CC to Ivy/top Tier

[Neutropix]

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I have been thinking a lot about transferring to an ivy/top twenty school.

Skinny: 34 credits as community college student with a 4.0, 250+ volunteer hours (hospital, women's children's shelter, nature conservancy, blind center), 50 shadowing hours, PTK, soon to be scribe. NEVER took SAT/ACT*. I have somewhat of a compelling story as to why my performance in high school was garbage.

About myself: I am an adept skateboarder, rock climber, and weight lifter. I consider myself to be a very diverse person (I was also born in Mexico). I have an interest in astrophysics, AI, and biology. I like reading (Dostoyevsky, Stoker, Huxley, Tolkein, Harris, Hitchens). Also, for what it's worth, I am a bisexual and an atheist.

My parents are middle-class workers, nothing special.

I want to be an incredible physician, but I also want to evolve as much as possible while in undergraduate. The benefits of top schools are numerous and undeniable (connections, research, instruction, community).

Medicine: I am interested in surgery (any specialty). I would like to work in a teaching setting, on the cutting edge of innovation, one day. The application of a science and the immediate benefits are some of the things that draw me.

I am a hard worker; I will bust my a**. I realize that I am not a special butterfly, I will have to earn this.

*Yes I realize it takes an extremely compelling reason to transfer to a top school. However, I am willing to take the summer off to study like an animal and destroy my SAT/ACT.

All BS aside, I need YOUR advice. Are my chances totally dismal? With my current stats and objectives what should be my next step? Please, feel free to PM me, if you'd rather.

Thank you, everyone.

PS: I have to go write two papers. I'll check on this tonight. Have a good day everyone.

 

[Juldarus]

Ivy League schools are very hard to transfer into, but it's by no means impossible. If Yale's policies can generalize to other the other Ivies, you're looking at over 1000 applications for 20-30 transfer positions (http://admissions.yale.edu/transfer). I'm not sure how many of these applicants would be coming from a 4-year university vs. community college.

Work hard, do well on the exams, and you have a chance. Make it clear to each place you're applying why that particular institution is so important to you. Just remember that good connections, research, etc. are by no means exclusive to the "top 20"

 

[BamaNicole]

You can definitely transfer into a top twenty school.

I went from a CC to Berkeley. I have another friend who is still completing his degree who transferred to from a CC to Stanford.

 

[TexasSurgeon]

You can definitely transfer into a top twenty school.

I went from a CC to Berkeley. I have another friend who is still completing his degree who transferred to from a CC to Stanford.

Slightly different for you since it is very common for students in California to go to CC first and then transfer.

 

[BamaNicole]

Slightly different for you since it is very common for students in California to go to CC first and then transfer.

True but its still an example of CC to top tier. I doubt transferring into an Ivy is very possible.

 

[raiderette]

Open your mind to what is top tier. Consider honor programs at state universities and look at top LACs as well. It is sometimes easier to be able to do research at LACs since you are not competing with grad students.

 

[publichealthguy]

Keep in mind that you can get into essentially any medical school from any undergrad so long as you have the right grades, MCAT, and extracurriculars. When I was 18, I bought into the myth of "top tier" superiority and dropped mad $$$ for an undergraduate education that I simply cannot believe was markedly better than the one offered by my state school.

If you are serious about achieving your goal to become a surgeon at a teaching institution on the absolute cutting edge of medicine, you should think about going the big fish, small pond route for undergrad and busting your ass to get into a big-name medical school. The "numerous and undeniable" benefits of attending a US News-certified prestigious university become more pronounced the higher up the educational ladder you climb. Don't waste your precious pennies on undergrad.

Anyway, that's the advice of this severely indebted fellow bisexual, atheist, rock-climbing aficionado of Russian literature.

 

[Neutropix]

Keep in mind that you can get into essentially any medical school from any undergrad so long as you have the right grades, MCAT, and extracurriculars. When I was 18, I bought into the myth of "top tier" superiority and dropped mad $$$ for an undergraduate education that I simply cannot believe was markedly better than the one offered by my state school.

If you are serious about achieving your goal to become a surgeon at a teaching institution on the absolute cutting edge of medicine, you should think about going the big fish, small pond route for undergrad and busting your ass to get into a big-name medical school. The "numerous and undeniable" benefits of attending a US News-certified prestigious university become more pronounced the higher up the educational ladder you climb. Don't waste your precious pennies on undergrad.

Anyway, that's the advice of this severely indebted fellow bisexual, atheist, rock-climbing aficionado of Russian literature.

You raise good points, sir. Damn good points.

 

[WedgeDawg]

Ivies have very few transfer spots available (some have 0) and almost all of them are from other Ivies.

 

[Neutropix]

Ivies have very few transfer spots available (some have 0) and almost all of them are from other Ivies.

^So I've heard. Well, maybe I should just stick to what I am good at.

Cue the violins

 

[justadream]

This entire discussion is moot until you know what your SAT/ACT is.

 

[RedPhys]

I had a friend go from C's and D's in high school, to a 4.0 at the local CC for two years, to an Ivy league university.

 

[WedgeDawg]

I had a friend go from C's and D's in high school, to a 4.0 at the local CC for two years, to an Ivy league university.

This is definitely not the norm. However, apparently Cornell has agreements with some NY CCs to take transfers though.

 

[Neutropix]

I had a friend go from C's and D's in high school, to a 4.0 at the local CC for two years, to an Ivy league university.

I know it's possible, but could you give me more details? What were his aspirations? That is, what made him attractive to an ivy? Any tips or strategies would be appreciated. Also, was there in-state bias? Thank you

 

[RedPhys]

This is definitely not the norm. However, apparently Cornell has agreements with some NY CCs to take transfers though.

I know it's possible, but could you give me more details? What were his aspirations? That is, what made him attractive to an ivy? Any tips or strategies would be appreciated. Also, was there in-state bias? Thank you

URM (Hispanic), from Miami. Transferred to Cornell.

Not sure about his aspirations, strategies, or what particularly made him attractive. He sounds like he was one of those "I didn't know what I wanted to do, or what I was doing, with my life. Now I do." type of person (he also took off around two years after high school working odd jobs before enrolling at the local college), at least from the conversation he told me once about how he ended up at Cornell. Biology (pre-med) major, looking to study medicine.

 

[MaybeDr]

Transferring to an Ivy without taking a standardized test is pretty much impossible.

Now if you're a California resident wishing to transfer to Berkeley or UCLA it is beyond easy in comparison to getting in as a freshman. Many people really overstate the difficulty. There has been a system in place for a very long time that accommodates to California transfer students very nicely. Your odds are very good if you can maintain a 3.8+ and complete every pre-req before transferring. This is really only if you are a California resident though.