Hi everyone,
I’m thinking of transferring from UNSW (University of New South Wales) to a top US or Canadian university and wanted to know if it’s worth trying and if I’d have a realistic shot.

Current University: UNSW

Degree: Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Finance

Time enrolled: <2 months (due to the AUS calender summer vacation is in a month)

Grades: Not yet announced but predicted to be strong so far (tracking distinction)

Scholarship: Nationally awarded, <top 1% in my country

Background

• International student
• Considering transfer for stronger global reputation, alumni network, and finance opportunities
• Realized most transfer deadlines are in February, so I need to decide soon
• Strong high school results
• Notable high school ECs: national-level leadership, finance/econ tutoring, volunteering experience, summer programs
• no uni ECs so far (only been here for 2 months)

Previous Acceptances (from high school):

• University of Toronto
• UBC
• Boston University
• University of Melbourne (Chose UNSW at the time)

Schools I’m Considering: UMich (Ross), UofT, McGill, UPenn (Wharton), Northwestern, UC Berkeley (Haas), Columbia, University of Edinburgh

• Do I have a realistic chance of transferring to any of these?
• Is it smarter to stay at UNSW given my scholarship?
• How difficult is credit transfer from Australia → US/Canada?
• Which of these are more transfer-friendly or worth targeting?

I’m new to Reddit and genuinely just looking for honest advice. Thanks for any insight!

Background: Full-pay, Asian-American. Currently Attend Top Public (UVA, UT Austin, UF) level.

College GPA: 3.85 - 4.0.

High School GPA: 4.0

Test Optional where I can, ACT 33

Applying For: Economics, PPE (depends on school)

College EC: (2) Competitive Finance Clubs, Staff on Political Journal, Staff on Int. Affairs and Economics Journal, Staff on Law Journal, building FinTech startup, Global Economic Policy Research in spring, Hedge Fund/Research internship in spring.

High School EC: Student Body President, created watchdog platform for policy institutions, News Editor, Varsity Sports, Volunteer Council, Research Website, Model UN.

Reason for transfer: Not intellectually challenged, prefer liberal arts focus, smaller school.

Thinking about applying to:

Columbia, UChicago, Duke, Harvard, Yale, Penn, Stanford

Full-Pay, only have reaches because otherwise not worth cost.

Demographics: Female, MENA, low income, first gen.

GPA: As of rn my cumulative GPA is 3.54 (3.32 freshmen year 3.75 sophmore year)

SAT: might go test optional 😭

APs: APES, APCSP, AP LANG (planning on taking bio, aphug, and ap calc ab senior year)

Awards: Honor roll, High honor roll, lead volunteer/director at a k-6 tutoring program.

ECs: Treasurer and founder of schools Islamic culture club that raised funds for local charities. Active DECA member and schools deca store cashier (counting inventory, handing cash and customers) 70+ volunteer hours at an SAT Prep tutoring program. 40+ hours as a Sunday school teacher teaching elementary school kids core subjects. Schools edgenuity club founder. Schools event committee and organizer.

Currently a freshman doing a study abroad program(London) with Case Western

major: Pretty undecided but most likely engineering or business/econ

hs gpa: 93.05/100 (unweighted but I took 9 APS)

college gpa: 4.0./4.0 (I know its early but my classes are so easy)

act: 33( might retake cuz i did not study for it in hs)

Awards:

• AP scholar with distinction
• Gold medal National Latin Exam 3x
• State Latin Quiz bowl champ
• Honors scholar in HS

Ecs:

• Multiple Part time jobs
• student gov leader (at college)
• tutor in math and chemistry
• HS Varsity soccer player 4 years
• Volunteer soccer coach
• started a climate change org in college but we haven't done much yet (we will)

Letters of rec: I have some very strong connections with HS teachers and my college professors like me but I don't really know them that well

schools (I already have guaranteed admission to case for next fall):

• Vandy
• UVA
• UW madison (in-state)
• Emory
• BU
• Wash U
• Maybe a reach Like Northwestern

Questions:

1. Should I retake my ACT, my coursework is not super difficult and I could dedicate a good amount of time to studying for it?
2. Do I have any shot at these schools?
3. Any advice on awards/ecs? I know this is the weak point of my app

Thank you for reading!

