u/Particular-Ad1141

I literally don’t have any awards. I was wondering if I can put my high school diploma as one of my awards??? 😭😭😹😹😹😹

My community college doesn't have my major. Is that going to hurt me during application season? I want to do something in Advocacy, human rights, and film/media arts. They don’t have any of that, so I’m currently majoring in General Studies, getting my Gen ed classes out of the way, and taking classes that are related to my major. How will that affect me, and should I mention that on my Common App additional information section?’

Heyyy everybody, this post is mostly for transfer students, but if you know any information, feel free to share it. I know transferring to brown is difficult, but I want to give it a shot cause who knows. I was wondering if any transfer students got in from a community college, need financial aid, and are also traditional students. (No military, no gap, etc) 🙏

If you were a junior transfer, did you include any awards you won in high school? I was in HOSA for three years and won awards at state regionals every year for forensic science. I'm not planning to major in anything science-related. I only joined because my best friend wanted to do it and the forensic science competitions needed a partner, so I was her partner. We would study and grind so much for the exams and competitions. But since I'm not going into forensic science or anything science, I'm not sure if it's worth including. My awards section is looking pretty empty and I'm trying to fill it up 😭😭😭😭 Has anyone included high school awards? Please let me know! 🙏

Hey everyone, I need some advice because I’m incredibly stressed and confused about my next steps.

I’m currently a community college student with 66 credits, and I’m technically eligible to graduate right now. I accumulated so many credits quickly because my high school didn't offer AP or IB classes, so I took a ton of Dual Enrollment courses instead.

I want to apply to transfer to some “top-tier” universities/colleges (like Vanderbilt,Amherst, etc). Right now, I'm stuck between two choices for the upcoming semester:

Stay at CC: Keep taking outside classes to fulfill specific prerequisite requirements for my target universities so they accept more of my credits.

Graduate now and take a break: Stop taking classes, apply for graduation, and use the semester to focus entirely on my college transfer applications, my job (I work to help pay my family's household bills), and extracurriculars.

I’m terrified of how a break will look. I know some top schools dislike gap semesters or enrollment breaks. Will they look down on me for finishing community college so quickly and taking a break before transferring? Or will they understand since I’ll be working heavily during that time?

Any insight on how admissions offices view this would be appreciated. Thank you!!! 🙏

I started at a 4-year university last fall (2025) and got a 3.8 GPA. Had a family emergency, so I transferred to my local CC for the spring (2026) and finished with a 4.0. Now I'm planning to finish my associate degree here and then transfer back to a 4-year but a different university.

Will admissions see the move from a 4-year to a CC as a red flag, even with the family emergency context? And will I need to submit both transcripts when I apply to transfer? I’m so scared and confused because college application is coming up… 😔😔😔

I have been working on my college transfer essay over the summer, and it’s not easy 😭… I’m over 650 words, and I don’t know where even to begin cutting it… (I even asked AI to help me cut it, but the results are so bad there is no point) 😔😔😔

I have been working on my college transfer essay over the summer, and it’s not easy 😭… I’m over 1000 words, and I don’t know where even to begin cutting it… (I even asked AI to help me cut it, but the results are so bad there is no point) 😔😔😔

I am applying to transfer to Vanderbilt. I already wrote my main Common App transfer essay to be highly Vanderbilt-specific (naming certain professors, programs, etc.).

I read advice online ( here on this sub) saying to avoid naming specific schools in the main essay. Is that just for people applying to multiple schools, or does Vandy want a general essay? Since Vandy doesn't have a traditional "Why Vanderbilt" supplemental prompt (just the "dare to grow" short answer), should I keep my main essay Vandy-specific? Thanks!!! 😊

I'm working on my transfer essays and I'm genuinely interested in double majoring. My essay currently focuses on one major, but I'm wondering if I should mention the second major as well. Would briefly mentioning both strengthen my application, or is it better to keep the focus on one and not complicate things? If I do mention both, how much space should I give the second one? (Be brief about it or focus on the second major as well like I did for the first one)

Would appreciate any advice from people who've been through this. Thanks. 🙏

I'm working on my transfer essays and I'm genuinely interested in double majoring. My essay currently focuses on one major, but I'm wondering if I should mention the second major as well. Would briefly mentioning both strengthen my application, or is it better to keep the focus on one and not complicate things? If I do mention both, how much space should I give the second one? (Be brief about it or focus on the second major as well like I did for the first one)

Would appreciate any advice from people who've been through this. Thanks. 🙏

Hey everyone,

I’m planning to apply to Columbia University as a junior transfer from a community college, and I’m hitting a massive roadblock with their transfer credit rules.

Columbia caps transferable online classes at 6 max. The problem is my local CC branch is super small. A lot of the classes I need to graduate/progress are strictly ONLY offered online here, or the in-person versions require a 30 to 50-minute commute that I can't do because of my job and family.

I’ve already hit the 6 online course limit and have to take more next semester just to graduate.

Does anyone know if you can appeal or negotiate this rule with Columbia? Is there a special form or process where you can explain institutional limitations (like your school literally not offering the class in person) to get the extra transfer credits approved?

If you went over the cap, did Columbia just deny the extra credits, or did it hurt your actual admissions chances? Also, how strictly do they audit your syllabi to see if a class was online vs. hybrid/in-person?

Would appreciate any advice or experiences! Thanks!!! 🙏

I’m so tired 😭😭. I’m doing the absolute most this summer so I can have good ECs for my college application as a junior transfer. I’ve got a job, a summer program, and an internship coming up, and on top of that I’m taking 12 credit hours at my CC. 🫩🫩🫩

I just hope all this grinding pays off.

Hey everyone,

I'm planning to apply to Columbia College as a junior transfer from a community college, and I had a question for current students or successful transfer applicants.

Since Columbia's Core Curriculum is traditionally taken during the freshman and sophomore years, how did you approach discussing the Core in your transfer essays? Did you make it a major part of your "Why Columbia" essay, or did you focus more on your academic interests and reasons for transferring?

I'm especially interested in hearing from junior transfers. Since we wouldn't have spent our freshman and sophomore years at Columbia, I'm wondering how important it is to emphasize the Core in the application.

Thanks in advance for any insight.

Anybody who applied to Columbia, how did you guys answer the new supplemental essay question?? I’m not sure how to answer it because I’ve never really debated or argued with someone about anything too serious 😭😭. I was thinking about writing about religion, race, etc., but I’m not sure how that would land with admissions officers, especially with the protests and everything going on at Columbia. Anyone who can give me tips/advice, pleaseeee!!!!!!!! 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

“At Columbia, students representing a wide range of perspectives are invited to live and learn together. In such a community, questions and debates naturally arise. Please describe a time when you did not agree with someone and discuss how you engaged with them and what you took away from the interaction. (150 words or fewer)”

I’m currently a community college student planning to earn my associate’s degree and transfer to Vanderbilt in Fall 2027.

I’m interested in applying as an HOD (Human and Organizational Development) major, but I’m also really interested in Cinema and Media Arts (CMA). As a junior transfer, would it be possible to double major in both?

I’m especially curious how that would work with the required HOD internships.

If anyone has experience with this or advice, I’d really appreciate it. Thank you! 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