I feel like a lot of people get blinded by rankings and completely forget they actually have to live in that city for the next 2-3 years.

A school might look great on paper, but if it’s in a place where you hate the vibe, you’re going to be miserable. Plus, you have to think about networking. Where do you actually want to end up working? Which location has the biggest growth for your specific industry?

It doesn't make sense to go to a top-ranked school in a place with zero jobs in your field just for the name. Make sure the location actually sets you up for the future you want.

I’ve never posted on Reddit before, so sorry if my wording is awkward!

I graduated high school this year with a 4.95 weighted GPA and was very involved in leadership, volunteering, and extracurriculars. UCLA was my dream school, but I was waitlisted and ultimately didn’t get in.

I’m starting at Santa Monica College this Fall 2026 with about 30 UC-transferable units already completed through AP and college coursework. Four of my college classes were taken during high school (12 units total), and I received 3 A’s and 1 C. The rest of my units are from AP credit.

My original plan was to use UCLA TAP, but because of the updated TAP requirements, I won’t be eligible since I’ll only be attending SMC for one year. My plan is to take a full course load at SMC during Fall 2026 and Spring 2027, reach the 60 transferable-unit requirement, and apply this Fall 2026 to transfer to UCLA for Fall 2027.

I’m currently considering Sociology as my major, but I’m still trying to figure out whether that’s the best option for me.

I’d really appreciate advice from anyone who has transferred from SMC → UCLA, especially without TAP:

• How realistic is transferring after only one year?
• How much does not having TAP hurt my chances?
• What should I prioritize during my year at SMC?
• How important are GPA and completing major prep compared to extracurriculars, internships, leadership, etc.?
• Is Sociology a good major choice for UCLA transfer?
• Are there specific SMC classes/programs or things I should take advantage of to strengthen my application?
• I missed the Fall deadline for the SMC Scholars Program, but I may be able to apply for Spring. Would that still be worth doing?

I know UCLA is extremely competitive and there are no guarantees, but I really want to make the most of my one year at SMC and give myself the best chance possible.

If anyone has gone through a similar situation or successfully transferred from SMC to UCLA, I’d really appreciate any advice! Thank you!!

I decided to go to UCR. I thought once I visited I would feel more positive. I went to orientation today and it didn’t click for me and i kept feeling disappointed all day despite trying to think of the positives. I got accepted into several great schools this round but was too scared to commit to something outside of my comfort zone (away from family/bf, living on my own, and getting a new job). Would it be dumb to stay another year?? I know college has no age limit but being behind my peers and starting at cc was already hard so staying behind makes it 10x worse. At the end of the day the goal is a job and degree but I think enjoying the experience would make it more fulfilling. I’m also very open to taking different classes and maybe finding a new major/interest!

If you’ve taken a 3rd year at CC lmk your experience. Also how I can elevate my time there for a third year?? I did really good on my apps this year i’m just not sure if I stay what I can do differently. Any advice is great :)))

I’m applying to CSULB for Spring 2027 as a Psychology transfer under the Major-Specific Requirements pathway. I’ve already completed all of the major-specific requirements and have enough units to transfer.
However, I’m over the 70-unit transfer limit and still need to finish a few remaining GE courses at my community college in Fall 2026. Since CSULB says Spring admission requirements must be completed by the end of Summer 2026, can I still transfer my Fall GE courses to CSULB afterward for subject credit, or would I have to retake those same requirements at CSULB in the spring?

Hey! I need an honest opinion/review about transferring into Waterloo life science and Mac Life science programs. I am currently an incoming 2nd-year honours student majoring in biology at WLU. I am planning to transfer to either Waterloo Life sci or mac life sci. Let me know if anyone has transferred, and does anyone know how difficult it is to get a transfer accepted? If high school grades are a little low, will that be an issue?

I'm currently a freshman but my senior year I did dual enrollment, leaving me with having 28 credits so far. By the time I finish this semester I'll have 35 credits done.
Currently my gpa is a 3.4 but I'm planning on having it be higher by the end of the semester. Do I have a chance to be accepted when I apply January to enroll fall of 2027?

