Berkeley transfer (to Duke)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Duke University
1

Hello everyone,

Thank you for reading this. I am a rising sophomore at Berkeley and would like to transfer. I was hoping that I could grow into Berkeley’s environment but it has not happened yet. I am concerned about safety. I would also prefer a smaller school 9some classes are 1500 students) with a better organized administration. Duke was one of my top three schools when I applied as a freshman and I got waitlisted and then rejected.

Some of my friends at Cal are discouraging me and say that transferring is very hard and mostly for community college students. Do you know of anyone who transferred from a university similar to Berkeley?

They also say that it is impossible to transfer to Duke since Berkeley has the HAAS UGBA program and is ranked #1 for Econ and a lot of other majors. (aka I do not have a compelling reason).

I am also concerned that my “unfocused path” will be a red-flag:

Fall 18: (undecided)

Psychology
environmental Science
Math
Rhetoric

Spring: (tentatively architecture)

Innovative Design
History of Art
Environmental Design 1 (architecture)
Environmental Design 4c (thermodynamics etc)
Architecture and Writing Class
Freshman seminar architecture
Digital Tools for Architects

May - August 2019:
INTERNSHIP: MARKETING AND UI/UX DESIGN at a start-up that led me to marketing/business

Summer 2019: (marketing/business/econ)

Intro Art Class
Intro Econ Class
Business Class on Project Management

I would love to hear whether I have a chance, what schools I could consider that are equally good (compared to Berkeley) and how I can create a compelling story despite Berkeley’s high rankings.

Thank you so much!

Here is some more info about my background:

I got waitlisted at Duke as a freshman and then rejected.

I was born and raised in Germany, English is my second language.

Cal GPA:
3.85 (after year 1)
31 credits after freshman year

Highschool: (ABITUR)
(in Germany so NC 1.0, about 4.0 GPA)

SAT:
R/W: 690 Math: 680
(my German school had a very different curriculum and I had to prepare myself)

TOEFL:
107

Activities:

High school:
student government president,marketing chair, volunteer tutor for refugee kids, paid journalist, tennis, swimming, orchestra

Berkeley:

Fall ‘18:
Rowing

Spring ‘19:
President of Hall Association
The Berkeley project volunteer
Tennis association
APX co-Ed educational Architecture Fraternity Chair of Fundraising

Volunteer over winter break for food bank and environmental film festival

Volunteer for Until there is a Cure (HIV research)

2

Your friends are both right and wrong:

  1. yes it’s very hard to transfer. If you seriously want to transfer, you’ll have to look into many more schools than Duke. In addition, students rarely get into universities that rejected them. In other words, find 10+ universities to apply to and only one should be Duke.
  2. for top universities the transfers are lateral, ie., from a prestigious 4-year college, not from a community college. Community College transfers to UCs is the most common route but it doesn’t pply to top private universities/LACs.

What are your budget limits (65k like at UCB more? Less?)

What about Claremont McKenna or Pomona? What about Williams, Colgate, Bates, Bowdoin? What about Georgetown, Penn, WashU, Northwestern?

3

Transferring to T10 schools are generally hard, as the acceptance rates generally fluctuate between 1% and 8%. Indeed, transferring as a junior is even harder than transferring as a sophomore, but it is not completely impossible. I feel like you can create a compelling reason to transfer. Your preference for smaller class sizes with a focus on undergraduate education is totally doable. The reason for transferring does not always have to be because one wants a better program/education. I have experience transferring between T10 schools, and my reason for doing so in my applications was not because of better academics. Transferring is finding a school that better fits you, and Cal does not seem like the right fit for you. If you are firm on transferring, I would suggest looking at other schools as well like Duke.

4

Thanl you so much die yöur response and encouragement. My friend got into UPENN after having been waitlisted and then rejected last year (that’s why I have hope for Duke… they must have seen some sort of potential in me…???).

I actually got into Claremont McKenna and really wanted to go. My family said their alumni network wasn’t strong enough. I also got into Georgetown but I didn’t go because I didn’t know my major and Berkeley is Too 10 for so many fields (I now know that there is much more to a school than these rankings). So yes, I should definitely look I to these schools again and the other ones you listed. Thank you so much!! I really appreciate your advice.

5

@MYOS1634

6

Hello double penguin @doublepenguin !
Thank you so much for your response and encouraging me! I am beyond happy to hear that it is doable! May I ask what your reason was? Did you transfer as a junior? How was adjusting to a new school?
Congratulations by the way. That is amazing

7

I think that it is worth an application. Definitely do not count on being accepted.

