[YAZ]

Originally Posted by Bhaalspawn

What kind of admissions criteria and process do you recommend that they use instead? If they don't base admission on SAT and ACT scores and high school grades, then what should they base it on?

If your parents went there and are big football boosters.

[dori36]

Originally Posted by Bhaalspawn

What kind of admissions criteria and process do you recommend that they use instead? If they don't base admission on SAT and ACT scores and high school grades, then what should they base it on?

I wanted to ask the same question. I don't feel it's the university's job to catch kids up with academic basics they've missed for whatever reason in high school. That's why there are other paths that can lead to a university degree, ie, community colleges, tech schools, etc. My own son started out at Northern Michigan U in Marquette and, after a good freshman year, transferred to MSU. He was also accepted at U of M. I'd respectfully disagree that it's nearly impossible to transfer into a "prestigious" university.

My daughter had a tough time learning to study in high school and ended up going to cosmetology school. She pursued that career, grew up a ton, got married/3 children, etc. and finally went back to school for her RN. Now, she's completing her Masters of Nursing with an eye toward Nurse Practitioner. Everyone's path can be different but can still have great outcome.

I'd say follow your dream no matter what it takes to achieve it!

[malamute]

Admission standards are why they're prestigous. If they drop the admission standards, then they'd be like many other schools and you wouldn't be complaining about getting accepted - and you'd be paying a lot of money for nothing.

[ehondo670]

I think you guys are missing my point. I'm not demanding that the universities should lower their standards; I am simply stating that they need to provide better opportunities of access to transfer students.

The University of Michigan's schools of business and engineering only accept 1% of transfer applicants per year. That is such a dismal number, that it is almost laughable.

[Bhaalspawn]

If you want to have a degree from a prestigious university on your CV, your best bet might be to earn a 3.9-4.0 as an undergrad and score in the top 5% of all test takers on the GMAT and then apply to an MBA program. (Whatever you do, don't go to law school; it's an extremely glutted field filled with unemployed, underemployed-out-of-field, and unemployable attorneys.) However, whether or not an MBA has much employment value in the absence of a history of high-level business work experience today is very questionable. (MBAs, like lawyers, are a dime-a-dozen.)

[GalFriday]

I'd assume it's purely financial reasoning for limiting the transfer student rate. I mean, If I'm an admissions officer and I see an app from a freshman and an app from a transfer student who already has several credits behind him, I'll pick the freshman because he needs to take ALL the classes and bring the university more money than the transfer student.

[MaxSeven]

Originally Posted by ehondo670

The University of Michigan's schools of business and engineering only accept 1% of transfer applicants per year. That is such a dismal number, that it is almost laughable.

I believe the 1% you are quoting is one percent of ALL applicants, not just transfer applicants. I think it's more like 25% of transfer applicants are accepted.

[M_P_E]

Originally Posted by ehondo670

I think you guys are missing my point. I'm not demanding that the universities should lower their standards; I am simply stating that they need to provide better opportunities of access to transfer students.

The University of Michigan's schools of business and engineering only accept 1% of transfer applicants per year. That is such a dismal number, that it is almost laughable.

Why? They have enough 4-year students already, so why would they care to add transfer students?

You also seem to forget that part of this whole university stratification thing is not so much about achievement as it is about class. Families pay 4 years of U-M A2 tuition for the same reason that others pay 4 years of Harvard tradition: it is an indicator of status. U-M Ann Arbor has no real use for someone who deep down is really U-M Dearborn or Schoolcraft College, and permitting too many of that sort in will only debase the U-M Ann Arbor status and brand goodwill.

[ehondo670]

Originally Posted by MaxSeven

I believe the 1% you are quoting is one percent of ALL applicants, not just transfer applicants. I think it's more like 25% of transfer applicants are accepted.

1% of all applicants? What are you talking about? The freshman acceptance rate for the university is around 40%...

The college of engineering and business only accept 1% of transfer applicants a year

[beachmouse]

Originally Posted by GalFriday

I'd assume it's purely financial reasoning for limiting the transfer student rate. I mean, If I'm an admissions officer and I see an app from a freshman and an app from a transfer student who already has several credits behind him, I'll pick the freshman because he needs to take ALL the classes and bring the university more money than the transfer student.

Though the thing is, intro level classes are an annoyance for a research university like U of M to have to teach. Not many tenure track professors get excited about teaching them, and you can only have so many of them led by grad students without drawing the ire of the accreditors and rankers.

And the typical prospective U of M student these days probably has enough AP and summer session community college credit these days to fill out a lot of their gen ed distributions outside their major and could technically enter the school with enough credits to be classified as a sophmore either on arrival or after the first semester.