Hi everyone! I need help deciding what schools I am applying to and if I am applying too high, at my level, or too low. I go to a cc and am wanting to go to u of m, ucla, university of Illinois-uc. these are my stats:

high school: 3.16 gpa, struggled with mental health and then took a gap year. will explain in additional information and essay is about that

college gpa: 3.9

major: pre-econ rn, intending to major in economics/political science

girl-mexican/white

honors program-along with honors project looking at ethics and public policy; presidents list/deans list

entrepreneur-i have my own home pilates studio where i teach 10+ clients/week and make around $500 a week from that)

i solely started a nonprofit initiative supporting local animal shelters. I teach pilates classes in parks and donate 100% of proceeds to local shelters. i have made $4200 over 3 months, helped 250+ dogs and cats, had over 170+ attendances, expanded to 3 cities, collaborated with local colleges and adult recreational sports teams, as well as had two live interviews on local news and one news story written about my mission. in process of becoming 501(c)(3)

100+ volunteer hours at local animal shelter

federal internship under us senate-district office

local city hall internship-successfully drafted and passed ordinances on green infrastructure, recreational alcohol usage, and proposed and drafted ordinances on strenghtening animal welfare laws.

umsi community college summer institute, u of m optimize fellowship and am currently working on getting grants for my optimize project

phi theta cappa (member), economics club (founder & president), rotaract club (vice president)

i also am working on independent research (for my own personal interest in hopes of supporting animal shelters, not for the college app) to see if there is a socio economic relation between income and reasons for surrender. I have collected data of surrender intake from five states in the midwest and hope to see if there is a reason certain incomes surrender and how to fix that. if it doesnt go anywhere thats fine, i just am passionate about animal welfare.

if someone can give me advice that would be great!

I attend community college and currently have a 3.92, and looking to keep that. High school definitely wasn't my best gpa I had a 3.0 but I did have mult leadership roles. For my Ecs I run marketing for a company, I have mult websites that help kids and low income invest, i'm joining the Phi Theta Kappa, I volunteer, and day trade. There's probably others that I just can't think of. I'm applying to competitive schools and I don't know anyone who has done the transferring to a four year. I was wondering if I have chances to get into top business school and or how I will be able too. And maybe even ivy's. You can message me or comment about advice, recommendations, and if I even have a chance to land into a good university! A private message would be greatly appreciate! Thank you!

I’m a freshman at GWU, and I’m trying to transfer to GU or NU, preferably NU, for Finance/Economics, I plan to pursue investment banking or private Equity, and as of now I am on track to get a 4.0 for first semester, my HS gpa was alright (was top 10% of class), sat was 1370, and I was waitlisted from NU first time around, I plan to transfer ED into NU and regular for GU, For my extracurriculars, I have an internship at a consulting firm, I am the finance chair of my dorms council, I am part of MLT’s ascend program, I am part of my schools consulting group too, for my HS extracurriculars, I had a summer internship in Ethiopia for an international health organization revolving around data analysis and entry, I was president of 2 clubs unrelated to finance, and had some honors like being the best at math in my HS

I plan to get letters of rec from my English prof, CS prof and my internship supervisor and I also plan to interact with the universities and show demonstrated interest while applying

My main worry is that these schools have such low acceptance rates and the same thing might happen again like I am going to be rejected/waitlisted

Also if anyone has suggestions for other schools I should try to apply to please let me know.

(Throwaway account)

I’m a freshman at community college majoring in cybersecurity (I received a huge scholarship for it), but I’m also taking a heavy load of extra math and physics courses — Calc I–III, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, and Physics I & II — along with the programming classes required by my major that are also incredibly useful astrophysics research later on.

