesnât sound like your son even wants to go through this very rigorous process, which quite frankly, is more challenging than applying out of high school.
As he should be.
At some point, possibly by the time that he gets to the end of his sophomore year, it might also be a good idea to look for internships.
Really internships are going to be more important than whether he is attending the #40 or #20 or #100 ranked university for CS. Your son is already studying at a very good university, and it sounds like he is doing very well there. Congratulations!
My suggestion is that your son continue where he is, keep ahead in his class work, get great grades, get to know his professors, and look for internships. When he graduates he might want to work for a year or two. Then he can think about whether he wants to consider getting a masterâs degree, possibly at a highly ranked university.
There are plenty of graduate students at Stanford and other highly ranked universities who got their bachelorâs degrees at universities ranked lower than Penn State (which is very good for CS and in general).
PSU is a fine school for CS. If heâs doing well and making friends I would be skeptical of changing. The grass isnât always greener. Schools like GT can be a grind. It was a good choice for my son but it wasnât always enjoyable.
Unless youâre talking schools like MIT, CMU or Stanford the name recognition wonât make much of a difference. And even then itâs a big if.
I think he needs to get over being heartbroken from his rejections. People move on and they go on to success. My husband went to Stanford; my son went to Caltech. Eldest daughter is an EECS. Our daughter chose Buffalo even though she got into Yale and Hopkins. She is constantly headhunted and continues to be promoted. Yes she was rejected by Harvard but she got through the second stage of interviews and that was good enough for her
Their colleagues are from community colleges and transfers into flagship Public universities.
In this field no one really cares where you went to school.
My husbandâs supervisor (Vice President) in a huge international company is from a CSU. Husband hires engineers and his main concerns are internships/ experiences and GPAâs. No one even asks where they went to school. Itâs about performance.
If heâs still concerned about his rejections, then I think there may be another issue.
THISâŠin most cases. If the school is ABET accredited, that matters. Penn State has a fine engineering program.
As an FYI, one of the most successful engineering/CS majors we know graduated from UMass and works for Airbnb. Not bad.
Your son sounds like he is settling into college well. I told my kids that they could transfer if they wanted to, but I wasnât having anything to do with the process. Your son should be taking the lead if he wants toâŠbut it doesnât sound like itâs his priority.
I think I would let this goâŠunless HE brings the subject up and there is a good reason why.
Yes he can try again but itâs not easy and he needs to provide a compelling academic reason, not just âbrand nameâ. And unless he is seeking a job in a few specific industries, Penn State wonât stop him from getting his dream job. Going to an elite/brand name school doesnât make much difference for the vast majority of CS jobs. I know this from personal experience.
Let him settle in and make the most of his time at PSU. Then, in the New Year he can re-evaluate if he still wants to transfer. A lot of kids change their mind.
You donât know why he was rejected out of hs and the other schools are not necessarily better than Penn State; maybe more selective but not necessarily better.
If he applied to Ga Tech and didnât get in, there you go. If he likes urban, you can try UMN.
Vandy is a whole different world than Penn State. Smaller. Urban. Expensive.
Does that interest him ? Again Iâm not sure itâs better.
NYU CS is in Brooklyn, not Manhattan - ie main campus- is that of interest ?
UM - frankly itâs Penn State but yes more pedigree. CS is on the North campus, not main.
Is he struggling socially or not liking the size or area? Why the need to leave such a fine school.
Thereâs a lot of disadvantage in transferring. You have to start again.
Why not Cornell though ? Or for easier RPI ?
I donât think it matters but if it does, Penn State is one of the top brands in America.
Once you get experience, itâs very clear through my career that the where matters little. I think youâre buying into magazine hype. Kids from top colleges arenât even getting hired in many cases this year, even from âtopâ schools.
Many kids turn down top schools for safeties - mine did for engineering and he works with kids from the school he turned downâŠand Michigan kids too. They all make the same.
Yours is in a great spot.
He goes to school. Not you.
Kids shouldnât fall in love with any school. He had a list (not sure if balanced) and got into a great school.
It sounds like you want to be able to brag. You, yourself, say heâs in a great spot. Stop
Even he transfers, he might end up miserable.
If you are driving this I would encourage you to not be pursuing it. How important is it to him to transfer?
I donât think Penn State CS is suffering on any of these dimensions.
But, if HE really wants to transfer, he should put in apps and go from there. He will have to answer some essays that address Why a new school?..focus on the new school and not saying negative things about the current school. Focus on new schoolâs offerings (fewer/different core requirements, direct entry to CS, a specific area of CS via courses or prof research that isnât present at your school, different location because of X or closer to family, etc). The reasons do not have to be academic, AOs know that students transfer for all types of different reasons. I donât know his HS stats, all you said were ânot goodâ grade 9 and 10. If he applies for transfer now for next Fall, his HS stats will still be important in the admissions process. If he waits a year, they will be less important at many schools.
Tech has a high transfer rate because of their various transfer pathway programs. If he wants to try again there, he can, but he might wait until next year when there is more space between last yearâs decision and more college grades/experience. Schools definitely accept students they denied coming out of HS.
UMich could work (I would expect LSA CS has a higher admit rate than COE CS, but not sure) or NYU (ditto, Tandon or CAS?). I donât feel that Vandy CS > than PSU, but thatâs an opinion. Frankly, itâs arguable that Mich or NYU CS are better than PSU.
Maybe look at Northwestern, which also takes many transfers, but again not sure the HS stats make him competitive. Looks like he was waitlisted at Madison last year tooâŠis that still of interest?
Nope, Madison is not of interest anymore.
I agree with you. In my tech/CS hiring experience I havenât viewed Vandy or NYU CS as being better than PSU. UMich, yes - but PSU is also well respected.
Please let your son be in the drivers seat on this issue. What are you going to do? Hand him a list of places where you think he should apply to transfer?
It sounds like your son is adjusting well to Penn State, and the program there. I wouldnât fix something that isnât broken.
Please let this go.
Iâm going to take a step back and throw out another caveat to transferring. That is the social aspect. What is HIS goal for his college experience? Because if you are hoping that college is transactional and he doesnât have a strong support group and strong connections, then encourage a transfer. Those things become more difficult when transferring.
I know Iâm oversimplifying here, but Iâve seen two kids go through it. One was denied to NW - his dream school. Applied as a transfer and switched there sophomore year. The reality is that he never felt fully integrated. All the kids making friends and developing relationships had done that by sophomore year. He found it tough to break into established groups. It was harder to join clubs and get leadership positions because he was a year âbehindâ where other kids were in the pecking order. He graduated from a great school! But not sure his college experience was all that he had hoped it would be.
Does HE like Penn State? You do know that their career fair is one of the largest in the country, right? There typically is a waiting list for companies. Did he go to it? Even as a freshman, it makes sense to go, walk around, practice talking to companies, listening to others, and even if the long-shot of an internship doesnât happen, he is well-prepared for the following year.
have a conversation with him before you head too far down this rabbit hole.
He is engaged in clubs, went to career fair and presented himself to many potential internship employers. He might very well land one, after freshman summer but keeping fingers crossed.
This adds to the pluses for Penn State and your sonâs commitment to the program.