Your reasons seem reasonable to me. Your Berkeley GPA is strong (as was your high school GPA). I am not concerned at all about your uncertainty regarding a major during your freshman year of university. Most students change their major at some point, and your freshman year is much better than later. Some universities in North America do not even let you pick a major until the end of your freshman year.

8

Reasons for staying and finishing up at Berkeley

  • if it was really unsafe, there would be many news stories to this effect. You will survive.
  • Duke is more expensive and transfer students rarely get financial aid.
  • the education will be comparable, per your own observation.
9

Your College Confidential username, if truly your only options, may be enough of a reason for Duke to accept you as a transfer student.

10

For non Californians, UCB tends to be a better option for grad school.
It’s strange your parents thought McKenna had a less tightknit alumni network and picked UCB because of that+ rankings. Check with them for your transfer in case they have other criteria that aren’t immediately understandable.
Be aware that transferring is harder than getting in as a freshman.
Getting in as a transfer after being rejected is not likely but you can of course apply and see. Make a new list and include universities where class sizes and faculty: ratio is lower. Being in the honors college would also matter at many large public universities- chek quality of honors college at the website ‘public honors’.

11

Although rates of admission vary year-to-year, some elite universities (Vanderbilt is one example) have higher admit rates for transfers than for incoming freshmen.

12

@Publisher Haha, thank you. I created it when I got waitlisted as a freshman and trying to find arguments for Duke because my family said that Berkeley is better for science (which is what they wanted me to explore). Unfortunately I never made it off the waitlist…

13

@“Calgirlorbluedevil?” I transferred as a sophomore between two T10 schools of similar prestige/academic reputation, but I was looking for a school that was more urban since I was pretty firm on what opportunities I wanted in a city. Although graduating from Berkeley would be nice, I think a great 4-year college experience is more valuable than a college diploma. To be really honest, I really think college is what you make out of it, so if after two years at Berkeley, you feel like you would thrive better at Duke, I definitely think it’s a viable reason. Colleges ultimately want students that would enjoy their college-experience, not have students that want to leave/graduate early.

I think the general notion that a lot of people have about transferring to elite schools in the T10-T15 range is that you need a really great college GPA (somewhere in between a 3.8 and 4.0). I transferred having a 3.5 in my first semester of college and I still successfully did so between T10 schools. Of course, it might be because I transferred from another T10 school, not a CC or lower tier school. However, I still think if you craft your application and prove you have a viable reason, such as personal fit to a school, it is very possible, not impossible. Plus, I also transferred to a school that also rejected me when I was a senior in high school, so I was in the same boat with you right now.

14

Thank you for your input @damon30 . I do not doubt that I won’t survive but college should not be about that. I did in fact have some physical encounters that were definitely not okay. Since I pay out of state the fincakl readin does not apply to me. But I do in fact believe that Berkeley has amazing academics and I am grateful to be here. I just think I could be happier at a different institution and want to see whether I have options. No matter what happens I will take advantage of the opportunities that will be given to me — here at Cal or elsewhere.

15

@doublepenguin That is amaaazing. Congrats again! I am so happy to hear that.

16

Btw, I’m not sure why why posters frequently state that transfer students do not often receive financial aid. Many selective private colleges meet the full demonstrated financial need of their transfer students on the same basis as that for first-year students. Though you indicated this wouldn’t apply to you, @“Calgirlorbluedevil?”, you might want to be aware of it in case it might.

17

Thank you @merc81 My friend who is transferring from Berkeley to UPENN actually gets better financial aid there. So yes, I think it’s a myth too :slight_smile:

18

There are two situations for transfers:
The “meet need” universities meet full need for freshmen and offer financial aid for transfers but generally do not guarantee to meet full need for transfers. So, they get some financial aid but would have had more as freshmen. Examples would include Vanderbilt or UPenn. Although they’ve tried to fave local CCs, most of these universities prefer lateral transfers. There are about 40 universities in that category.
The “need blind/do not meet need” universities do not offer significant merit scholarships for transfers. As a result transferring becomes expensive as no aid beside the Federal loan is offered.
@“Calgirlorbluedevil?” : You can’t compare a full need university (Penn) to a university that is expressly prohibited from offering financial aid to OOS applicants and has very little merit aid, with most aid being state-awarded, need-based.

19

I am sorry if I said something that’s wrong. Thank you for clarifying

20

@MYOS1634