I am a high school senior currently and I was wondering if anybody can give me some tips on getting into Harvard as a transfer student. I plan on applying as an incoming sophomore. Things like what college should I choose, extra-curriculars, essays, grades etc would be helpful.
Harvard Transfer Tip #1: Apply as an incoming freshman.
It’s tougher to get into Harvard as a transfer than to apply from high school.
Harvard accepts about 12 to 15 transfer students per year from about 1500 applications – that’s an acceptance rate of less than 1%. The best advice you are going to find is on Harvard’s website: https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/application-process/transferring-harvard-college
My guess is that about half of the transfer acceptances each year go to recruited athletes. Successful academic admits must have a high college GPA (3.8-4.0) in a rigorous course load, strong recommendations from their professors (don’t take large classes, as your professors will need to know who you are when writing your recs) and must write a strong essay detailing academic reasons for the transfer. They must answer what Harvard offers them that they can’t find at their current college (whatever that college might be).
Clearly that is not an option anymore as I am a high school senior clearly stated above. Also, that is not a transfer tip and that is what this thread is intended for.
You may be a high school senior, but you haven’t given anyone a clue about yourself. Did you apply to Harvard and were rejected? Didn’t think of it in time, and now wish you did? Is there some special program or field that only Harvard can uniquely provide for you? You ask what college you should go to in order to facilitate a transfer. How should any of us know that? That’s completely dependent on where you got in. It’s almost May - TO WHAT COLLEGES WERE YOU ACCEPTED??
The nearly non-existent context of this thread gives rise to the best possible generic answer to the question: Don’t. Don’t plan on transferring. Generally, it’s unrealistic.
If you want something a little less generic, you may need to provide a little more context.
I see from your history that you are a disappointed Ivy applicant who has sought the same advice on pretty much every Ivy forum on the site including the Ivy that doesn’t take transfers. I also see that you were accepted to some truly excellent schools. I further see that you got pretty much the same advice.
Go to Northwestern or Notre Dame, and count your blessings.
As bright as you must obviously be to be accepted to NU and ND, you’ve really lost yourself here. You REALLY think that HYPennDmouth & Columbia are THAT much better than NU or ND? (Glad you wised up and removed Princeton from your target transfer schools). Or has your Ivy fever so infected you that you can’t see straight.
I said it before: people would give their left arms to go to NU or ND… you can’t see the bird you have in your hand and instead are chasing (again) Ivies. You’ll do yourself the biggest benefit by excelling at ND or NU.
I have gotten into Northwestern, UCLA, USC, Berkeley, UCSD, Notre Dame and a couple other schools I considered as backups. I am an Economics major. I was rejected as a regular decision applicant.
Just consider your backups as your reaches and yay! you got in them! That’s what went down, they put the sorting hat on you and you got lucky. Students that have to have the kind of hand holding you are asking for and be told what to do are not going to make it as a transfer because you have to be amazing at something without anyone telling you and do it just because.
Get high grades; make an impact in extracurriculars. Do an independent study. Travel: Then, apply to an Ivy for grad school.