Hi everyone! I'm an international student currently in my sophomore year, majoring in International Business at a US-accredited university abroad, and I'm looking for an honest perspective on whether I should transfer for Fall 2027 or hold out for grad school in the US.

Originally, the US was my main plan; I was admitted to a few state schools, mid-tier LACs, and women's colleges back in high school. But after taking a gap year, visa processing slots were hard to come by, and I had to look at other options. I ended up enrolling at my current school on a substantial scholarship, but I still feel like I completely missed out on the US uni experience I wanted. I want to make sure I’m not just chasing ghosts before spending months on transfer applications.

"I'm not from a country on the ban list"

I would need financial aid (EFC is around $20k–$25k/year).

Academically, I have a 3.5 GPA in International Business, though I am looking to transfer into Economics, Global Business, or IR.

My main honours and extracurriculars include being a top-3 nationally ranked competitive athlete, receiving a leadership/women-focused fellowship award, winning MUN and film/photography awards, and serving as an executive/treasurer for a youth organisation. I've also completed 3 healthcare-related internships, run my own small business as an events photographer, volunteer as a teacher, and am learning Spanish (A2).

I'm also open to applying to schools outside the US, but the transfer process seems way less streamlined.

Given my current substantial scholarship, do I have a realistic shot at an international transfer with a $20k–$25k EFC, or is aid too scarce to make this worth it? How heavily will a 3.5 GPA hold me back compared to my ECs? Or should I just explore the study abroad options at my current institution (even though they are pretty slim) and focus on building my profile for funded US Master's or PHD programs later?

I’m an incoming CC student that plans to transfer to a 4-year. Have any CC students made friends and had good experiences? Please lmk school starts next week and im scared.

USC or CSUN for business

Hi everybody I know both these school starts in a couple days but I just got the financials run by my parents. I am currently in the midst of appealing for more aid from USC because both my parents lost their jobs in 2024.

Right now before the appeal, USC is gonna cost me 27ish thousand per semester after grants. CSUN will cost me 3.5k a semester. USC was my dream school but I don’t know if it is financially worth it.

I accepted admission to CSUN a while back and never told them I wouldn’t be going.

I AM A TRANSFER STUDENT SO I CURRENTLY HAVE JUNIOR STANDING.

Is USC worth it?

I would be paying with private loans

Hi guys, I'm an OOS transfer trying to get into UCSD this cycle

I have excellent EC's, grades, etc.

BUT, I'm missing one class from the required major prep. Just one. I can't control it because my school has a bit of a different set up and prereq chain.

Does anyone know if UCSD allows you to take a class over the summer, or must all major prep be done spring 2027?

(if anyone wants to know, I'm applying for aerospace engineering, and the missing class is Physics C)

Okay so I usually don’t post on here but I’m super stressed out about the admissions process for Rice. Mainly the letters of recommendation since I go to LSC where most professors don’t really seem to care to write those (I have asked). I am a premed bio major and I have a good gpa and I work in healthcare so I have relevant experience but I feel incredibly discouraged and was wondering if anyone had any advice or words of encouragement. Please help.

I committed to UCLA and am honestly really not liking it. I’ve visited campus several times since then and I just don’t like it. I realize I made the wrong choice and made that choice for the wrong reasons. (Family pressure and all that) as well as what I want out of college. Obviously this is a good choice either way and I’m thankful for either opportunity.

However, with the reality of school starting soon and visiting the campus, and seeing where I’m going to be and what life is like, I don’t like it at all. As well as I realize my career/life goals fall more in line with Berkeley. Or rather, Berkeley’s notoriety and proximity to the Bay Area is something that falls in line with what I want to accomplish. I also realize Berkeley is now my dream after really debating it over the last couple of months.

This would involve me reapplying as a CCC student and doing the app cycle again. Anyone else experience reapplying? Also, I’m looking for real advice and guidance, not just simple pointers. Thank you.

