industrial engineering transfer

[u/Wide_Wonder6590]

I talked to my schools academic advisor yesterday and she was no help so I am coming on here hoping someone has advice.

I want to transfer out of my community college as soon as possible preferably after one year.

I really want to go to school in either California or NYC which narrows my options down A LOT
especially considering that I want to do my undergrad in Industrial engineering.
The schools I’m interested in are NYU, Columbia, USC, UC Berkeley, and U San Diego.

I’m aware NYU does not offer industrial engineering as an undergrad study but instead through their M.S. program. Which is discouraging because that would add another 1.5-2 years of studying aka another couple years to pay for. But then again I don’t want to completely rule it out since I do want to keep my options open and not fully commit to industrial engineering so early on.

My highschool GPA was a 92.5 / 100 so my main reason for going to CC was because I wasn’t sure on what I wanted to do with my life and I didn’t want to use thousands of dollars of my mom’s money while trying to figure it out.

I was test optional when I applied as a senior in high school, but I am thinking of retaking the tests a few times and hopefully score a 34-36 because I think that would really help my application. I got diagnosed with adhd and ocd last year and I would definitely need accommodations to help make that happen but when I applied for them last year I was denied.

I was waitlisted at NYU when I applied last year, and rejected from USC.

Should I reach out to the transfer counselors at each of those schools and ask for advice? Should I join Phi Theta Kappa?

I’ve come on here to ask for help hoping someone might advise me on my next best move, advice on what I should be doing to stay competitive in the transfer applicant pool, and if anyone knows of any tools where I can find trustworthy scholarships to apply for.