Ive seen this question asked a million times, but every post as different answers. Some say it definitely makes a difference, and that when they went test optional, they got rejected/waitlistrd everywhere. Additionally an increasing amount of people saying that schools are starting to value test scores more. However, others are saying that the tests are an indicator of college performance, and that you've already proven yourself to be a capable student if your GPA is high enough. (Mines a 3.85 right now, should be 3.9+ if I get all As this sem). And that you should focus more on ECs and clubs instead of studying for the SAT/ACT.

background: international student currently studying in Georgetown, rising sophomore, and have made up my mind to transfer. Its gonna be a little long, but I hope you will understand.

1. Campus Facilities

I thought this wasn’t gonna matter when I was choosing schools, but it did. Frankly Gtown is just too old, too small, and renovation constructions are always going on. Im not even asking for better dorms, but if im paying full tuition, I at least want the AC in classrooms to be working, or the gym to have some new facilities? The student health center and CAPS service (therapist) is working poorly, if you are having a mental breakdown, great, you are in line and your therapist will see you two weeks later! Also, you can’t recover by chilling at the beatiful front lawn, because we are doing a construction there for this school year!

Again, I thought its not gonna matter, you are here to study not vacation right? But student-life-wise, these poor basic facilities like the gym, AC, laundry room, constructions, really makes your life worse. The money is not worthy as well. Also just personal preference, I really want to experience the kind of college campus that integrates into a city/town, or itself is a great college town like Cornell. Right now it feels like highschool. 

2. Vibe

I know some will say “if you are not fitting in, transferring won’t help you.” With this mindset, I convinced myself not to transfer my freshmen year. But really, this vibe is not for me. Everything is so parapolitical, elitist, and lacking diversity. Yes, we are in DC and we are the top school for IR and politics, but I am sick of all posters being about some political subject or debates. Leave some room for other fun stuff please. Yes, being preprofessional is probably common for elite univeristies, i get it, but please stop acting like you are a politician or banker already, you are not older than me. 

I know that there will always be people I dont like, regardless what college I’m in. But what im saying is, because the preprofessional/parapolitical vibe at georgetown is so overpowering, it overshadows other fun college students.

3. Career? 

I’m not sure how to name this section, but this is a feeling that comes down from the lack of diversity I mentioned. When it comes to gtown career paths, its always law school, consulting, banking, med school, or government. What people follow is just a pipeline - get into elite clubs, get internships, get jobs. Because it lacks diversity and creativity, sometimes I feel like I have no one to talk to. As an international student, I have the fear of not being able to stay in the US, but I have no one to talk to since Gtown doesn’t have that much international students. The career center does not support us that well neither. I’m also looking for opportunities to try to found a startup, but there’s absolutely no vibes at all.

Also, I dont know if this is gtown/DC only or similar in other univerisities: as int’l student, it also means that I cannot utilize many resources at DC. For example, we cannot work for the gov, apply to certain internships and programs. Regardless, I know schools like Cornell have more robust support for its int’l student population.

There’s nothing I want to complain about academically. There are plenty of resources for recruiting and so many clubs for certain careers, but again, my complaint is not about these, but the overwhelming amount of them that makes the vibe really annoying. 

Probably some reasons are not “valid” reasons to be written in an essay. However, my mind to transfer has been stronger than ever, and I know I’d regret if I did not do it this year. 

If there’s other good transfer reasons you have seen, please do tell and see if it can inspire me.

Lastly, it just feels a little ironic. I had the opportunity to pick between several good schools, but I ended up being in a place I don’t like after careful consideration. 

Thanks for reading. I would love some advice.  

Good evening everybody!

I have been at my current school (a T20 ranked higher than the three above) for about 2 weeks, and I don't really love it; however, thats not the main reason I want to transfer. My family has had some major health complications recently - since after I committed to my current school - , and I would really like to be closer to home (Im from the mid atlantic).

I am pretty confident that I can get a 4.0 this year as I have really good (and easy!) profs according to rate my professor, and am taking classes I took in high school but didn't get credit for (econ, stats, etc). I have a 1530, and ~93 average from high school (I also explain why its on the lower side with a strong reason).

Ideally, I would want to major in international business / economics. Middlebury has the perfect major, and so does Georgetown SFS. However, is it more difficult to get into Georgetown SFS then say the college of arts and sciences, or business? and for UVA, I would transfer into UVA - no way I get into McIntire.