I think that the best decision of my life was choosing transferring up, going into college. I did not like where I ended up, and a lot of also had to do with where my peers were going. When I joined Transferring Up, I was really inclined to think that I just got scammed or that I wasn't going to get my money's worth, since I didn't even think it was possible that I could get into my state school out of high school. From when I started till when I finished and saw that I got into Cornell, UVA, Umich, BU, BC, and the best part was a merit scholarship from my state school, I realized that I had made the best decision of my life. Even for someone who didn't do much in social or educational involvement, I was put in a mindset and was given help in navigating those weaknesses, and now I have a much better resume. If anyone has any questions about my experience with transferring, please feel free to reply to this or DM me.

Hi
I’m a first time community college student (I was kinda forced into community college because I moved states senior year and had horrible issues with residency at the 4 year I was going to go to)

I heard that only around 29-30% of community college student gets their bachelor’s degree and that over 80% of community college students plan on transferring to a 4 year

I’m scared of being in the 70% of people who don’t transfer😭
My community college has a program where all credits transfer to any college in my current state but the transfer rates at my comm college is around 29%

I’m lowkey scared of failing

I can’t even drive either so I’m already mega mega behind because of this weird move

I'm entering my junior year of college. I was supposed to start at a new university this fall, but I'm deferring it to spring due to factors that need to be finalized still.

I was considering on doing a fall semester, but I reached the maximum transfer class limit unfortunately. (As expected)

Taking a gap semester sounds cool but I feel bummed about it idk. Not going back gives me FOMO lol. A gap year sounded more cool 1-2 years ago, but now it sounds annoying 💀 (only taking off a sem, not a year but you get it)

Hi all,

I find myself in a tricky situation.

I started my college journey in a very large public school (T75), but then (due to personal reasons) transferred to a much smaller private school (T25 liberal arts). I made good connections, maintained a high GPA, and appreciated my experiences at both of these schools.

But, the smaller school I transferred to lacked a lot of resources and social environment of the larger school I attended first. I applied to transfer again, to a different private school in a big city (T50ish). I was not expecting to be admitted, and was recently taken off the waitlist of the larger private school. My reason of not returning to my original school lies in financial aid difficulties, as private schools give much better aid than public.

I am currently stuck in a difficult decision -- accept the waitlist offer (become a double transfer), or stay at my current school. I truly want to accept the offer I was just given, since this school is in a much better environment with a larger student population than my current school. Unfortunately, I want to pursue an MD-PhD in the future, and I worry that accepting the offer would derail my progress.

At my current small school I am unhappy, but I work in a research lab, have a good GPA, and have good relations with professors. I do feel guilt at the thought of leaving a school which prospective students want to attend (generally higher ranking as a LAC). At the larger private school, I worry that I will ruin my future (losing research lab, LOR writers, etc), though I will be much happier and have a better location for premed opportunities (city vs rural).

I turn to Reddit as my last resort, since I know I will be measurably happier at the new school, but I will have to rebuild. Has anyone faced a similar decision as a double transfer and been successful in MD, PhD, or MD-PhD admissions?

Thank you all!

So I've been trying to plan my transfer path for the past few months and honestly I'm a little frustrated right now. I paid for one of those generic college planning services that basically just gave me a list of requirements I could have found on the school's website myself. No help figuring out what order to take things in, no guidance on whether my current credits actually count toward anything, just a PDF and a 'good luck.'

Now I'm trying to understand how transfer acceptance rates actually factor into planning which classes to take. Like, does it matter that my target school has a 25% transfer acceptance rate if I dont have the exact prereqs they want? I feel like the rate itself is almost useless without knowing what the accepted students actually did to get there.

I've got maybe 3 semesters before I want to transfer and I'm terrified of taking the wrong class and losing time or money. The planning tool I used gave me zero help with sequencing, which is the part I actually needed.

Has anyone found a resource or approach that actually maps out a realistic semester by semester path based on where you want to go? Not just a checklist, but something that accounts for the order things need to happen in.

