<p>I'm a high school senior entering into college in fall 2012. I already know I am transferring as soon as I can which is probably fall 2013, but I know nothing about this process, including what I should be doing as a college student in order to look like an attractive candidate to a more rigorous school.</p>
<p>I need all the advice I can. What should I be doing RIGHT NOW in order to make sure I can make a successful transfer? I don't want to be scrambling like I did for the original college applications. I know I need to maintain a high GPA, get involved, etc. but what else is crucial? Internships this summer?</p>
<p>Also, how do I fill gen eds for every college I’m going to apply to? All have different requirements which I may not be able to transfer credit for, so does this mean I’ll be taking a few extra classes as a transfer?</p>
<p>Lastly, I’m going to transfer out of UIUC or UIowa. I know the difference between the two isn’t much in terms of “prestige”, but do colleges care that UIUC is slightly more reputable than UIowa? I mean, do they want to know that I’ve established first a solid baseline and then I’m moving onto their college?</p>
<p>Certainly maintain a high GPA/good grades and be involved. Get to know your professors as you will need recommendation letters. A summer internship will certainly help you but is not crucial. As a sophomore transfer you may not have a lot of credits/grades/college stuff for a college to look at and your high school record may still be very important.</p>
<p>The transfer process is not all that different from the freshmen application process. You will need to send high school/college transcripts, along with essays/supplements, recommendation letters, etc. Most essays will ask you why you wish to transfer, so perhaps start thinking about writing those.</p>
<p>Look up transfer requirements for schools you wish to transfer to and attempt to fulfill those requirements. It is possible that you will have to take a few extra classes as a transfer, or summer classes before you enter the university you transfer to.</p>
<p>As for the difference between UIUC and UIowa - I am under the impression that UIUC is a slightly better school that is quite strong in engineering/computer science related fields, while Iowa may have stronger programs in English/Arts - but I am also not too familiar with either. The difference between the two does not seem to be that large, and most likely will not affect a transfer application.</p>
<p>I do not necessarily think that it is a good idea to enter a university with the mindset that you will transfer out, but if you are certain best of luck to you. : )</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice :). And rinata, I know I’m transferring because I want to pursue a different career path, and my options right now don’t have the programs to help me. I’m definitely going to make the most out of my first college though.</p>
<p>And should I be going to UIUC because it’s slightly… I don’t know, “better”. It is overall a stronger school, but it’s not quite as strong as Iowa in English/Arts, which I may or may not pursue. Difficult to decide which is more important: open options or a specific and strong program.</p>
<p>I’m also an incoming UIUC freshman and I plan to transfer as well. Maybe we can help each other out? I’m a business student, by the way.</p>
<p>I have a question for everyone: I’ll be starting my freshman year this fall; if I want to start my sophomore year next year, doesn’t that mean that I have to apply in November-December this year? For instance, UC Berkeley’s transfer application deadline is November 30th. I know the answer is almost definitely to the affirmative, but I was just concerned that three months in UIUC may be insufficient to have done anything of note.</p>
<p>Does anyone have an advice for students hoping for a sophomore transfer?</p>
<p>You’ve heard this before, transferring UP as a soph is difficult due to the brief college record you will have when decisions are made. That said, about all you can do is:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Take a full time load of solid academic courses (ie. no ‘just for fun’, underwater basket weaving classes).</p></li>
<li><p>Take all classes for grades, and get top marks.</p></li>
<li><p>If possible during your first semester, take a fr seminar or other smaller class. Participate in discussions so that you can stand out and get to know your prof and later request a LOR from them.</p></li>
<li><p>Get involved and participate in college ECs.</p></li>
<li><p>Have excellent reasons to transfer.</p></li>
<li><p>Write compelling essays.</p></li>
<li><p>If applying to highly selective colleges, retesting SAT or ACT (not Subject tests) may be appropriate.</p></li>
<li><p>Finally, you only have one fr year, give your college a chance, get involved and make friends.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I have almost the same situation as you two. I’m going to uiuc this fall majoring in economics. Also, I’m trying to transfer to more prestigious schools in sophomore or junior year. </p>
<p>I have a very general question: relatively speaking, which universities are easy to transfer to? I heard from some people saying NYU is easy to transfer, but I also have lots of doubt on that, since I saw that a very small proportion of applicants were actually admitted as freshman. </p>
<p>Hallo, Waverly!
Thank you for you advice!
Just wondering if I have to improve my SAT to be competitive enough for schools like NYU and Umich. I’ve got a 2140, but reading is not that high as the verbal and math (M 790, R 610, V 740). I was kinda worried about that.</p>
<p>Retaking your SATs with a 2100+ isn’t (in my opinion) a good use of your time, imtransfer. Have good reasons to transfer, write a well thought out essay, and you’ll be fine.</p>
<p>It depends on which school you’re applying to, the website will say whether or not it accepts college retakes.</p>
<p>I would generally agree about not retaking a 2100. But if the R stands for CR (and V is W?), a 610 is low for soph transfers to highly selective colleges. However, what could also help this likely more than a retake is an A in a fr writing course.</p>
<p>Also, you should keep in mind the cost of transferring. Some schools may or may not set aside money for transfer students. I know some schools also don’t guarantee housing.</p>
<p>ChicagoHope16 – your transfer app will be due this November if you want to go in as a sophomore.</p>
<p>I actually just completed the transfer process and will be going in as a sophomore as well. One thing is that your high school stats need to be strong. You will need to show them that you can maintain a good GPA for college as well, but they are going to be looking a lot at your high school record if you only have one semester of college under your belt. And be sure to do great second semester too, because a lot of colleges will ask to see midterm grades.</p>
<p>Another thing to look at is transfer friendly colleges. This list shows the top 50 colleges and how many transfers they accepted versus transfers.</p>
<p>You can also look at colleges with the highest acceptances for transfer students.</p>
<p>[Highest</a> Transfer Acceptance Rates - Transferweb](<a href=“Highest Transfer Acceptance Rates - Transferweb”>Highest Transfer Acceptance Rates - Transferweb)
Granted, some of these colleges have special deals with community colleges in their area. But even some of the top 50 schools are transfer friendly, so their transfer acceptance rates are higher than their freshman ones. In some cases, you may be able to get in as a transfer student when it would have been difficult as a freshman.
Best of luck! If you need any help, feel free to PM me.</p>
<p>The fact that if I decide to apply as a sophomore transfer I need really good high school stats makes me nervous. </p>
<p>On the surface my high school stats seem ok. 4.2ish GPA in a large public urban high school (very far from being elite or competitive) and top 7 percent of my class, but I had an awful junior year after which at one point my weighted GPA was down to 3.8 at the end of that year due to me barely passing two classes and getting straight C’s in another. I was only able to bring myself back by taking all AP classes senior year and a college dual enrollment, but my grades still aren’t where they should be for the top schools. Fortunately my lowest grade and only B is in AP calc BC, but I’m not liking some of the A-'s I’m getting. I’m afraid that even if a get a 4.0 next semester in college I still won’t have good enough cumulative stats to be competitive.</p>
<p>Yes! I can speak to this. My math scores were not super competitive for the schools I got into, but I aced Calc I, II, and III at my current institution, so I think it shed some light on my real abilities in math.</p>