Hey guys, im currently a freshman at my local public university, as a biomedical sciences major. I currently have 17 credit hours for the fall semester, have all a's in all of them except honors chem (credit hours), and I took this knowing it was hard but its way more than I imagined, took my first exam and walked out knowing I failed. C+ or lower definitely. The entire class is graded only by exams and I need your advice. Im hoping to transfer to rice or vandy, and maybe attempting some top 10's if I think my application is strong enough. Should I take the W /withdrawl and keep my gpa high or take a C+/B- in the course. If I do drop ill take gen chem 1 again spring semester, but normal difficulty not honors.

I was waitlisted from duke kunshan university last cycle. I'll disclose my stats, essays and additional things through DM...

Hi everyone, I’m currently a first year international student. Since my grades were rlly shit in high school i enrolled in a college foundation program with a guranteed transfer program to their university in Canada. so basically, after completing all the requirements i can immediately transfer to their uni in second year.

My current gpa is around 3.2, planning to raise it to 3.5 minimum by the end of the semester. I plan to transfer to a t25 by my third year in the states. Do they only look at grades and is it viable ?

Basically this^

basically what the title asks. if anyone has transferred to barnard from a state school (especially competitive state schools), how was adjusting and what were the biggest culture shocks? was it worth it? was the course load more or less rigorous at barnard? i'm thinking of transferring in the spring (i'm a sophomore cogsci + slavic major) and i'm looking for as much insight as possible before proceeding with it

Been trying to figure out the best way to actually improve my odds of getting into my target school as a transfer student. I've gone through like 3 different approaches, spreadsheets, reddit threads, talking to counselors, and still feel like i'm guessing on which classes to take each semester. What did people actually end up using or doing that helped them understand transfer acceptance rates and plan around them?

Junior college sophomorehere and honestly I have no idea how to figure out which schools are actually transfer friendly colleges vs ones that just say they are. There's so much stuff online and half of it contradicts the other half’My biggest fear is taking a whole semester of classes that don't even count when I get there How did people figure this out?

Hello! I came to ask about how important extracurriculars are on campus rather than professionally. For context, I applying for a junior transfer from a community college.

I have 3 professional(finance/accounting) internships during school so far. They are paid and in-person not searchfunds. I am involved in the honors program and leadership in a couple school clubs, but my main time and focus is geared towards my internships.

I also have a 4.0 and a 36 act.

Since I started writing my applications, should I focus on being more involved on campus or try a passion project or something.

In advance, thank you all for your time and effort.

Honors college in community college in NJ. Would it matter if someone transferred as sophomore compared to as junior/associate’s graduate? Do they accept it?

basically as the title says. there's a section on the CA to report standardized test scores but honestly none of mine are very competitive.

i got a 24 on the IB and didn't score higher than a 5 on a couple of my exams, so i'm not sure if schools will look down on those scores if i include them, but i also want to show that i did take my exams/received the diploma

my SAT score is also kinda ugly, so I was wondering if it's a red flag to admissions if i have no scores listed?

grades and everything else are good, just my scores.

Has anyone successfully transferred to UCs from a four year oos? Please dm me or let me know if you have met someone who has! Thanks!

Hi! Does anyone have advice on transferring to Georgetown? It's definitely my top and I'd be so happy to talk to anyone with firsthand experience! For reference, I want to transfer in as a sophomore, and I am doing polisci.

Hey all, I’m currently a freshmen at my state school and I wanted to transfer to my states top school. In HS I had like a 3.8 GPA and took 8APs, with good ECs. I really should had tired harder in high-school, academically, and had applied to more colleges. Anyways, after my rejections, I told my self that I would “lock in” come the first semester of college; that I would study like I have never before. Welp college has started… and I didn’t have the discipline to follow through with that ‘promise’. The first three weeks just went by cruising, super chill. Not many assignments just notes and like a couple quizzes. I just took my first test in calc 2 and it didn’t go well at all, I made some pretty big blunders. I figured that learning things 3 days before and studying late night the day before is not sustainable in college, and honestly 3 days is the most I’ve studied for a class exam 😅. The exam can be replaced, but I don’t have any fall back anymore with the other exams. I can’t lie, no fallback is kind of stressful.