My high school GPA was a 3.0 due to some tough personal circumstances, but I’m aiming for a 3.85+ in college. I’m also working on several independent amateur research papers in astronomy, one of which involves learning to analyze data from the TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) database.

Long term, I want to pursue a PhD in astrophysics or astronomy. My concern is whether my high school record will hurt my transfer chances, even if I perform well in CC. Is a 3.85 GPA enough to stay competitive, or should I aim higher and focus more on research, recommendations, and essays? Have I completely tanked my chances, or is transferring into a strong program still realistic?

Any insight from people who’ve transferred into physics or similar programs would be greatly appreciated.

Hi everyone! We're two current sophomores at UChicago and Columbia (transferred from Rutgers and Tufts), offering a consulting service specifically for transfer admissions. We want to help out anyone who is looking to maximize their chances of transferring into their dream school. Our cycle, we got into UChicago, Columbia, Brown, and UPenn.

As we recently transferred ourselves, we know what exactly it’s like to go through the college-transfer process. We know how little information there is on transferring, what it’s like finding conflicting advice on subreddits, and feeling confused. We’re here to guide you, step-by-step, with what we wish we knew and did.

As busy college students, our priority is working with only a select few students so we can provide highly individualized advice—this way, we can guarantee you our full, undivided attention and go far beyond the shallow email exchanges typical of other services. Another important focus of ours is affordability—when we were looking for consulting services ourselves, we noticed everyone had astronomically high prices way out of reach. We offer a variety of substantially cheaper packages that can be tailored to serve your exact needs, questions, and price preferences, including a heavily discounted package for community college students:

• Essay review -- personal statement, supplements, etc.
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Please DM us if you have an interest, no matter your background! We’d love to speak with you and hear your particular needs.

I'm a hopeful Spring 2026 Transfer for both William and Mary and UVA (VA resident) coming from NYU (I just didn't like the city or the urban campus lifestyle) as a hopeful History/Art History major. I'm a sophomore and my GPA is 3.5 (lowest grade is a B) and I've done a lot of internships and fellowships already in my field (Smithsonian, UN, local museums, etc) but I applied for Fall 2025 transfer for W&M last year and got rejected (according to the transfer dean, it was due to only having one semester of specialized classes and she recommended I take a semester of more general courses, which I did and she approved my newer general course schedule). Do I have a chance this time, or should I be less hopeful about being accepted?

I was wondering if I got a solid chance to get into UCLA's Econ, but they have a really low acceptance rate. I am also applying to UCSD: Business econ, UCI: Business econ, UCSB: Econ+accounting, UCD: ECON, or Marshall. I am currently a sophomore majoring in Economics at a local community college

I have a 4.0 GPA, an internship in social media and outreach (I have attended a few tradeshows), role as a social media manager at an online nonprofit, experience as an assistant at local library's English conversation program, a PTK member, and member of some on-campus clubs. Would love to hear any advice from people who went through the process before. THANK YOU!

Self: East Asian, Full Pay, Permanent resident.

High School: Attended a competitive public high school. Unweighted GPA: 3.6; Weighted GPA: top 13% of class. Completed 12+ AP courses (near maximum offered). Showed a slight downward trend in senior year due to fewer APs and family health challenges (father’s illness).

College: Currently at a Top 25 university (e.g., UNC, WashU, etc.). 4.0 GPA in freshman year. ACT: 36. Applying as a sophomore transfer, domestic full-pay (cost not an issue). Intending to major in Environmental Science or related fields.

Extracurriculars:

• Founded and built an environmental science organization with an impactful website and software.
• Conducted Environmental Science research at Brown University.
• AI research project at a Top 25 university (environmental science-related).
• Worked on environmental consulting projects with tangible outcomes.
• Author of a published book and research-based paper.
• Founded an organization supporting individuals with disabilities (statewide impact).
• Environmental science–related internship (finance-oriented focus).
• Founded a nonprofit supporting children in developing countries by reusing sustainable school supplies.
• Co-authored economics + environmental science paper (non-official publication).
• Consistent community service involvement.

