Is it possible to transfer from a UC 1 or 2 years in to an Ivy League school. If so, how does one do it?
It is exceptionally difficult. The Ivy League schools in general accept very few transfer students.
On the other hand, the various Universities of California range from very good to world class. You can get a very good education at any of them. The Ivy League and other top schools will still be there if you are looking to attend graduate school in the future.
I suppose that there are other UC’s other than the ones in California. The ones that I know of (Connecticut, Colorado, Calgary, Chicago) also range from very good to world class.
It is possible, but unlikely. Look at each school’s common data set, Harvard’s 2018/19 cds shows a transfer acceptance rate of 1%. https://oir.harvard.edu/common-data-set
There tend to be few openings at highly selective schools because not many students leave. The slots they do have will go to applicants who fill some type of organizational need.
Successful transfers may be athletic recruits, from the military, or coming from schools with established pathways to the Ivies, such as Deep Springs or some community colleges. Cornell brings in many NY CC transfers as they have articulation agreements with 40+ CCs.
Bottom line the odds of acceptance are low if not hooked, or at a school with an existing relationship. If you do apply, follow each school’s transfer app guidelines closely.
The Ivies will want to know what they can offer you that your UC does not. And if they get any sense that it is “prestige” they will deny you.
You may have a better chance trying to apply to Cornell, which some call the UC Merced of the Ivy League.
It’s is definitely possible.
I am a UCSC 2nd year psych student. Just applied this February and got accepted as a fall 2020 transfer at Cornell. I did not apply for other ivies except Cornell so I don’t know about other schools. It is very hard to predict for Cornell as well since they have contract with local CCs. So it’s meaningless to look at the acceptance stats.
My advice will just be keep up with everything, literally everything. Your GPA is very important, can’t stress that enough. Also extracurriculars, letter of recs, and the courses you take should match with the course plan of your intended major at Cornell.
Good luck to you!