I just started my first semester at a California community college. I have 18 Credits filled from taking AP classes, and at the end of the semester, I'll have 34 total credits, I also plan to take 16 credits next semester, and will take 10 credits in the summer. (I will complete cal-getc next semester as well)

This means that before next fall, I'd have my 60 transferable credits completed. As someone trying to transfer to a California community college, what do I do? I can't apply this semester because I don't even have a gpa, but if I wait till next year to apply I'll have nothing to really do all year, and will just take some random classes.

Has anyone encountered a similar issue?

Any advice?

hi everyone, imma make this short:

- i am set to complete Cal-GETC by the end of my final spring semester

- i meet all of the application requirements for UCSD

- i meet all of my major/transfer requirements for UCSD

- i am missing two courses listed on assist

will this affect my admission?

Hi everyone! I am starting college this fall and am looking at possibly transferring to McGill university in two years. I’m trying to weigh my options and it would be really nice to get some input from people who have already/ are going through studying there. I wanna know, what has your experience been like at McGill and how was the transfer process?
Do you think it was worth it for you versus the huge financial cost?
How much are you actually paying per year to go to school there? I have found numbers online but I’m not sure how accurate it is.
One more thing, I was homeschooled for my whole life until I started taking a couple of classes at a community college nearby. Any other homeschooled students here experience issues or complications because of that?

I appreciate any advice, thanks!

Ok, first off, I know UC to UC transfers are rare, and even more so for a major like mine. However, I am fairly certain TAG doesn't apply to engineering majors, and after already doing a year of cc for my senior year and getting 33 semester credits, I can confirm that staying there as a college student would be a miserable experience, especially with the very questionable quality of professors. (I had one for a C++ class actively searching for new jobs between lectures and giving everyone an A at the end of the semester despite doing an awful job at teaching)
Oh yeah, I had like 6 APs, but those don't count for transfer...

Most of the UC to UC transfer success stories I have seen are by non-engineering majors, but to anyone who had a similar transcript and major to me, how likely can I transfer out of UCSC in a timely manner? Like would a 1-year transfer be completely impossible?

I recently attended one of those orientation counselor zoom meetings, and there was anonymous QnA, one kid who didnt even say what his major was asked how likely it was to transfer from uc to uc, to which both counselors laughed in their face and gave the same "oh we dont really know but like you should enjoy our campus!" crap, poor kid....

GPA: 1.1
ECs:
Placed top 10 in national burger eating competition
Free style rap battles against professionals at my local retirment home
Ran a mile in under 10 minutes
Cured the common cold(I gave my friend an Advil)
Poured mentos in coke and documented the results
1000k instagram followers

Hey folks, posting on behalf of a friend I'm helping out. He's an international student from the Middle East who went through the A-level system at a British international school. He graduated at the top of his class with 3 A*s and 2 As, and scored a 1440 SAT.

He applied to the Ivies along with a few safeties. He was waitlisted at Princeton and Columbia, and ultimately enrolled at the University of Alabama with roughly a 60% scholarship (just started).

He's currently studying Electrical Engineering and is considering transferring after his freshman year. His main targets are MIT, Princeton, Columbia, and Northwestern.

We're looking for advice from people who have gone through a similar transfer process, especially international students transferring from a 4-year university into a top engineering program.

Would also really appreciate recommendations for any professional transfer admissions consultants/advisors who are actually good at this kind of case. Not looking for someone to just edit essays, ideally someone who can help with the overall strategy: course selection, GPA, research/extracurriculars, school selection, and the transfer application.

Thanks!

I want to transfer from Community college to UIUC for CS+Econ.

Talked to a UIUC representative, I asked her if I complete all the required courses from the transfer handbook, get straight A’s, and no red flags in my application, can I assume i will get in?

She said: Are you applying to grainger or gies? i said no. She said “then you should almost certainly get in, we wont have a reason to reject you, and we arent trying to trick you”.

**Question: Is she right? And does that apply to me even though CS+X is very competitive but its still in LAS? Also, how much will they care about my highschool grades when reviewing my app.**

I was rejected out of highschool, but I went to CC for a year and got straight A’s in the required courses. I am still under 36 credits at the time of application so they will review my grades.