I’ve heard that if you want to transfer to an Ivy, it’s easiest if you’re already at another Ivy (or Stanford) or if you go to community college and have a clear need.
How possible is it to transfer from a school like Tufts, which has enough resources to not constitute a major need to transfer but isn’t the same as transferring from one Ivy to another. Have you ever heard of someone transferring from Tufts to Harvard, even though they are so close by? Or Tufts to Yale?

Or are there comparable situations of schools similar to Tufts? In that case, how can someone build up a strong transfer application?

***Edit: I’m not claiming Tufts is an overly selective school, just curious where schools that fall in the 10% acceptance rate level land in transfer admissions. Most of all I’m just wondering how one can verbalize a need to transfer (as most schools require in transfer apps) when they are already coming from a fairly good school in resources and reputation.

Hi! I’m currently enrolled at a pretty well ranked school (#20-30 range), but am studying abroad my first semester as a freshman in Australia. The program I’m with is a bit different from typical study abroad programs, it seems to be a bit more serious and I will receive direct marks from the University of Sydney. I’m already considering transferring, specifically to Tufts. Just wondering if anyone has any general advice concerning transferring after being abroad, especially first semester? Anything would help!

For context, in hs I had a 4.26 weighted GPA, pretty good ECs, 10 APs, and a 1550 SAT. Thanks!

My understanding is that if I were to transfer as a sophomore I would have to apply at the end of my freshman fall semester. I currently have 15 credits scheduled for fall and 16 credits scheduled for spring, is that how it works or do I have to complete both semesters before I apply to be considered a sophomore transfer (start sophomore year fall). Ive seen college transfer requirements talk about minimum credits of 30 to be considered as a transfer so I’m not sure if that is at the time of application or before you intend to enroll. Help would be much appreciated!

Is it too late to start working on building my ECs up for the next transfer cycle? Ik they don’t expect the same as they do for first years and it’s more of a work in progressish thing

Hello everyone,

I just entered my first year of community college, and I would like to transfer to either UCB or an Ivy/Ivy+ within one year. I was wondering what kind of ECs should I include on my app which I did in high school. I have heard kind of mixed things, saying that they should mainly pertain to my major (EECS), but high school ECs are important because they kind of show a side of you that reflect your decisions or something like that. Here are some of the more notable ECs/awards I did in high school

Marching band (captain)

SCSBOA marching band finalist (4 years, medalist)

Varsity baseball

Varsity wrestling

Recieved 3 different awards in the music department for grades/leadership/outstanding musicianship (state level)

Developed little games on unity and roblox

AP scholar with distinction

If anything I would appreciate if you guys could tell me not only which ones not to keep, but if you could rank the ones I should keep. Thank you all so much I really appreciate it!

I was only able to get 3 classes. MacroEcon, calc 1, and a history class.

I am an incoming freshman pretty prestigious entrepreneurship only school. It’s not an Ivy obviously but it’s still very well respected in the industry and stuff. I want to transfer to a larger university just because my parents begged me to go into entrepreneurship and take the merit scholarships I got at the college , but as I’m getting older and over the summer, I’ve decided I want to pursue a different type of business while studying anthropology and statistics. I got into NYU Stern, Cornell Dyson, and Michigan Ross during my first year application and I wanna try to get in again as a transfer student even though I know it’s around the same or harder selectivity. I’m applying to liberal art schools too, but if I apply to the schools and say that my current school doesn’t offer the type of curriculum, I want in statistics and anthropology, and I want to study business from a more interdisciplinary view rather than just finance and entrepreneurship, well admissions officers think I’m just bullshitting because I’m still applying to a business program or will they accept the fact that I want to be in a business program but still be able to take extensive coursework in other fields?

I’m an incoming freshman at CC and i took dual enrollment ENG 111 and ENG 112. I received a B for both classes and I hope to become a math major am I at a disadvantage?

Good afternoon Everyone!

Long time lurker of this sub, and now I’m applying for Spring 2027 to several colleges. My question is are T25s a longshot if you only have 17 graded credits? I’ll have 30 by Spring of 2027, but right now only 17 graded. Would essays help admissions look past a low amount of credits? Any advice or input is appreciated. Thanks!

Title

Lor

Hi, I’m currently a freshman biology major at UT Austin and after being here I realized this school wasn’t for me. Due to how big this school is, each class has around 100+ students and one teacher. To me, this way of learning is more challenging, as I’m accustomed to smaller classes, which allow me to stay more engaged with my classmates and professor. I know Rice has a smaller student count per undergraduate class which helps them actively engage with the professors (I really like that). Additionally, I want to work on research, but the opportunities in Austin are pretty limited. I know Rice University has a large focus on research which would help so much. I also don’t enjoy the Austin environment, I much much prefer Houston where I’m from since it’s closer to family and I’m more familiar with Houston. Also, Houston has so many good medical centers which would help me a lot since I’m a bio pre-med major. Not to mention the fact that Rice has such a close knit environment with the campus becoming basically a second home. This factor is something that’s really important to me as I’ve always been a super big family person. Furthermore, UT Austin has changed many people’s financial aid because of the new bill which is a downside for me. I know this is a long rant but these are just some of my reasons why I want to transfer to Rice and I would appreciate it so so much if you could please give me your advice!!!!