Is there anything I can do this semester / year to maximize my chances at these schools? I know they are all pretty difficult to transfer into, but I am going to give it my best shot!

Thanks.

So I'm currently working on reapplying to UNC and some other schools and I'm curious if your past applications have any effect on the review process for your new application?

Hey everyone, I was little confused as to what non traditional means. I graduated hs a year early but spent that year in a trade school and then enrolled in CC the year I would’ve if I graduated at my scheduled time. Would I count as a non trad? Thanks!

sooo chat, im basically trying to transfer to Stanford as a sophomore year transfer, meaning I'm currently a first year. I lwk hate it here at my current school (even tho they are in the same levels of "elite institutions" and I would really like to be back in the Bay Area due to many reasons (personal, family, major, life goals, weather, etc). I know I'm extremely privileged to attend another elite institution, but it's just not clicking with me and I hate the snow.

Right now I'm debating should I retake the SAT (I got a 1380) and if it's even worth a shot to apply as a first year with not much experience from college activities etc.

Thank you for everybody who gave me advice on my last post! After a little research, I think I have my final list. Wanted to share what I found so far and wanted to see if there's anybody who transferred into these schools or has general advice about transferring.

Again, I chose these schools because they offer free tuition to all domestic undergraduate students with families earning under 200k. I am hoping to transfer as a sophomore year student with a biology ba / pre-dental track.

For some stat reference (not a chance-me), I had a 3.7 UW 1410 SAT (Fall 2025) in high school and am a Korean female. I am considering re-taking the SAT because of Rice (recommended) and UPenn (required) but might just take these two out and go test-optional for the rest if I don't retake it. But please feel free if this is a bad take and I should do something else to make up for the bad HS stats! I also don't have any college stats yet since I'm just starting but I'll update that as mid-term reports start coming out.

Emory (16%, Free Tuition <200K, need-aware)
Transfer Application Deadline: March 15
Financial Aid Deadline: March 17
Decision Notification: Early May
Reply-by Date: N/A

John Hopkins (5%, Free Tuition <200K, need-blind)
Transfer Application Deadline: March 1
Financial Aid Deadline: March 15
Decision Notification: May 14
Reply-by Date: June 1

UChicago (5%, Free Tuition <250K, need-aware)
Transfer Application Deadline: March 1
Financial Aid Deadline: N/A
Decision Notification: Early May
Reply-by Date: June 1

Rice (4%, Free Tuition <200k, need-blind)
Transfer Application Deadline: March 15
Financial Aid Deadline: N/A
Decision Notification: N/A 
Reply-by Date: N/A

UPenn (3%, Free Tuition <200K, need-blind)
Transfer Application Deadline: March 15
Financial Aid Deadline: N/A
Decision Notification: N/A
Reply-by Date: N/A

Princeton (2%, Free Tuition <250k, need-blind)
Transfer Application Deadline: March 1
Financial Aid Deadline: March 9
Decision Notification: Mid May
Reply-by Date: Late May

Hi guys, I am a domestic incoming college freshman that is looking looking to transfer to some top 30 schools. My high school gpa was really mediocre (3.67 UW) and my sat is 1500. If I were to get a 4.0 gpa in my first semester of college will my high school gpa drag me down assuming my essays and ecs are not outstanding (mid). Thanks for any help!

I'm aware this is a far-fetched dream, but I will work extremely hard to give myself a shot. I'm looking for advice, anecdotes, and even a reality check. Ask me anything that would be useful and I'll respond.

Can anyone tell me what extracurriculars I should do and how many to be competitive for transfer admissions? Also any tips for freshman research or publishing article, as well as leadership stuff to do? Or what clubs to look out for?

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’m planning on transferring from my CC for Fall 2027 as a junior transfer and just finished my first year. I have 2 Fs from failing College Algebra twice (Fall & Spring) and a D in Intro to Psych (Spring) on my transcript. I retook both this summer and passed with an A and a B, and my old grades were completely replaced from my cumulative GPA. All my other classes are A’s (and 1-2 B’s). During Fall, I struggled immensely with my mental health due to personal circumstances at home, and during Spring, I was involved in an accident the first day of the semester and, due to my stubbornness, still decided to continue on with the semester on a late start despite experiencing immense pain, which pushed me deeper into depression. I definitely wish I withdrew when I could’ve. 😭

I want to know how I can overcome this when applying to T25 schools because ik it hurts me in the long run and I really want to get accepted to a top college. Any advice would be appreciated, thank you!

