<p>I'm going to be a sophomore this year. I'm thinking about applying to Duke, Columbia, and Penn as a junior transfer. My rationale is to find a political science department that is better-suited for my interests than that of my current institution. Does anyone have any insight as to how much more difficult it is to get accepted as a junior transfer than as a sophomore? What are the key things I should keep in mind?</p>
<p>Also, for those who have gone through the process, what is the credit transfer process like? Were you able to transfer most of your credits?</p>
<p>To give you guys a better idea of my situation: I have about a 3.83 GPA after my freshman year and I don't expect it to change all that much before transfer time. At most, I'll be going into the application process with a 3.85.</p>
<p>My testing is pretty decent - 2360 (800M/790V/770W) on the SAT. A pair of 760s and a 750 on SAT Subject Tests.</p>
<p>I'm thinking about majoring in political science with a focus on comparative politics or international relations. I'm also interested in an econ minor and I'm one year away from a Japanese minor at my current institution.</p>
<p>Applying for junior transfer helped me because my high school GPA mattered less. It also meant that I had 3 full semesters instead of 1 to show what I can do, and meet the best professors to give me letters of recommendation. </p>
<p>One downside to being a junior transfer is that studying abroad during the school year doesn’t always work because schools will only accept two years worth of transfer credit and/or want you to have 2 years worth of credit taken at that institution. Another downside is that you may have another set of required classes to complete.</p>
<p>I think I read on college confidential somewhere that there are some schools that favor sophomore transfers, and there are others that don’t accept sophomore transfers at all. </p>
<p>I think the schools you listed are reaches for everybody, because they have low acceptance rates. If you really want to leave your current institution, then you will need matches and safeties… just like you needed when applying in high school. </p>
<p>An estimated number of transferable credits came with my acceptance letter. I lost a few credits in the process. It didn’t help that my new school calculates credits differently than my old school. </p>
<p>I agree that junior is typically better than sophomore. They have more college material to judge you by rather than high school. I transfered to umich from a community college as a junior.</p>
<p>It IS making it difficult to graduate on time though, because they have requirements and prereqs that must be taken at their school. So I may have to take an extra semester or two.</p>
<p>Hi – I’m transferring to Columbia College as a junior this year. I’m also planning on studying political science, and I can say with full confidence that the dept is AMAZING! PM me if you have any questions…but remember that junior year transfer is tough (at least to Columbia). Your stats look good though, and I’d be happy to help you any way I can!</p>