Undergrad transfer!!! Forum

[newrich]

Okay, so I just finished my sophmore year of college and have a 3.9 gpa from a good, not amazing, but a good school. My question is if I should transfer to a better college. Like, would tranfering to Cornell or Notre Dame help me with regards to law school? Or would it not matter?

[newrich]

Okay, so I just finished my sophmore year of college and have a 3.9 gpa from a good, not amazing, but a good school. My question is if I should transfer to a better college. Like, would tranfering to Cornell or Notre Dame help me with regards to law school? Or would it not matter?

Keep in mind I dont love my current school. The food is horrible and social life sucks. Some of my friends dont like it either and are transfferring, so if I leave, I will not, well, lose sleep over it.

[dbt]

Transfer if you want. Be prepared for a potential drop in GPA if you transfer up. And keep in mind LOR issues...try to keep the connections you have (if any) with profs at your initial school.

[blurbz]

The above advice is good. Transfer if you believe you'll be happier at a different undergraduate institution. The school from which you ultimately graduate will make no measurable difference on your law school applications. Do what makes you happiest now.

[thalassocrat]

Notre Dame or Cornell won't really give you a boost when you're applying to law schools, except maybe at their respective law schools. I don't know if they're the sort to favor their own or no. The GPA is worth more than the school it came from. Transfer for your personal happiness/to graduate with less debt, though didn't you say in another thread you have a full ride?

Actually I just looked at that other thread to make sure I wasn't confusing you with another person, and which year did you just finish? Freshman or sophomore? If you're just a rising sophomore and the only problems are the food and social life, I'd suggest toughing it out another year. Live off campus and cook for yourself if the food is that bad and find some ECs or something for your social life. If you do transfer, keep your debt load in mind if you don't manage another full ride/your parents can't pay.

[newrich]

Notre Dame or Cornell won't really give you a boost when you're applying to law schools, except maybe at their respective law schools. I don't know if they're the sort to favor their own or no. The GPA is worth more than the school it came from. Transfer for your personal happiness/to graduate with less debt, though didn't you say in another thread you have a full ride?

Actually I just looked at that other thread to make sure I wasn't confusing you with another person, and which year did you just finish? Freshman or sophomore? If you're just a rising sophomore and the only problems are the food and social life, I'd suggest toughing it out another year. Live off campus and cook for yourself if the food is that bad and find some ECs or something for your social life. If you do transfer, keep your debt load in mind if you don't manage another full ride/your parents can't pay.

Oh yeah, I just finished my first year, and plan to stay next year. Not sophmore, fresh. Also, I'm not 150% set on law yet. If I change my mind between law and business, than I would kick myself in the a$$ for not transferring to the best school possible. But, the debt-free thing is awesome. And money isn't really an issue here....Would a 3.9 and a ton of EC's (I'm going to be an RA as a sophmore next year. That really shows you how bad the social life is at my school. In the past, I have been called a party animal, and would never consider being an RA. But, I nailed the interview and got the position. So with other EC's and a 3.9 give me a shot at yale? I mean, from what I've heard high school stats dont matter when you are applying for a junior year transfer. I did well in HS to land me a full ride at my good school, but not Yale stats. BTW the average GPA at the program I'm in is a 2.5! Would my 3.9 look better because of this grade deflation bull$hit?

[dbt]

Notre Dame or Cornell won't really give you a boost when you're applying to law schools, except maybe at their respective law schools. I don't know if they're the sort to favor their own or no. The GPA is worth more than the school it came from. Transfer for your personal happiness/to graduate with less debt, though didn't you say in another thread you have a full ride?

Actually I just looked at that other thread to make sure I wasn't confusing you with another person, and which year did you just finish? Freshman or sophomore? If you're just a rising sophomore and the only problems are the food and social life, I'd suggest toughing it out another year. Live off campus and cook for yourself if the food is that bad and find some ECs or something for your social life. If you do transfer, keep your debt load in mind if you don't manage another full ride/your parents can't pay.

Oh yeah, I just finished my first year, and plan to stay next year. Not sophmore, fresh. Also, I'm not 150% set on law yet. If I change my mind between law and business, than I would kick myself in the a$$ for not transferring to the best school possible. But, the debt-free thing is awesome. And money isn't really an issue here....Would a 3.9 and a ton of EC's (I'm going to be an RA as a sophmore next year. That really shows you how bad the social life is at my school. In the past, I have been called a party animal, and would never consider being an RA. But, I nailed the interview and got the position. So with other EC's and a 3.9 give me a shot at yale? I mean, from what I've heard high school stats dont matter when you are applying for a junior year transfer. I did well in HS to land me a full ride at my good school, but not Yale stats. BTW the average GPA at the program I'm in is a 2.5! Would my 3.9 look better because of this grade deflation bull$hit?

Transferring in undergrad is very...unpredictable. Yale is basically about as selective as they come, and you're going to be up against kids with 3.9+ from all types of schools. The name of the school you come from will have some bearing on admissions, but I think a big deal is also going to be your standardized test score (SAT/ACT) and your reason for wanting to transfer, as well as LORs (e.g., this student was the best student I've seen in X years).

I transferred in undergrad too. Especially if you're coming from a no-name college, retaking the SAT/ACT is a good idea if you didn't do too well in high school. The schools you're applying to want to ultimately know that you're a good fit for the school, and that means they need to know that you're smart enough to cut it at their school. A high GPA does not always demonstrate that level of intelligence, whereas a high standardized test score can back up your GPA.