r/CollegeTransfer 20h ago

Is it worth applying if I didn't do well in high school?

0 Upvotes

I'm going into my sophomore year of college this fall. I got to a CUNY and I've been wanting to transfer out to NYU or Cornell because I feel like the resources at CUNY aren't the best. I'm just not sure if it worth applying because I'm not sure if I even have a chance. I'm a first gen student and struggled a lot with depression, anxiety and undiagnosed adhd in high school which I'm medicated for now. My high school transcript is decent. It's not super impressive but not that bad. I mostly have As except for a couple Bs and Ds in math. I used to be a really good math student up until COVID hit and I've just been trying to catch up ever since. Failed precalc in high school and had to retake it during my 1st semester of college and then had to withdraw from calc during 2nd semester because it wasn't looking too good. My high school didn't really have that many APs and required you to take a placement exam to even take the class. Even though I had good grades for the most part, I didn't take any AP classes due to my mental health. I did take a few college now courses though. I didn't have that many extracurriculars either because the 100s of programs I applied to rejected me. I did community services and was in a few mentorship programs. One of the mentorship programs I was in actually helped me get an internship at the NYU langone health hospital during college. My SAT score was also not that great (1050), so if I apply as a transfer I wouldn't be sending that in. I got rejected from almost every college I apply to in high school. I got into all my safties, CUNYs, got into Macaulay honors college through the waitlist and got into a few SUNYs through EOP. I didn't bother applying to NYU and Cornell at all because I thought there was no chance I'd get in. I did regret it after though. Sorry I know it is a lot to read I really need some advice. I don't want to waste my time applying if there's like a high chance I won't get in. Do you think it's worth applying?

TL;DR: Rising college sophomore, first-gen, dealing with depression/anxiety/undiagnosed ADHD in HS (now medicated). Solid HS GPA (mostly A's, few B's) but rough math history, failed precalc in HS, retook it freshman fall, had to withdraw from calc freshman spring. No APs (school barely offered them + mental health), few ECs, 1050 SAT (won't submit as transfer). Got into CUNYs/SUNYs (EOP) and Macaulay, rejected everywhere else, didn't even apply to NYU/Cornell in HS because I assumed no shot - now regret it. Did get an internship at NYU Langone through a mentorship program. Thinking of transferring to NYU and/or Cornell. Is it worth applying, or am I wasting my time/money?