I’ve searched everywhere through the web, and it’s hard to find a post that answers the specific question, but how hard is it to transfer to a better college? I’m talking about like a rank 70 college to a rank 33 college…
or a rank 30 compsci program to a rank 9 compsci program…
huge jumps, but I’m talking about pulling off a 3.8-3.9 GPA
with decent extra curricular,
are my chances really low still?
Part of the problem is, you don’t know how many open spots there will be. A top 10 CS program is unlikely to lose a lot of students after freshman year. One of my kids attends a “top 20” university and is in the business school and after freshman year, they didn’t accept any new kids in the program and that includes kids that were already attending the school as “undecided major”. I believe if you check the schools common data set, you will be able to see how many transfers they have accepted in the past
In most cases it isn’t worth it. In terms of getting into graduate schools or getting a job these aren’t “huge jumps”, they are “minor changes that hardly anyone is going to care about”. For computer science, a degree from a program ranked 30th versus a program ranked 9th won’t have any effect on your chances of getting a good job (which will be strong from either program if you know you stuff and can do whatever the hiring company needs done).
Yeah I know, but looking at the profile, they do accept a lot every year (around 25-30% for computer science).
But the reason why I post this thread is to wonder, are most of the people who apply from like top schools only? That’s why I wonder what my chances are if I’m applying from somewhere like Rutgers 
Transfer students come from a plethora of different universities, some are from top universities, some are from no-name state school.
Schools place much more emphasis on your academic performance, not necessarily where you’re transferring from. Usually, a student attending a Top 5 school wouldn’t transfer to Rutgers.
I agree with @DadTwoGirls . The workplace puts emphasis on skill and experience, not whether you attended ___ University.
And besides, at some point when you reach towards the top of the rankings list, prestige is lost. Who cares if you went to Chapel Hill vs Duke? They’re both amazing schools, regardless of their “distance” in ranking. At the end of the day, the reason why most transfer applicants want to make a big jump in ranking is because they want the “prestige” or the satisfaction of attending a “better” institution. And that’s totally fine! If rank is what sufficiently motivates you to work your butt off, more power to you!
However, just know that there is no real practical reason to transfer to a higher ranked institution.
If you’re thinking of obtaining a Masters degree, you’re better off potentially saving your money, kicking butt in your classes, and applying to a reputable graduate program.