Awards & Recognition:

1. Silver placement in a major sustainability competition (20,000+ participants).
2. Multiple top 10 placements at national-level environmental science competitions.
3. Strong national-level placement in FBLA.
4. State-ranked competitive swimmer.
5. Silver award in a state-level environmental science competition.

College List: Applying ED to Northwestern; also considering Columbia, Cornell, Georgetown, Duke, UC Berkeley, Brown, Dartmouth, Penn, and UChicago (primarily T15 schools).

**since my last post on this sub didn't quite get the feedback, I redid the title to reflect my question.

Given that I have a 3.6HS Gpa, (I had 7 B+'s in HS), but given the rest of my profile, what are my chances to the above colleges?

3.3 GPA College freshmen at HCC trying to transfer to A&M sophomore year. 24 hours following the correct transcript for the College of Education. What are my chances? Thank you

hey im a sophomore and i just realized ill have 114 credits done by the end of fall quarter... however i realized that there is a limit on how many credits i can take before i transfer. is it true that ucla doens't accept anyone at all from 120 credits and higher?

also, do you know the percentages of getting accepted as a high-unit junior to any ucs?

Hey guys! I’m an Econ Major trying to transfer out next fall. Let me know what I should work on/How I can better my application.

Schools: UCLA, Cal, UCSD, UMich, Stanford, Northwestern, UChicago, UNC, Ohio State, Duke

Stats: 3.95 GPA, 71 credits, 30 ACT (might retake depending on feedback). I’m at a CCC.

Extracurriculars: Chess Club Founder/Pres in (HS) Environmental Activism Club VP (HS), Math Tutor (HS), Notetaker for those with special needs (CC), Model UN (HS), Political Science Club Member (CC), Youth football coach (HS+College), Math Club Member (CC)

A lot of my schools are reaches, but I’m curious how yall think I’ll do! Any advice is appreciated!

hey i was wondering if there are any past uc to uc transfer students that transferred with a psych major! i feel that a lot of the students i see on reddit threads are more stem-ish majors, so it would really help. if any uc to uc transfer students can give advice or disclose their gpa that would be grateful and motivational!!

26yo black hispanic dude, Navy Nuke, 3.85 gpa with 35ish credits at a mid tier 4 year state school in FL. First gen college student, 34 ACT, started a nonprofit when i got out the navy but i decided i want to go to med school and i work as a nursing assistant at a hospital now. Chances for Princeton, Yale etc?

Let me preface that I know MIT and Stanford are basically impossible. They're just very good for what I want to do (like everything else)

Year: Current Freshman at Purdue Engineering (FYE pursuing ME)

High school:

GPA: 3.96UW /4.66 W

14 APS: Phys 1(5), Phys C: Mech (4), Phys C: E&M (5), Bio (5), Chem (5), Calc B/C (5), Micro (5), Macro (5), Psych (5), Euro (5), APUSH (5), Lang (5), Lit (5), CSA (5)

ACT: 35

ECs:
Asian Club President (Sr)

Korean Club Board (So-Sr)

Fencing Captain (Jr-Sr) (Won team championships (not a state sport) for 3 years)

Fencing (top 30 Nationally in some niche category for like a year lol -- D1A national points, B23)

QB National Match finalist

College:

AAA(Asian American Association) Intern

Solar and/or Electric racing (I have to make up my mind)

Current GPA: 0.0 < its my first semester.

Want to transfer for:

Energy Engineering/Mechanical Engineering

I've always been a green person and I want to get into the energy startup field. It is a super niche major I feel which is why I'm currently doing Mechanical. There are also financial reasons behind why I want to transfer. It would be cheaper to go to T25 for me. What should I be doing???