1st year wanting to switch to harvard/princeton/yale

Hello,

I'm currently at the university of Auckland, New Zealand. but I realised that what I really want to do is go to one of the top Ivy leagues in the US. I don't have much planned for my life, there is no set career path I want to take, if anything my plan is to stay plan-free, and so my choice of starting a law degree here is starting to look less and less solid (I do enjoy law and could certainly benefit from having such a degree under my belt; also it's far easier to get into law here than in the UK and US; also it's an undergrad degree here (I could become a solicitor after 4 years of undergrad study (plus bar exams))
So, since I’ve missed this year’s deadline I want to apply to those US uni's (harvard/princeton/yale) for 2007. there are a couple of issues.
firstly SAT's, according to the collegeboard website the nearest testing centre is a good 5 hour drive away (which is funny since I live in the primate city of the country)
secondly, financial-aid, all the mentioned universities offer need-blind admission (I certainly wouldn't be able to afford the fees), but in another thread someone mentioned that the aid packages consist largely of loans which start accruing interest immediately, which certainly wouldn't be fun, graduating with over 100k in debt isn't my idea of a good education.

so, what I would like is someone advice.
Words of wisdom and the like.

Thankyou
-V

Reply 1

Featherflare

Firstly, Princeton doesnt accept transfer students so that wouldnt be possible. The SATs are not nearly as bad as they seem, 4 hours goes rather quickly. As for financial aid, my package from princeton included a grant of over 30k and no loans whatsoeva so i doubt very much that the rumors you were told of have much shred of truth.

If you need any more info, feel free to PM me

Reply 2

devil09

The reason your financial aid package didn't include loans, featherflare, is because Princeton doesn't include loans in the financial aid package. Harvard and Yale do. However, the average debt upon graduation at HY is about $20-23,000. The loans don't start gathering interest until you've finished school (including law, medical, and grad school).

Transferring into Harvard and Yale is very, very difficult. I don't have the numbers for Harvard, but this year Yale accepted 30 out of 681 applicants- keep in mind that 30 includes both sophomore and junior transfers!

Reply 3

vierstein

hey thanks for that,
I forgot to mention one point, I skipped my last year of school to go to university early so I though maybe I wouldn't transfer, just apply for first year admission. I read something on the Harvard website that students who studied in university instead of a final year in highschool should just apply normally.
I certainly wouldn't mind too much, not receiving academic credit for what i've already done here (at least I learned something useful, hopefully).
The loan information is a relief (i'd be graduating here with a $20k+ debt anyway)

i'll try contacting collegeboard to see if there is in fact a testing centre in the city.

thanks again,
-V

Reply 4

girlscout

hey, im thinking abt doing the same thing. im going to UCL for economics this sept. just got rejected by 3 ivy leagues i applied to and got waitlist by wellesley college. im thinking abt apply transfer to UPenn cuz i really love that place (i applied to wharton this yr and it proved that wharton was too hard to get in. so try get into UPenn and try the dual degree would be a great option). so, yes, we are sort of in a same situation.

about the FA, u need to keep in mind that u r an international applicant. so it would be even harder for you to get FA package. im an asian so i saw loads of my friends hving that big problem when they are applying.

also, you might know already that US unis are not only looking at grades, they are looking for all-arounded students. so you would need to hv some interesting experiences no matter u r applying transfer or as a freshman.

and besides SATs, AP would be a good exam to sit. i heard someone even took GRE when they are applying transfer. Email the AO and ask for their suggestion.

at last, u need to remember that even with great grades and great activities there is still chance that you might not get in. so ask urself, if i can't get into HYPS, what shall i do? Do you just want to go to HYPS or simply America? If you just want to be in America, apply some insurance like some LACs. there are great LACs like Smith College, Wellesley...

good luck!

Reply 5

jeffreyweingard

If one wants to apply for transfer, does one apply in year 1 or year 2? Is it hard to transfer to HYPS, if you have first class results from Oxbridge, UCL, LSE etc? Would it be easier to switch from a Scottish uni to American uni, since the system is similar? Which top American unis, apart from the Ivies, accept international transfers?

Reply 6

vierstein

From what I've read from the Ivy's if you want to switch before the end of your first year, you should apply as a normal undergrad.

For me, I've been specifically looking at Ivy leagues, because, since they are private Universities they don't discriminate against international students (No higher fees, and financial aid available)
One of the reasons is to go to America, but more so to get out of this country, and to go to a top university; so I’ve I don't get into one of those I'd rather just stay here.

One of my problems is that since I missed this years admission deadlines I'll have to apply for next year by which time I'll have completed 1.5 years of university here.

Reply 7

jeffreyweingard

vierstein

From what I've read from the Ivy's if you want to switch before the end of your first year, you should apply as a normal undergrad.

Are u sure? Cause from what I've read on their web site, if you've studied at an university for 1+ years, you apply as a transfer.

Reply 8

girlscout

vierstein

For me, I've been specifically looking at Ivy leagues, because, since they are private Universities they don't discriminate against international students (No higher fees, and financial aid available)

financial aid is available but extremely limited for international applicants.

Reply 9

vierstein

girlscout

financial aid is available but extremely limited for international applicants.

are you sure?
I got the opposite impression from their websites, but you might be right.

The idea of switching is now starting to wane on me. Maybe I should just stick with what I've got for now.

Reply 10

Tajel

vierstein

are you sure?
I got the opposite impression from their websites, but you might be right.

The idea of switching is now starting to wane on me. Maybe I should just stick with what I've got for now.

Girlscout is wrong, at least wrt HYP. All three admit students need-blind, which is to say that the University will offer a package based on family resources once admission has been granted. Your country of origin will not change this.

Reply 11

Palinurus

Harvard, Princeton and Yale all offer financial aid to international applicants, and do not take into account requests for financial aid when deciding. Stanford and Cornell, both in the top 10 US universities, offer financial aid to only a very limited number of applicants. Thus in applying to them you are faced with something like a 7% admissions rate and a 10% proportion of international undergraduates recieveing financial aid.