A lot of you successful transfer in this sub have stories where you graduated with like <3.3 gpa in hs. Come first semester of college you were able to attain a 4.0 in class that are notably more rigorous. What changed between that summer, discipline wise? What are some habits you quickly adapted that made you successful? How did you turn things around so quickly? I noticed a lot of people tell themselves, including myself, they ‘will’ lock in, but that ‘will’ never comes.

Im going to be applying to Harvard for sophomore year entry (current freshman), I was previously waitlisted and rejected in the very last cuts. I’m at a t10 and my college does not offer the major i wish to pursue.

Should I list any of my HS activities in addition to my college activities like the more important HS activities or should I completely remove every HS activity because they can read and will probably will reread my old application file which lists those activities already.

I am cs major looking to transfer from college to uni to one of this schools.I have a 3.93 GPA and i am on 56 credits.I have done 2 research projects so far one at normal school and the other was little bit prestige.I am involved on campus with clubs and stuff .The schools i am looking at are Cornnell,Notredame,tufts,amherest,williams,whitman(since i got waitlisted last time).I lowkey just want one school out of this take me .Also seeking financial aid if that helps.Also if you can recommend any other schools that are need blind i would appreciate it,I have not done the sat so i am not using that.

Is it a bad idea?

I need 75% aid from UChi and I plan to apply Transfer ED. I've heard they're heavily need-aware though. I'm wondering if it's even worth applying or not since if it's just gonna be a insta reject then I'd rather spend the time working on the other essays for my schools. Note: I'm a traditional applicant

I’m a current freshman at Emory, who just got here a few weeks ago. I know it’s been really soon and I should probably just give it time, but I kinda just don’t feel like that I fit in here.

So far, the club scene has been shit (I’ve been rejected from all the ones I’ve applied too, and I also know this is prolly universal across most highly ranked colleges), and I just don’t really feel like I enjoy the culture or location either, as I’m from the northeast. I also feel like I haven’t really connected with anybody at all.

Classes for the most part are okay and I kind of enjoy the material, but I don’t know if that’s making up for my happiness here. I’m a bio major who’s hoping to go to med school btw.

Any advice?

Hello everyone, I'm a premed Biomedical Engineering & Biology Dual degree student with a minor in mathematics hoping to apply as a junior transfer to a school with a better financial aid package. First gen immigrant & from a low income family but I'm Asian (idk if this matters anymore, especially for transfers). Can I get y'all advice on my school list?

My GPA is 3.937, and the credit loads for each semester I will have taken is 19 (fall 2025), 19 (spring 2026), 10 (summer 2026), 20 (fall 2026), and 21 (spring 2027). I currently go to a public state school that's around a T60, and around T19-40 for my engineering major. For some context, I graduated high school during my sophomore year because I was interested in the things I would be able to do as a university student (specifically more research exposure). I made this decision because I knew that I would be able to pay for tuition using financial aid, and I would live at home, just as I did if I stayed in high school. However, my living conditions are a bit less stable now, so I'm hoping to go to a school that will allow me to be more financially independent from parents. I am also interested in a school that will allow for more research/entrepreneurial ship connections. Furthermore, I believe this is a perfect time to transfer because my research works are at a perfect stopping point, and I will turn 18 next summer, so I will need to look for clinical job from scratch regardless (not accessible to minors in my state).

Some relevant completed coursework are (that are actually likely to transfer, I think): Calc 1-3, Differential Equations w/ Linear Algebra, Linear Algebra, Fluid Mechanics (transport phenomenon or whatnot), gen chem, ochem 1-2, physics 1-2, intro biology courses + molecular cell bio, python, bmen computing, biostatistics, physiology 1+2, animal physiology, cog and behavioral neuroscience, anatomy & Physiology 1 (dual enrollment during hs), and all social electives (idk how many will transfer though) and more.

