<p>Just inquisitive.</p>
<p>Regarding Harvard... you can check for Stanford, I was too lazy.</p>
<p>From CollegeBoard.com: Percent of students who return for sophomore year: 98%</p>
<p>From PrincetonReview.com: Freshmen Returning for sophomore year: 96%</p>
<p>So somewhere between 2-4% of freshman leave.</p>
<p>Granted that could be to financial concerns or family issues or maybe taking time off, so I would doubt that those 2-4% leave primarily on the "I just don't like Harvard" basis.</p>
<p>That is true, however it still means that based on the fact that Harvards enrollment is 6,649 (princeton review) there are likely 1662 in the freshman class, meaning that between 33 and 66 (2-4%) leave each year....so there are at least that many spots freed up theoretically...</p>
<p>Many Harvard and Stanford students are disappointed with their decision, although as that poster points out, few leave.</p>
<p>My dad thought Harvard was incredibly overrated while he was there (and still does), but instead of leaving he decided to keep working hard and graduate summa cum laude in 3 years. </p>
<p>His main complaint was that the instruction and coursework was poor and not given much attention by faculty. This is a fairly common refrain from students at elite schools (myself included; I went to Northwestern), as you can see in this New York Times article.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/10/education/10harvard.html?pagewanted=print[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/10/education/10harvard.html?pagewanted=print</a></p>
<p>It makes sense if you know that professors succeed almost entirely based on the quality of their research, not their teaching.</p>
<p>I’m deeply considering it. I may be one of the 1-4%. Where I’d transfer to, I have no idea. i just know that Harvard is not nearly what I had envisioned.</p>
<p>I know a chick who goes to UCB who transferred out of Harvard. Not entirely sure of why though, never really asked her.</p>
<p>I know someone at my school who transferred from Stanford…always wondered.</p>
<p>^^ better weather. (jk)</p>
<p>My friend who goes to Harvard said she knew four people who transferred out after freshman year because they felt it wasn’t challenging enough, and their money could be better elsewhere. Don’t know about Stanford though…</p>
<p>At my old college, I met a girl who transfered out of Harvard because it was TOO diverse. She said that there were so many different types of people there, that it was difficult to find anyone with similar interests. I’ve actually heard about this from a friend who currently attends as well.</p>
<p>I am transferring out of Stanford, and I am aware of at least 2 others who did the same (one to Brown, another to Amherst). Though I would say that even though about 3-5% of freshmen don’t come back for sophomore year, very few of those 50-80 people per freshman class actually leave for good. Most are taking time off temporarily for basically every reason under the sun.</p>
<p>its surprising to hear of people transferring out of these schools, but i know that the ideal for some can be imperfection for others…</p>
<p>IdreamofEA190,</p>
<p>Can you offer your reasons for transferring?</p>
<p>There was someone in my incoming transfer class (at Cornell) who came from Harvard. Don’t know any of the details.</p>
<p>silverturtle, there is a great deal of acrimony between me and Stanford, more than I want to say here. I don’t really want to spew venom all over this thread. If you want more specifics just PM me, and I’d be happy to talk about it one-on-one.</p>
<p>I know someone who dropped out of H after fr year, took a gap year to do research and then transferred to S.</p>
<p>This is true…I swear. I had a guy friend who went to Harvard and left becuase the women were so unattractive. He went off to Georgetown. So yes, it happens.
Or, you could be like our past Vice Pres. Mr. Dick and fail out. :/</p>
<p>Hi IdreamofEA190, would you be able to PM me about your reasons for transferring (I don’t qualify to PM b/c I don’t post anything)? I’m currently a Stanford freshman and have been seriously considering transferring myself. I would very much appreciate a second opinion on the matter. Really hope you get to read this.</p>
<p>Sorry, but this thread is 4 years old and looks like someone was previously unable to contact that poster. Under the old system you needed 15 posts before you could PM, not sure now. You might try posting in the Stanford forum asking if anyone knows students who transferred out and why. I suppose there are fit reasons why someone might transfer. </p>