<p>Hi I'm planning on applying to competitive schools like Columbia, Penn, etc... and I was looking at their acceptance rates and I wasn't too daunted. But these numbers don't really mean anything if I don't know how competitive the applicants are compared to first year applicants and those acceptance rates. Anyone have any insight?</p>
<p>Frankly, the first year transfers for those top schools are mostly for those who had the stats to be there in the first place or was admitted to the school but choose not to go. Even that, the chances are much lower to be admitted by the top schools as transfer then the Freshman round.</p>
<p>Lets face it, if Harvard or Yale let a Community College student who had 3.0 HS GPA to transfer just because the kid had a 4.0 gpa in the Community College for a year, what will be the quality of their Sophomore student body be? So don’t dream on that scenario.</p>
<p>For OOS, UNC is easier to transfer in to than to get in to straight out of HS.</p>
<p>Getting in to a top UC through a CA CC route may be easier (at least offers a second chance) compared to applying straight out of HS.</p>
<p>ND and Vandy <em>might</em> be easier to transfer in to than straight out of HS.</p>
<p>But for the schools you mentioned, yeah, stop dreaming.</p>
<p>I don’t think that scores are as important as a transfer candidate’s cases for why he needs the schools to which he is applying, and why they should want him. </p>
<p>My guess: a 3.8 college GPA and 2100 SAT suffice for the most competitive privates. </p>
<p>^I have a 2270 SAT and hopefully I’ll have a ~4.0 this semester. Is it worth applying to Harvard/Stanford? I would really consider those to be reaches.
Also, so the general consensus is that the applicant pool for transfers is more competitive?</p>
<p>It is and it isn’t. Since your hs stats no longer impact the school’s reporting, there’s a bit less focus on that, so it’s easier to get in with slightly worse hs grades/scores. On the other hand, recommendations, essays, and extracurriculars are just as, if not more, important than for freshmen. </p>
<p>Also, you have to consider that a lot of transfers are people at similar institutions who just had a bad fit (ex transferring from northwestern to columbia), so it is harder to transfer up than it is to transfer across</p>
<p>It is and it isn’t. Since your hs stats no longer impact the school’s reporting, there’s a bit less focus on that, so it’s easier to get in with slightly worse hs grades/scores. On the other hand, recommendations, essays, and extracurriculars are just as, if not more, important than for freshmen. </p>
<p>Also, you have to consider that a lot of transfers are people at similar institutions who just had a bad fit (ex transferring from northwestern to columbia), so it is harder to transfer up than it is to transfer across</p>