I applied to a few schools for freshman admission (undergrad), and am now applying as a transfer student. The schools are CMU, Cornell, Columbia, Penn, Stanford, and MIT. I applied to all as a freshman and ultimately got rejected by each.
Though I am changing my application this time round (i.e., I’m not reusing essays), will these universities pull up my old application and go through that as well? I ask because I wonder if I should repeat some things already I’ve mentioned in my old application, and because my new essays may be derivative of the old ones (particularly the “Why Us” essay), and wouldn’t want it to be a problem.
Also, will I have to resend all the documents I already sent them? Like high school transcripts, SAT Scores, etc.
Many of the users here that are familiar with the transferring process would advise you not to apply to universities that have rejected you in the past. It’ll be very challenging to convince them that enough has changed about your overall profile in such a short period of time for them to reconsider their previous decision.
With that said, if you feel that your overall application has greatly improved, and still wish to apply to those universities, then your best bet would be to simply send each institution an e-mail asking which documents they still have on file. In my experience, all of the schools I re-applied to (just two, really), still had my previous SAT scores and transcripts. Good luck!
@samc24 The reply above actually surprises me. I have seen lots of transfer students apply to Universities, which they were rejected from as a freshman, and get accepted. Furthermore, even lots of students apply as sophomore transfers, get rejected, and get accepted one year later. Additionally, I believe to have seen that some schools explicitly state that prior applications are not considered. Also, I think the amount of credits will play a big role. If you’re near 60 credits I highly doubt that your old application has any impact (unless of course you were rejected, because of something like cheating on an exam).
@Vincent1997 I’ve been around enough transfer students from my community college and here on CC to know that many have been rejected, too. If you’re applying straight out of high-school, first semester of college, as an attempt to get a “second shot”, then barring any truly outstanding achievement in your freshman year, you’ll most likely receive the same decision you did when you applied a semester ago.
If you have 2 years of college (which is generally 60+ credits), then yes, of course you’ve had plenty of time to show that you’ve excelled in college coursework and will be looked at more favorably. OP hasn’t mentioned his/her undergrad status (rising sophomore or junior).
@samc24 They wouldn’t have any reason not to- less paperwork for them. I wouldn’t be surprised if they still had your high-school transcripts and test scores on file.
@AGoodFloridian
In case it helps, I’m a current freshman.
I do believe I’ve done some great stuff since submitting my freshman application, and have been very involved in college.
Your chance would be much better if after being rejected from your application in high school, you were offered a transfer plan. I know of someone who was offered one by Cornell University. The person was rejected as a freshman applicant to Cornell and offered the plan. The person went to Tulane for a year, did extremely well and transferred to Cornell as a sophomore. USC makes similar offers too. Usually these offers, as in Cornell, are generally for legacies. I don’t know if other private schools make this type of offers.
@AGoodFloridian Yes, I agree. @samc24 Given that you are only a freshman, I’d say that admission will be very challenging. Especially to the schools that you are applying to. Also, I think time is a factor. How long ago were you rejected as a freshman? What are those “great things”?
@UCBUSCalum so are you recommending I apply to schools I didn’t apply to as a freshman? The only schools I didn’t apply to back then that I would like to attend are Caltech and Yale, both have abysmal transfer admit rates so I don’t see the point
@Vincent1997 I’m a freshman now, so I was rejected a year ago.
Without elaborating too much, since my rejection I’ve received a fellowship where I’m paid to develop my own app, am a part of an exclusive coding club, am part of student govt, have interned at a cybersecurity company, have completed 2 online courses, have captained 3 intramural basketball teams, attended 3 hackathons, have an on campus job, and participate in the improv comedy club. I also am on the Dean’s list with a 3.93 GPA, am a presidential scholar, and won an external scholarship for my writing.
I hope these are enough to be accepted this time round, but honestly I’m expecting all rejections. The application process continues to fool me!
What I am saying is that if your were rejected after applying as a freshman from high school AND you were offered a transfer plan by the school that rejected you, you would have a better chance of transferring by taking advantage of the transfer plan offer. As far as I know, Cornell and USC have such a plan. I don’t know if other private colleges have such a plan.
From another thread: “So I’m a freshman at Boston University studying computer science, and I absolutely love it here!”
OP, from the rest of your posts in that thread, it looks like you are prestige-hunting. It’s my understanding that selective schools like those on your list would look for a good reason for you wanting to transfer, i.e., your current college doesn’t offer a program or major that you’d like to pursue. How will you overcome that hurdle?
You are one of the lucky students who seems to be thriving at a well-regarded school that you love. Count your blessings.
It's easier for me to pursue an astronomy& physics minor/double major
I prefer the CS dept to be in the college of engineering (or a separate dept)
Better CS and astrophysics programs
For most of my choices I prefer the campus
For most I prefer the location/proximity to relatives
I like challeneges
I like stepping out of my comfort zone.
BU doesn't have men's club basketball
2 of these schools are D3 so I can try and walk on to the team
etc...
I’m not sure why my “reasons” for transferring keep coming up when I have very specific questions about the process. I have my reasons, but I didn’t think listing them would be necessary for the specific questions I have! @TransferStalker @suzy100 if you think I’m prestige hunting - go ahead! Like I said in my other post that has come up, prestige does have a slight role, but I have way more other reasons.
I’m sorry if this sounded rude in any way, but I came here confused and looking for answers, and I’d greatly appreciate some answers.
@samc24 It’s actually great that you ask this question–hopefully I can clarify for you and other transfer applicants who may be looking at this.
The reason why a lot of other users and I stress reasoning behind transferring is because, to be honest, it comes down to that for the colleges you’re applying to.
CMU’s, Columbia’s, Stanford’s, MIT,'s etc. transfer applicants are, for the most part, academically prestigious. A LOT of applicants have 4.0’s, perhaps fantastic ACT/SAT scores, glowing reviews from their professor’s etc. Their applicant pools are ridiculous, academically speaking.
If academic statistics were the only metric measured, the acceptance rates for these schools would skyrocket.
However what these schools are looking for isn’t only academic prestige; they want to see what this applicant can contribute to the school’s narrative. A student who simply wants to go up a few places on USNews’ Top Universities list (not implying that this is you!) will realistically contribute nothing to a school such as the ones you’re considering. And institutions WILL spot these types of applicants, and WILL deny them.
This is why users on this forum stress the question of “Why do you want to transfer?” so much.
If you really want to get away from your current school, you will apply to some new places, not just the schools that rejected you last year. Pull up the Common Data Set files for each school on your list. Most will be even more selective for transfers than for freshman applicants.
CMU 22% freshman acceptance rate and 10% for transfers
MIT 8 and 4
Stanford 5 and 2
@TransferStalker Okay, I understand. I do have my reasons, though.
And to be clear, though I will be happy staying here, I would be more happy at the aforementioned places (which is why I applied to those specifically during freshman admissions). I think it’s worth a shot.
Also, does anyone know the answer to my main (original) question from the post?
In general, yes they retain at least some records and the fact that they rejected your freshman application will be in your transfer admissions record. How heavily they weight that against you is unknowable.
Cornell in particular is known for telling students they really wanted (but didn’t have room for) to go somewhere else for a year and then transfer in.
