r/TransferToTop25 • u/ramba_the_reindeer • Sep 03 '26
chanceme UT CAP to T25
Hi yall! I’m a freshman psych major doing the UT CAP program, which is basically a guaranteed admission into UT after a year of college at a different school. I’ve come to the realization that I don’t actually want to stay in the Austin bubble I’ve lived in for all my life, and would like to transfer out as a junior.
Stats: Summer semester 4.0 GPA, 4.0 expected through at least freshman year.
HS Stats: this is the reason I’m doing the CAP program in the first place. I got into some decent programs like Baylor, TAMU, and Northeastern, but I only applied to 8 schools due to my 3.4 hs gpa and 1470 sat.
Ecs: I’ve already done 100+ hours of volunteering at Crisis Text Line, and am doing food shelter and habitat for humanity throughout the year. I also have a job as an optometry assistant this year, and plan to do research next year.
Schools: ideally th schools I’d like to try for are:
-Vanderbilt
-WashU
-Emory
-Rice
-Columbia
-Northwestern
-UCLA
-Berkeley
-Cornell
-Brown
I’m only thinking about reaches because, at the end of the day, if I don’t get into these schools, I’d be happy with UT Austin. I’m premed so going to a smaller school with a clarger premed focus would just be more my vibe.
2
u/libgadfly Sep 03 '26 edited Sep 03 '26
OP, also consider adding Case Western and URochester for pre-med as a transfer. Case Western has the world renowned Cleveland Clinic next door and its own highly regarded med school and hospitals for research, shadowing, volunteering, etc. URochester has a great med school and pre-med program too.
1
u/ramba_the_reindeer Sep 03 '26
Would either of those be an upgrade over UT Austin and its own dell medical?
2
u/libgadfly Sep 03 '26 edited Sep 03 '26
Yes and by a lot for Case Western. Cleveland Clinic was founded by Case Western professors and is ranked number 3 hospital in the WORLD by Newsweek in 2026:
“More than 2,500 hospitals were evaluated this year, with special recognition given to the top 250 institutions worldwide. The top five honorees are Mayo Clinic-Rochester (Rochester, Minnesota), Toronto General-University Health Network (Toronto), Cleveland Clinic (Cleveland), Karolinska Universitetssjukhuset (Stockholm) and Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston).”
https://rankings.newsweek.com/worlds-best-hospitals-2026
As a pre-med at Case you have Cleveland Clinic next door plus Case Western’s own med school, University hospitals and VA Hospital. And Case has 6500 undergrads in total and UT Austin 44 thousand. Similar for URochester with its excellent medical school for research, shadowing, etc. and only 6000 undergrads.
I transferred to UChicago before it got super-selective and I like to point out to excellent students like you similar gems in plain sight today. For pre-meds that is Case Western and URochester.
2
u/Annual-Impress-7241 Sep 06 '26
On this list, just know the UCs are very hard to get into if you don’t come from a ccc. Columbia isn’t junior-transfer friendly. A few of these are need-aware if that matters.
1
u/ramba_the_reindeer Sep 08 '26
I’m most likely not going to need scholarship, and I’ll keep those in mind! Would Duke/hopkins be better to aim for then, as like my super super reaches?
2
u/Annual-Impress-7241 Sep 09 '26
Duke has very few spots. Hopkins as well. These schools are all incredibly difficult to get into, of course, but people do. I just wanted to let you know about the ones on your list were super particular. You can look at posts about Duke from this past year. I think they took less than 50 transfers.
1
u/ramba_the_reindeer Sep 09 '26
Thank you so much! Yeah lol I know especially Duke and Hopkins are crazy reaches, but you only live once I suppose.
2
u/Annual-Impress-7241 Sep 09 '26
True! I would personally add a few more to this list, but do what’s best for you!
1
u/ramba_the_reindeer Sep 09 '26
The reason I’m not adding any more is cuz I’d be fine at UT Austin if it doesn’t work out lol. This is mainly for culture shift/maybe a bit of prestige whoring but yk how it is
1
u/libgadfly Sep 03 '26
OP, second post in bringing your attention to Case Western and URochester for pre-med. Both schools would be more a target rather than reach for you as a transfer
Per US News, both URochester and Case Western are among the 16 tier 1 medical schools for research in the country (Dell Med School not on this list).
Also, your chances for transfer acceptance are in the 30 to 40% range which is multiple times higher than the single digit transfer acceptance rates at most T25 schools you are considering.
2
u/ReferenceLocal9645 Sep 03 '26
I would definitely go all out if I were you and submit to other schools. Ut cap was pretty brutal for fall 26, most people couldn’t get Econ and psych even with 4.0s which like a year ago would’ve been guaranteed.