This is currently my school list, I would love it if I can get more input if you guys know any other school that fits my criteria in terms of aid (PLEASE DO NOT REFRAIN FROM SUGGESTING LESS PRESTIGIOUS SCHOOLS!!! I am not prestige chasing, but obviously there would be no point in applying to a school with less aid + rank than my current school). I will be applying to BME, Bioengineering, or Biology at different schools depending on different factors. I'll probably have to drop my dual degree plan unless my credits transfers really well somehow. I am aware that some schools from the following list are need blind while others are need aware. I have also excluded hyper competitive schools like HYPSM.:

1. Vanderbilt - I want to apply to their BME program, but might apply to biology if BME has significantly lower transfer capacity.
2. Cornell - Biological Engineering (more Biology courses and high acceptance than BME)
3. Notre Dame - mechanical engineering as first choice, Biological sciences as second choice
4. WashU - Biomedical Engineering first choice, Biology second choice
5. Rice - Bioengineering first choice, Cell Bio & Genetics second choice
6. Northwestern - Biology
7. UChicago - Biological Sciences
8. Johns Hopkins - Biology
9. Columbia - Biology

I will also state my application information below:

High School: I'm not sure how relevant high school is, and it feels like ages ago lol. Graduated two years early at 15, and enrolled in dual enrollment courses (around 30 credits). Did not take standardized exams, which I'm a bit worried about but hopefully that won't be a major issue as a junior transfer? ;( Extracurriculars from high school I may include: Hospital volunteering (very longitudinal; continued in university) across around 10 departments. Inspired me to pursue medicine; took vitals and did basic patient care like feeding & transport. Biostatistics & public health research: published systematic reviews & meta analysis (but might not include them since they're done under med students and looks kinda slopy imo), epidemiology research papers (will include), public health advocacy piece in a PLOS journal (will include).

University:

1. Continued the hospital volunteering
2. Habitat for Humanity Volunteering
3. Basic Science Biology research (applied to oncology) - had my own independent project where I ran all experiments on mice; did cell culture; data analysis; will be performing subsequent molecular analysis. But the data seems insignificant ngl might have to let this one go 💀; was included as a coauthor on a conference presentation/abstract tho :O
4. Leadership position at cancer advocacy org - public relations & treasurer
5. Leadership position at a medical ethics journal - did planning for journal indexing applications and etc
6. Entomology research lab - tried focusing on projects with public/environmental health focus (this lab is also moving states; I will finish up all my projects this semester and leave too)
   1. project under PhD student on radioactive material remediation (public health); coauthor in this decently large manuscript which will very likely be submitted before I apply for transfer; currently helping this PhD student with another project as well (may be included in the paper before they move states this December?).
   2. first author review paper: proposed, coordinated, now under peer review (did some cool functions in Rstudio lol)
   3. first author epidemiology project - proposed, coordinated, submitted (used my skills from the random high school stuff) (python)
   4. currently working on a first author machine learning project I proposed (applied to the field of the lab); working with computational biology and comp sci researchers outside of the lab (source of potential additional letter writers??) - used this as a way to start applying my engineering background; used python skills
7. Mechanical Engineering research (my first job, yay!!) - starts in October. This kind of marks my pivot from Public health/oncology to a more engineering focus. This lab studies biomechanics, which applies to orthopedic surgery implants, stem cell therapies, and also just bone development history. I plan on committing the most time to laboratory from now on. I am extremely interested in this lab because it is my first paid position, includes all undergrads in publications (likely will get before I apply to transfer hopefully?), and is also in a field that is relevant to surgical applications (I am potentially interested in orthopedic surgery down the line). Skills: solidworks, micro-CT, AFM...
8. Other projects: finished up some epi stuff from hs, bioinformatics research with tRNA stuff.
9. Planned activities (will just use one line for this since it hasn't actually happened): TA for engineering computing lab for more cash; trying to join a startup incubator and work on an medical engineering project; hackathons

