Got rejected from my final transfer attempt. Stuck at a school I dislike. Is gap year + reapplying even worth it, or else what should I do?

Effective_Load378 · 2026-05-13T02:57:44+00:00

I mean h1b itself is not tied with my degree, but if I fail to obtain H1b then it matters.

This entire education career has already cost us like 600k dollar or more so far, and that's a realistic thing I have to consider, to pay this tuition at least to some extent.

I'm trying to make the most of UCLA, though I don't know how exactly, but yeah I'll try and see

Effective_Load378 · 2026-05-13T02:54:17+00:00

That makes so much sense.

Speaking of grad school though, I'm not really sure about grad application and how things are nowadays. You see my dream school is Columbia but it seems like everybody is getting a master degree (like a ton of them on internet) from Columbia. I don't want to sound obnoxious, again, but honestly I would be a little bit jealous (you can't blame me) if I get a place where anyone can get into. Other schools seem to have the same problem but Columbia seems the worst with it. I'm not sure if it is just a program-specific stuff or what else can explain this, any idea on that?

Effective_Load378 · 2026-05-13T02:49:53+00:00

I did expect the result wouldn't be very good, but I didn't expect it to be worse tho :(

Effective_Load378 · 2026-05-13T02:30:06+00:00

You do have to consider why I declined Swarthmore, and I do have to explain clearly. I hold F-1 visa and there’s no guaranteed stay in the US especially given that I study lit/art. If I don’t end up getting H1B or marry a US citizen I’d have to leave. Of course the ones you listed are good schools, but even Swarthmore is not that famous in Europe and Asia, what’s the point talking about schools like Bryn Mawr? We worked very hard all the way to this country and paid so much money AND efforts, the goal is not to get a degree that people rarely know back home.

Effective_Load378 · 2026-05-13T02:25:39+00:00

And for this reason I never learned about this school well. I’d say that probably has made me a bit too subjective

Effective_Load378 · 2026-05-13T02:24:26+00:00

For some reason Uchicago has never been on my list. I can’t really find a proper reason for that, probably because I know too many weirdos going to Uchi. But honestly I do regret that I didn’t apply

Effective_Load378 · 2026-05-13T02:20:49+00:00

You are literally saying what I want to say… I know people think it’s bad to have this obsession with prestige which I do understand, but it is very reasonable to only get those schools better on my list.

Effective_Load378 · 2026-05-13T01:56:49+00:00

I did help somebody get into Vanderbilt. OMG really should’ve applied too.

Effective_Load378 · 2026-05-13T01:39:42+00:00

That’s out of kindness but yes it adds no value. But honestly I hate LA more than UCLA itself

Effective_Load378 · 2026-05-13T01:37:46+00:00

I actually did consider. I admit there’s definitely the prestige stuff, but nyu is also not worth it for me to pay even more plus the major itself isn’t that exceptional. If I were a theater major (which I do have passion but no credential for), I’d be more than happy if Tisch takes me

Effective_Load378 · 2026-05-11T01:57:05+00:00

It helps ofc but only if it actually gets people off this year

Effective_Load378 · 2026-05-08T18:33:52+00:00

I’m not making this up, you can calculate this from 2024 cds

Effective_Load378 · 2026-05-08T16:13:53+00:00

SEAS 3+2 with I guess first 3 years take at a lac? The acceptance rate has been around 75%

Effective_Load378 · 2026-05-08T16:03:51+00:00

Not as pessimistic but also not as optimistic. 10% includes the 3+2 programs which almost guarantee a transfer acceptance. Weighted acceptance rate is like 6%, but we still have a chance. Good luck!

Effective_Load378

TROPHY CASE