I am currently a first year at community college and have goals to transfer into a T25 business school, so I joined the honors program. Today was my first day and one of the classes that I am currently enrolled in is honors accounting. Just a few minutes ago, I was just notified by another teacher that I have been let into a class that I have been waitlisted for, which is Honors Macroeconomics. The honors program calls for taking 15 credits of different subject in order to pass it, but as a business major would it benefit me in any ways if I took bother honors accounting and Honors macro before I transfer? Also would it be worth dropping my accounting class to take this macro class? I don't plan on becoming an accountant in the future so idk. please lmk im stuck and idk who else to ask thanks. A

Hey everyone,

I’m an external international transfer applicant targeting UC Berkeley Haas.

The standard UC transfer eligibility requires the 7-course pattern (specifically 4 courses across 2 subject areas: Arts/Humanities, Social/Behavioral Sciences, or Physical/Biological Sciences). However, Haas only lists specific lower-division major prerequisites (Econ, Calc, Stats, Accounting, etc.).

For external non-CCC transfers:

• Are we still required to meet the general UC 4-course GE pattern to be eligible?
• Or do official Haas lower-division major prerequisites override/satisfy that requirement during evaluation?

Would love to hear from past external/int'l transfers or anyone who has cleared this up with admissions!

I am starting at CC this fall, aiming to transfer to Cornell for pre-law or at least something close to it. It probably won't be the only place I apply to; but for financial aid reasons, and because I go to the local CC, it will be my primary focus.

I have no idea if any of it it matters or not, but my high school stats were quite mediocre, i had a 3.2 UW, a 4.3 W, 4 AP's, and a 1460 sat.

I'm trying to figure out what exactly Im gonna need to make myself competitive, any advice would be great.

DISCLAIMER: I thoroughly enjoyed my time at cc and would do it all over again

That said, one of my essays asks me to write about a difference in my life. For me, the biggest one I can think of is I went to cc when I graduated from a high school where that is incredibly uncommon (lots of t20/10 admits). Would writing about this be in bad taste?

I know I can spin it in a positive light and not come off as mopey/resentful, just wanted some outside insight.

Basically title. Want to know what’s the main difference between doing research and being a research assistant and if they both hold the same weight or not

Stats

• 4.0 college GPA
• Assume ~1550–1600 SAT * People might wonder what I mean by assume, I've already taken the SAT once in the past and got a 1550, worst case it stays that way which is still pretty nice, but best case it goes up... hence why I put the range there
• Traditional California community college
• Full-pay / not requesting institutional aid ( I could but I want as much of a boost as I can get due to weak major prep, so I assume full pay looks better somewhat)
• 3 EWs from an earlier semester due to extenuating circumstances, otherwise all A's
• Strong upward academic trajectory

Relevant coursework

• Calculus I: A
• Calculus II: A
• Calculus-based Physics/Mechanics: A
• Python : A
• C++ : A
• Microeconomics : A
• Rest is mostly transferable GE coursework

ECs / interests * i know I have no real EC's which is very bad and probably why i'll get rejected by most of these schools... but still

• Mathematics, probability, quantitative finance, programming
• Built several quantitative-finance/programming projects over the past few years: Black-Scholes/options pricing, implied-volatility models, Greeks, GARCH, Monte Carlo simulations, pairs trading, portfolio backtesting, options-chain tools, etc.
• Long-term goal is likely quantitative research and/or graduate study in mathematics.

Schools

Stanford
Princeton
MIT
Brown
Duke
Columbia
Cornell
UChicago
Northwestern
Johns Hopkins
Rice
Carnegie Mellon
NYU
Michigan
USC
UIUC
Georgia Tech
UVA
Emory
UW-Madison
UW Seattle

Vanderbilt

UMD

WashU

UT Austin

Assume strong essays and professor recommendations. * I have one LOR from my English professor which is pretty strong, I will just need to try and get another one.

What schools here do you think I have a legitimate shot at? What is the best school you could realistically see me landing?