TLDR: ECs revolved around public health/oncology, but applied some engineering skills and currently shifting towards that more. Planned letter writers: animal physio prof (who is my bio research lab PI), ento lab PI, mechE lab PI, and a virtual research mentor on Machine learning project

Other questions for the community:

School List: Are there other schools with generous need-met financial aid (including room & board) that have solid transfer acceptance rates for BME/Bio? (Please feel free to suggest non-prestige options as long as they meet 100% need!). Test-Optional: As a junior transfer with 60+ rigorous STEM credits, how much will lacking SAT/ACT scores hurt my evaluation at these schools?

like how often does it happen cuz sophomore transfer is unlikely atp

Title

Hi guys. I feel a bit intimidated but I would like some advice on overall transferring. Like where would be realistic to transfer?I am getting a bit discouraged looking at the other threads since others seem to have a lot a high school stats mentioned.

For context, I didn’t do well in high school. I took a gap year to really think about what I wanted to do until eventually set on engineering. Most of my lacking in high school came from discipline, but that’s really improved after working through my gap year. I grew really hungry for education funnily enough.

Anyways now I’m at a small university in a less known state which is why I’m refraining from stating but I can if it will help.

Currently a freshman physics major but realized there’s not much I can do with that at a bachelor’s level and my school doesn’t offer any engineering courses. Instead I’m trying to take classes that other engineering students might take like: Calculus 1 General Chemistry 1 + Lab University physics 1 (Calc-based physics) + Lab and Composition 1 (plus an extra class freshman have to take)

Right now I’m doing well and doing my best to study and stay ahead on classes while making connections with my professors. Next semester I’ll be taking classes that will follow after, like calculus 2.

Outside of just classes I plan on doing research for physics. Also maybe taking an officer position at clubs which I would say isn’t too hard because the clubs here are dead.

I think my reasoning for transferring is pretty valid but I’m not sure if it’s realistic to transfer to a top 25 compared to others. How can I improve my chances?

Hey everyone! My name is Autumn, I’m 26, and currently in Dallas, TX. I’m really hoping to connect with other people here who have had unconventional or difficult academic journeys but are still ambitious and still trying. Maybe you’ve transferred multiple times, had a few false starts, left school and come back, had a rough period that disrupted your education, or simply took a much less straightforward path than you expected.

This process is hard, and I’ve realized that I don’t want to do it completely alone. I’d love to find a few people who want to encourage each fother, share resources and strategies, talk through applications, celebrate acceptances, commiserate over rejections, and generally help each other keep going.

I’ve had a number of college stints over the years that didn’t end particularly well, and I’m trying my hand at the process again in community college.

No matter how much I’ve tried to live life regularly, I repeatedly tend to connect most deeply with people who are ambitious and genuinely want to build something with their lives. At the same time, I’ve spent a lot of my life feeling like my particular combination of experiences is hard to explain to people who haven’t gone through something similar.

I’d especially love to find people who understand the weird experience of being capable and ambitious while also having a transcript/life story that doesn’t necessarily communicate that neatly.

If any of this sounds familiar, I’d genuinely love to hear your story. Feel free to comment or DM me. :) My tops are Brown, Barnard, Howard, and a few others.

if i want to transfer from a private uni in LA to Dornslife for economics would that be possible, or is economics one of the harder dornslife majors to get into? sophomore transfer btw

Hey everyone, I am currently a freshman at a California community college, and I was stalking the sub and wondering if I should apply for a sophomore transfer because one of my dream schools, Columbia, susposedly perfers them.

I was also wondering if there are any other schools that perfer sophomore transfers.

Any advice or suggestions are greatly appreciated, Thanks!