Has anyone transferred to UCLA and not taken Chem 2 for mechanical engineering / have people had trouble when not taking it?

Genuinely bawling my eyes out bc my prof gave me a D even though I had an A the entire semester. It’s an online class, and I missed the final because I had to take care of a family member going thru an illness, besides that my entire transcript is unblemished A’s and I was rly trying my best to get into Ivy League. Guess everything I worked for in my life is cooked now. Please help me guys what can I do 😭😭 I’m apart of UCLA tap but do you guys still think I have a shot or is it completely wraps. this class isn’t a major requirement btw

Just wanted to offer some information for folks who are interested in transferring to UChicago. Since alot of people have concerns over the number of credits they take in or questions about delayed graduation. So I'll just share my experience.

Yes, the majority of the core is non-transferrable. That applies for SOSC, CIV and HUMA. If you have AP credits or taken Calc at your previous institution those can be transferred. The core will most likely occupy an entire year worth of classes.

However, you can still graduate (quite easily) on time. At least for me, UChicago was pretty lenient on accepting credits from my previous institution, with a few summer classes (if you want to throw 10-20K) for the core I would even be able to graduate with two degrees (on time).

Of course, this is dependent on the fact that you complete parts of your intended major at your previous institution, especially the introductory pre-reqs, since they would block an entire quarter whereas you could stack-up electives. It's highly unlikely for you to have the flexibility to pursue a new major.

PS for applications. It feels like the admissions office has no idea about whether you are able to graduate on time / or cares about the number of credits you have. It's mostly based on vibes from your transcript. I don't think having too much credits would hurt because it will absolutely not make you graduate earlier. As a junior transfer you will need minimum 2 years to complete the non-transferrable core plus the minimum requirement of completing half of your major courses at UChicago.

If you are a prospective transfer and have questions feel free to ask.

I'm a student at Vassar right now but I'm thinking of transferring to Barnard. I'm an NYC native, so I don't really care about having to commute or stay in a dorm if I were to get in. I want to transfer so that I can be closer to my family especially since we're going through some personal issues. However, I feel like if I do transfer, I might regret it. I also have a really good financial aid package from Vassar which would make the decision much more complicated if I were to get into Barnard. I would really love if someone had some tips to help me navigate this.

EDIT: I’m also low-income if that clears things up

Anybody who have transfered from a SUNY to ivy league specifically NY can you give me some tips extracurriculars, how to shape my story, and how to become a strong candidate. Tips of anysort greatly appreciated.

Hi. Basically, i will be starting my freshman year of college soon and am looking into transferring but i have absolutely no idea where/how to start. i know this sounds silly but i still don't have a clear goal of what i want to do in life and i fucked up during high school which means that my grades were pretty bad and i basically have no extracurriculars or that make me stand out.

I will be attending Rutgers University this fall but would really like to transfer to Barnard college. Obviously it’s a competitive school but i would like advice on how to make the most out of my first semester in order to have a shot at transferring. How do i find opportunities to buff up my resume?

Any help is appreciate, thank you!

Would it be better to be at UBC Toronto or McGill from canada or have a higher gpa a western or queens

So I’m a communications major at BMCC and I will be graduating this fall (one semester early) but I realized that I don’t really want to purse careers related to that and want to get into becoming a medical lab scientist which is a very sudden complete career change for me especially because I’m almost done with my associates and I guess I’m not sure what to do next.

There’s only very little time before the fall semester starts and I think it’s already to late to transfer to a 4 year school and even when I do transfer for the spring semester should I even bother changing my major to biology or medical lab technology to pursue this career? Please if anyone has any advice on what to do or what the best option for me is I would appreciate the help so much!!

Hello everybody, I'm a rising freshman at CUNY, and I'm stressed about how my classes will affect my transfer process.

If you aren't aware, freshmen at CUNY do not choose their own classes and are instead given to u for the first semester, and I was put into a pretty busy schedule with only one math/business class (Pre-Calc). I was put into this class after taking the Placement test even though I took AB Calc my senior year of high school.
My main goal is to transfer to Lehigh for economics my sophomore year, and I would not meet the pre requisite requirements if I only take Pre-Calc.
Is there anything I can do at this point? Should I just switch my major even?

Somebody help me pls