Transferring to An Ivy League - NYU to Harvard, Advice + Tips

Hello, watch in 4k! This video is about how and why I transferred from NYU to Harvard, but is mostly advice on the transfer process generally. We will cover: personal, good, and bad reasons to transfer, and specific advice tailored for if you're applying to very selective transfer programs. The nitty gritty of it all (instead of reading through hours of toxic forums - I'm guilty of this, hopefully this is a somewhat more level-headed but also detailed overview)

0:00 intro!
0:38 important words of wisdom for the stressful process
0:44 the 4 reasons why I wanted to transfer
3:56 categorically "good" and "bad" reasons for transferring
5:53 tailored advice for very competitive schools
8:06 how to craft a personal narrative
11:50 how to use every part of the application
14:31 reading a bit of my essay *cringe*

*This advice applies to Stanford, MIT as well which are not officially part of the Ivy League (Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc.) - but the point being that this advice is tailored to applying for very competitive schools

[faithlesshound]

"The key to success is sincerity. Once you can fake that, you've got it made." In other words, Marketing is the key to success in American education.

[yilongli]

I am working on my why transfer essays right now. Your essay comes across a perfect time! I have requested your ins. Love ur video so much!

[quintjohnson]

Really really useful and made me think about why I even considered transfering. Thank you!

[shivamkk]

The one video that I was looking for... You literally lit up the damping lamp of my hopes for applying as a Transfer Student. Thanks a lot! 🤝🤝

[sardornodirov]

Wow, thank you very much. Everything was so clear! I am an international student who recently got into a “small Ivy school” in Maine after two gap years. Unfortunately, I was rejected by Harvard and my other top choices so now I am thinking about transferring. Again, thank you for such valuable tips and insights. Looking forward to your next videos :)

[BeCarefulWithAI]

You are such a joy to listen to and stunning to look at! Gorgeous!

[ellamason]

this popped up on my recommendations 2 days after I submitted rice, cornell, and upenn 😭 i think i did most things! thank you for your insight

[oscarbaek]

Wow thank you SO MUCH for making this video! Everything was so well explained and thoughtfully answered :) I'm currently a hs senior committed to UCI. I really don't know if I want to transfer just yet but this video would definitely help in the future if I do decide to. Anyways, I was wondering if you can transfer to top ivy league schools after just 1 year of college? Also, do high school grades play a big role when it comes to your transfer application?

[leoliu]

This was one of the most informational videos I've come across for the transfer process. Thanks for the guidance Mary! Also, in your own personal opinion, do you think that having a semi-low grade (e.g. B) in only one class will badly reflect your Senior year as a whole if the rest were A's? Love your videos btw!

[izzyd]

hii! thanks for this video; it is really helpful! if you don’t mind, can u help answer a couple of my questions? thanks!!
1) when did u transfer to a different school? was it after freshman year or sophomore year in college?
2) also how did you take advantage of the ecs offered at nyu before transferring? was there significant improvement between your hs resume and college resume?

thanks for your help!!!

[Stopivehadenuf]

I love you thank you for this 😭 I’m so stressed

[nicholasnguyen]

Wish I found this video before I submitted all my apps. Very well said.

[styyonhe]

One question. In terms of transferring, do these collages look at your collage results, or both high school and collage results.

[debtfree.degrees]

Hey, I am a freshman and feel very out of place in the academic environment at a state school. I am applying to about 13-14 schools for transfer. I reviewed my previous applications as a high school senior, and my application now looks completely different!

However, I wanted to ask a few questions:
1. What were you able to do to boost your ECs?
2. Since I've only been at my new institution for one semester, will they take my ECs with as much value since I've not participated long, even though my roles are larger? Should I include a lot of high school activities?
3. What did you list for honors/awards?
4. My first-semester college GPA is 4.0 with 15 credit hours. However, in high school, I received 3 Bs. How much will that affect admission?
5. Did you submit a lot of AP exams? I only took 5 APs in high school (we weren't allowed to take APs until junior year), but didn't take 2 exams due to the pandemic and opted for dual credit. Out of the three exams I took (Literature, Music Theory, and German), I got a perfect score on Literature, but since I have a hearing disability, I scored a 3 and 2 on the others since they were most auditory. It was a struggle. Will I be at a disadvantage since I only have one good AP exam score to list? How much of this should I put in the additional information section?
6. What are some tips for conveying emotional intelligence in essays?
7. In high school, I was in the top 6% of my class, but was ranked 40/610. How much will they look into class rank for transfer?

Obviously, you were already very successful in high school to gain acceptance to NYU. I feel like I was at a disadvantage, so I just want to know what I can do to raise myself up. There was one girl from my school who did get accepted to Harvard, but she was valedictorian, a National Merit semifinalist, and had awards for the Scholastic Art and Writing competition. I did not have that rank, was not in the top 10, was not a National Merit recipient, and haven't placed in those very prestigious national competitions.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[danocorral]

What an amazing video!! thank you so much for the information🙏 it has to be the same career? from the first university?

[sarahtan]

this video was so articulate and helpful! i'm also trying to transfer from nyu rn, did you feel like doing 5 applications was too much to balance with school?

[edith]

this can be done from another university? I mean, do they consider now your progress in another university instead of highschool? i’m mexican and i will study university here and i want to transfer :( btw thank for your video!! <3

[RobertWhittaker-jv]

Is transfer is only possible within USA or likely from India to USA?

[dyuthikumar]

Hi! Thank you so much for this - would you be willing to do a stats video?

[Rafick]

I am transferring from NYU SPS to Princeton. Similar situation, but my gpa is a mere 3.6 (sadly plummeted because of one course) despite getting mostly As and A- on my transcript. Also no extra curricular and I only took my ACT. Do I have a chance? Lol