Best Schools to Tranfer to the Ivy League

College Search & Selection
1

Hi,

I’m going to be going into my senior year of high school next year, and my lifelong dream has been to attend an Ivy League school (most notably Harvard, Yale, or Princeton), and since I know that this is also the dream of many other kids my age, I’m fully aware that there is a good chance I won’t get into one of these schools next year. So, my question is which schools do Ivies typically favor, if any, in the transfer process? And what specific college ECs will help a prospective transfer student stand out? I will list my projected high school stats below.

GPA UW: 3.8
GPA W: 4.14
ACT: 34 (English: 35, Reading: 35, Math: 31, Science: 33, Writing: 10)
SAT: 2300 (Critical Reading: 780, Writing: 800, Math: 720)
SAT II: Taking them over the summer, plan on taking two history related ones, most likely US and World. I got an A+ in both of those AP classes, so I imagine I’ll do well
11 AP Classes: US History, World History, European History, Human Geography, Chemistry, Biology, Literature & Composition, Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, US Government & Politics, Statistics
Marketing Internship for a local company that deals with ACT/SAT prep (Created and led a couple marketing campaigns in my school, got roughly 50 students to sign up for the service each time)
Second Marketing Internship with an online company, manned booths at college fairs around my city (Dallas)
100+ volunteer hours, mostly at my city’s courthouse
Have a pretty good chance at landing an internship with my Congressman, I was accepted for one this previous fall, but I had to decline because I wouldn’t be eligible for a service academy nomination, that policy has since changed. So that would be something I would list as an EC
Part-Time Job at a local country club, average 38 hours per week (just below full time, my boss is something else)
Debate Club (No leadership positions, was only in it for a year because the school I transferred to sophomore year didn’t offer it)
Baseball 9th & 10th grade, had to quit before my junior season due to extenuating family circumstances

I’m still planning on applying to the Ivies, but I realize that my ECs are not all that uncommon. Therefore, I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m most likely going to get denied, and then enroll in another university (whichever puts me in the best position to be accepted as a transfer), and attempt to transfer in my sophomore or junior year. Are there any colleges that come to mind as very popular with Ivy admissions offices for transfer students?

2

Princeton does not offer transfers.

3

Whenever students, other than those bound for local community/county colleges, discuss transfer options before they even step foot onto a campus (much less before initiating the actual application process), I can’t help likening them to people preparing for weddings while contemplating who and what their next husband or wife will be. It is no easier to get into an “Ivy” as a transfer than it is as a freshman. Most who do had unusual personal circumstances, such as military service or acute disadvantages. If, say, Yale rejects you next year, they probably aren’t going to accept you as a sophomore or junior transfer. I went to Barnard in the 1970s. Barnard and Columbia were filled with students who never quite got over their rejections from Harvard, and who continued submitting transfer applications instead of appreciating the marvelous institution they were attending (probably superior to Harvard in terms of undergraduate education). Find a good list of reach, match, and safe schools that provide the academic and social environments you want. Nobody likes desperation. Slavish attachment to the “Ivy” brand will not make you a more attractive applicant than genuine intellectual curiosity and a character that will contribute to any college you attend will.

4

It’s easier to get offered a spot as a freshman applicant than as a transfer. This is a plan designed for failure. Whereas your academic achievements will likely land you at a fantastic school – and no one could probably tell you the qualitative difference between USNWR #2 or #1 and #15 and #11

5

Harvard accepeted 15 students of 1448 applicants a few years ago for transfers. Princeton does not take transfers.Yale took 26 out of 970 applicants a few years ago as well. The point is you need to be extremely extraordinary to get a transfer acceptance. You have better (but very minuscule)chances applying as a freshman. Either way the point is that going from cornell to harvard will not give you a better chance than applying from northwestern or nigh for example. You need something to disguise you from 1448 other people. Apply as a freshman this upcoming year, you are a competitive applicant with your gpa and test scores and who knows, you may even get in this year!

6

Thanks for all your responses!! I realize I must have come across as only being open to going to an Ivy League school, and that isn’t the case. I was just curious if there were any schools that would be good to apply to that Ivies like Harvard and Yale are more likely to consider than others with regards to transfers. I just think going to Yale or Harvard would be an awesome experience, and if I get denied next year at the ones I would be interested in, I wouldn’t mind setting myself up for the possibility of attempting to transfer (even though the acceptance rate is roughly 2%) if I still really wanted to. Gatortristan, thank you for answering my question. I wasn’t sure if there would be a difference in being really involved at Cornell with a 3.96 GPA and being really involved at say somewhere like Baylor or Colorado College with the same GPA.

7

Your strategy is madness, akin to wondering who you can date in order to land the spouse you really love. Pick a college that is a fit, and then get on with your life!

8

As others have already stated, you “plan” is nonsense. Let’s be honest… if you do not get into HYP as a first-year, it is even more unlikely that you will get in as a transfer. Also, it is a VERY BAD idea to think about transferring even before you step foot on some other campus… you will be setting yourself up for unhappiness and failure. You will lack the commitment to engage with the campus, to really make friends if you are constantly thinking about moving on.

Get it out of your head that this is a “plan”. It’s not… it’s delusion.

9

Most Ivy transfers are from other Ivies or Ivy-caliber schools. Usually, the reason is very specific - the transfer school offers a specific program/professor/major unavailable at the home school.

10

You guys are ruthless XD I’m glad you guys didn’t discourage Jimmy Carter from transferring to the Naval Academy or Obama from transferring to Columbia! Probably bad examples, but examples nevertheless :P. Besides, this isn’t really a plan at all, it was just something I was curious about if I decided I wanted to pursue it. Better to have all my bases covered than just go in blind.

11

President Obama was very fortunate to have the opportunity to transfer to Columbia – but you have to understand that the school was far less selective in those days! In the early 1980’s, when Obama came in, Columbia had gone through some hard times financially and accepted about 50% of its applicants -it was still male only, and suffering a lot from that as well in terms of popularity. I believe Columbia went co-ed the year after Obama graduated. Bottom line: what worked in 1981 isn’t going to work in 2017.