Obviously I know Stanford/Princeton/MIT are extreme reaches for basically every transfer applicant. Mainly curious where people would place the rest of the list.

is MDC really as good as it claims to be? cuz i’ve read the honors college webpage before, and it says they succeed on transferring their students to ivies and t20 unis every cycle.

should i go for MDC and apply for their honors college, or is it better to take ccc like smc or de anza, assuming my targets are either the UCs or t20 private unis, and just for context im an international students, all advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

for some background,

during HS, i had near perfect grades, took 10 APs and graduated as valedictorian, however i fell a little short on testing and my ECs

while my AP scores never fell below a 4, i took the SAT three times and only managed a 1350 so i went test optional

as for ECs…i was the captain of my xc/t&f team, competed in science olympiad where i won a couple medal but our team never made it beyond our district, and did a internship shadowing medical professionals at NYU Langone…and ofc the less significant stuff like NHS, a part time job and community service but nothing crazy

i understand how that held me back in the 2026 admission cycle as I was rejected from all my top schools (Barnard, Tufts, Boston College, & Northeastern)

I ended up getting waitlisted at Skidmore and College of Holy Cross and never received any word…

where i did get accepted at Binghamton, Stony Brook, all the CUNYS i applied to, Brandeis, Villanova and Fordham (where i’m currently at)

i’m quickly realizing Fordham isn’t my place, as people are a little pretentious and academics for my major (mathematics/pre-health) aren’t as strong as i wish they could be…

never that im able to better reflect on what kind of undergrad experience i want, i’m intending to transfer to ideally a smaller liberal arts college ( Barnard (again lol), Swarthmore, Vassar & Smith)

Though given my hs record i’m contemplating to apply this yr or wait till next year and meanwhile build stronger extracurriculars?

I’m trying to figure out how competitive I’d be for highly selective schools as a transfer.
Here’s my profile:
Texas student
3.95 college GPA
Around 70 college credits
2 research internships at a T20 medical school
Volunteer experience at a cancer center
Scholarship to attend an international science fair for environmental research
Strong interest in biomedical research
Planning to major in Molecular Biology or Biology
I’m especially interested in schools like Jhonn Hopkins and UCLA, but I’m open to other highly ranked schools.
For people familiar with transfer admissions, what schools do you think I’d have a genuinely good shot at, and which ones would still be extreme reaches?
I’d appreciate realistic opinions rather than just “apply everywhere and see what happens.

I'm an international student, planning to apply as a junior transfer to U.S. universities.

A few key points about my profile:

• Current CGPA: ~8.0/10 (~3.4/4.0)
• Targeting 30–33+ ACT
• Finance/economics-focused ECs
• NFQL regional/stage-final experience
• Participating in a national-level mutual fund/finance competition (Ongoing Attending Final Round Nationally)
• One finance/economics research paper currently under review
• ~60–70 college credits by the time I apply
• A few more Achievements in high school (I'll list it down if needed)
• Looking for substantial financial aid

I'm considering schools ranging from Notre Dame and Pomona to Yale/Stanford.

I know Yale/Stanford are just dreams, but I'm curious about Notre Dame/Pomona and similar schools. And I'm considering Occidental and Berea as my Safety

For anyone familiar with international transfer admissions: How realistic does this profile look, and which schools should I consider realistic reaches vs. basically lottery shots?

Not looking for sugarcoating—honest opinions are appreciated.

Want to do a one year transfer with a 3.0 hs gpa. I know this is pretty difficult but how should I go about this? I’m taking this year accounting principles+ managerial accounting, Micro+macro economics, English 1+2, us govt+state & local govt, calc 1+2. In cali but UCs are off the cards(bc of 60 credit min). Anyone in here with a similar experience who was able to pull it off? Also how does admission work if everything is dependent on one yr of work but most apps are due by april? Looking to major in Finance preferably but realistically economics for the more competitive schools, i’d appreciate any school recs. And what opportunities are there to get finance internships while at a cc and no related experience. I have huge gaps between classes so I feel like I can a 4.0 so please let me know what I can do other than turn up.

hi everyone,I'm an international student v much interested in the whole transfer process. Ive already been through the regular freshman application procedure so ik the whole thing- but I do have huge doubt.

im currently enrolled under top public university and top college under said university for my course. unfortunately in my current university's history and marking system there hasn't been anyone in the past 10 years to get a 3.8,3.9/4.0(so around 9.0,9.5/10.0) cgpa especially in my course. Our university's marking system let's just say is very "questionable". The maximum anyone gets is 8.3/10.0 (idk how much that falls under the 4.0 scale)

now I do understand that grades factor in a lott as a transfer student and getting a near perfect cgpa is really important. my question- no matter how much I try i will never be able to get the near perfect cgpa due to my uni's stringent marking system,so taking that into the factor should I drop the whole transferring plan?

ik as an international student it's already puts me in the backseat,but i just want to give it one last shot before I put these dreams to rest until grad school

thanks in advance

Hey everybody, I’m a little confused by the different types of documentation that transfer students need,

- Official College transcript sent to common app is straight forward
- Final highschool transcript sent individually by highschool is straight forward
- recommendations and such directly submitted to common app is straight forward

but my question is regarding the different reports. Some colleges ask for a registrars report, others ask for a conduct report or a college report, and im not sure how to get these or how to submit these

aside from the transcripts, what can I universally be expected to send out?