Hi, I’m currently a freshman looking to transfer from a decent public school in the midwest. I’m here at my safety school because it was the cheapest option, but I really wanted to attend a top LAC I was admitted into. I had good grades and test scores in high school and graduated in the top 10% of my class. I took many AP classes and was president of many clubs. I want to transfer because I’m worried that my school doesn’t have a legitimate department for my major (it doesn’t stand alone as a major and needs a backup major). Although I’m making very good grades, in the honors program, and have relationships with my professors and other officials in my department, I’m worried I’m not doing enough to appear as a stand-out transfer applicant. I’m currently only in one club due to a busy schedule with classes, and many of my high school activities are not offered here for me to pick up and continue. Does anyone have any tips/advice if I were looking to apply to more selective schools which are better suited for my major (Northwestern, NYU, Columbia, Tufts)? Also, will the prestige (or lack of) negatively impact my application when applying alongside students from competitive/selective schools?
What has changed with your financial status? It’s more difficult for transfer students to get aid than incoming freshman.
Your grades in college will speak for themselves in your transfer application.
Be sure that you are making a compelling argument for why the academics are not available in your current school.