Transferring to an Ivy League or top tier school?

I did very well on my SATs (800 on critical reading, 660 on both math and writing), fairly decent in high school (about a 3.7 GPA taking mostly all advanced classes), but had few extracurricular activities and no leadership positions. I applied to one Ivy League school (Cornell) and got rejected. However, I did get into some other decent schools. This fall, I'll be going to Boston University on a good scholarship and in the honors program. Now I know I shouldn't already be thinking about transferring, but I was just wondering if it would be a likely possibility for me to able to transfer into an Ivy League or something like it next year. In addition to doing very well in my classes, what sort of activities should I do to increase my chances?

Transferring to an Ivy League or top tier school?
My question to you is why you feel the need to transfer. BU is a very good school, and you have a scholarship. Make the best of your opportunity.





Unless you want to specialize in something not available at BU (likely in your Junior / Senior year), I doubt it will make much difference if you go to BU or an Ivy school. Grad schools and employers will put emphasis on your academic record, work experience and other activities, regardless of where you went to school.
Reply:First off Boston University is a top school.


Second, I agree with one of the other answers unless there is a specific reason ( degree objective) to change schools then it's not a good idea not to.


you want to build a good rapport with faculty so they can write you good letters of recommendations in the future. (for graduate school, jobs)





And!! You have a good scholarship and you are a part of the honors program. You are one of the top incoming Boston University students if you want to maintain this you'll have to work hard.





Also, wait until your freshman year is over to make a decision.
Reply:First off -- BU has an excellent reputation. US News ranks it at #57 in the country -- which is really quite good.





Now on to the bad news. The top schools accept very few transfer students. Princeton does not accept any. Harvard accepts about 35 per year out of hundreds of applications. Stanford sets a target of 20 students per year out of 1300+ applications. Chicago sets a target of 50 students per year out of about 650 applications.





Cornell accepts more transfer students than any of the other Ivy League schools. However most of those slots are reserved for New York residents tranferring into Cornell's state funded colleges. If you want to get into the College of Arts %26amp; Sciences -- then it will be just as tough as the other Ivy League schools. Bottom line -- even if you are qualified to get into these schools, it is highly unlikely that you will get in.





This isn't good news -- but it is the truth.
Reply:Well, to be honest, you need to do pretty well in college and for at least 1 1/2 years. Most colleges, including the ivies, consider a college student to be a transfer at around 24+ credits (one year-two semesters-of college).





Another truth: Cornell is the "easist" Ivy to get in to. You also only have an A- for your GPA- while that is high, there are certainly much, much higher applying to Cornell and the rest of the bunch.





Last truth, it will be much hardier to keep your grades "ivy worthy" in an Honors program.





Advice: study hard and wait until your junior year. Get good grades and try again.





P.S.- don't say top tier- that is regarding law school not undergrad.- people will get confused.





Edit:





Oh, now the true source of the quick transfer comes out. Look, if your ONLY doing it because of your friends, see how it goes at BU for a while and then see how you feel. BU is a great school with great sports, academics, and graduate work. It is in a great location and isn't too expensive. Just because you didn't get into an Ivy, doesn't mean you aren't going to succeed in life.