High School:
SAT 1540/1600
GPA 4.0 UW, 5.2 W
Caltech freshman year GPA: 4.2/4.3 (first two terms completely P/F because of school policy)
Lots of ECs in high school, less at Caltech (members of a couple clubs, VP of one)
Currently a rising sophomore planning on transferring out for fall of 2021. I would have transferred this year as a freshman but I wanted to give it a chance; however, after a year there I truly feel that the school isn’t a good fit. I originally planned on being a CS major then becoming a software engineer (I didn’t know what I wanted to study when applying out of high school, and I think I chose it just because I felt like that was what was expected) but have realized that career path isn’t for me. I’d like to major in Economics (maybe double in CS or if there’s a joint CS/Econ major that would be ideal) and try to break into finance or consulting. I know the transfer admission rates are insanely low but is it realistic for me to transfer to Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Columbia? I’m also open to any other suggestions for schools to apply to (just please no tech schools). My reasons for transferring are the limited social life, not many classes/narrow range of classes in economics, rather weak economics program in general, overall focus of the school is too theoretical, and lack of alumni in finance (almost all the alumni are in quant/securities not IB) and not a very strong network in consulting. Honestly I just want a more liberal arts type education with a more diverse group of people; I think I’m restricted in terms of personal growth being surrounded by a such a small class (~220 people) of other STEM-only majors.
One of my main concerns is not being able to get strong recommendation letters because our freshmen classes were all ~200 people and we’ve been online since coronavirus happened. It’s looking like we’re going to still be online at least for fall term.
I’m also slightly concerned because I’ve heard the particular schools I’m looking at take mostly first-year transfers. Will being a sophomore at the time of application hurt me or is it just because most people who apply to transfer happen to be freshmen?
Any other general advice would also be much appreciated. Thanks!
I can’t speak to the other schools on your list, but Princeton only recently resumed accepting transfer students (after a long hiatus), and the transfer program is mostly designed for students who are coming from a community college or from the military. Almost all of the dozen of so students they’ve been accepting each year fit this profile. So I’d cross Princeton off your list.
@NASA2014 I listed most of the reasons above in my original post. Caltech does not have a very strong econ program and has a more quantitative approach to econ than most other schools. There is also a limited selection of econ courses, and I don’t see the logic in attending a school like Caltech for a social science major like economics. Academics aside, it’s a fit issue as well as my desire to be on a larger campus with a more diverse group of students who study other subjects, not just STEM.
You can look at the common data set/do google searches to see how few transfers those schools take:
Stanford accepted 24/2,466 (under 1%)
Yale accepted 27/1,254 (about 2%)
Columbia accepted fewer than 10% of transfer applicants – this would be a tough school to transfer into as a junior as there is an extensive core curriculum that has to be completed before graduation.
The elite schools are very difficult to transfer into. It is fine to give it a try but if a transfer doesn’t work I would consider finishing up at CalTech and trying to take one or even two semesters abroad or at another college that has a program with CalTech to try and get some more economics classes in.
Claremont McKenna College might be the school that you are seeking. If you need a quick dose of heavy tech & quant, just take a course at neighboring Harvey Mudd College.
While Princeton is unlikely to accept you, it is still worth a shot as CalTech may captivate their interest.
P.S. Northwestern University & Vanderbilt University are transfer friendly. Northwestern offers financial aid to transfers if there are remaining funds.
The ivies are going to be tough. Like previously mentioned, cross Princeton off your list. You could try Yale, Harvard, and Stanford, but I think it’s going to be hard without some crazy EC’s or hooks. Columbia is slightly easier, but that core curriculum will probably force you to graduate late. I think Cornell (Dyson or CAS/ILR), Penn (Wharton or CAS), and Brown are your best options because Dartmouth doesn’t accept many transfers. You could also try all the top undergrad b schools (Ross, Stern, Mcintire, ect.) if you’re dead set on IB. Rice is solid for Houston placement. Duke is great for the Southeast and NYC. Vandy is solid for the Southeast and sends some people to NYC. Northwestern for Chicago and some NYC. Some of the top LACs are great too, but like Dartmouth, they don’t admit many transfers. I’d look on wallstreetoasis for some more help. All I can say is don’t count on HYS. Princeton shouldn’t even be a consideration.
Most actual economists would say quantitative=strong.
Also, the schools you listed are super-reachy (except possibly Columbia GS after taking a year off). Honestly, I also don’t see much in common between some of them besides prestige and accoutrements thereof.
What is the end goal? If it is something banal like IB, as other people have mentioned, schools that are easier to transfer in to like Cornell and Vandy (also Cal/UMich/UVa b-schools) can get you there.
S1’s HS buddy transferred to Columbia after his Freshman year at Georgetown, so it can be done. Caltech has a terrific rep, and you seem to have good grades and clear reasoning for transferring. Good luck.
@PurpleTitan I don’t consider Caltech’s econ program to be very strong because there aren’t very many econ faculty and there’s a limited selection of courses (and we barely have any econ majors). Econ isn’t Caltech’s focus at all; Caltech’s strengths and attention are all in its traditional STEM subjects and not the social sciences. The social sciences are designed to be sort of supplement majors for a main STEM major. I know the schools I listed are all super difficult to get into but I eliminated the public state schools for financial reasons and because I want a liberal arts education at an institution with a strong alumni network.
The end goal isn’t exactly just IB; I’ll try for it but I just want to be able to meet and interact with a more diverse group, not just STEM students, and be somewhere I can be happy at because I think Caltech culturally is the wrong fit. I’m aware that it might not work out for me but I’m just evaluating my options right now. Thank you for suggesting Cornell and Vanderbilt though, I’ll definitely look into those
Cornell is probably a good place to transfer. However, don’t be surprised if you are accepted. Cornell is the easiest Ivy school to get accepted but hard to graduate from. So if you do get accepted prepare to work very hard.
Since you think you want an LAC-type experience, it might make best sense to take a leave of absence from CalTech, and apply for transfer for January 2021 or even fall 2021 as a sophomore transfer. That way you would have an extra year for the LAC experience. Transferring in as a junior is likely to mean that you are only taking courses in your major plus one or two gen eds that you missed by not being there sooner.
Dyson has the lowest acceptance rates of all the Cornell colleges. It will not be easy to transfer there either. Also a note that transfer numbers at Cornell are artificially higher because they give so many students the guaranteed transfer option and those students will have priority. Cornell also take students from community colleges in NYS.
@happymomof1 Do you happen to know if I take only one or two terms off next year (we’re trimester-type system) if I’d count as a sophomore instead of junior transfer or is it necessary to take the entire year off to qualify as a sophomore transfer?
Look at your target institutions. There may be no distinction at all as to “sophomore” or “junior” transfer at the time of application. Whether you are given freshman, sophomore, junior, or even senior status after admission will depend on how your credits transfer.
If I am correct that you want the LAC experience in large part in order to be able to take a lot of exploratory coursework in other fields of study, then enrolling with only one year of transfer credit would be to your advantage. You would have sophomore year to do some of that exploration before focusing on your major field in junior and senior year.
Your chances for top schools may not appear great by the percentages, but the percentages are not for applicants who have succeeded at truly peer schools, or better. Few of the applicants share your profile. The vast majority of applicants have done well at schools that are easier to be admitted to and are easier to succeed at.
I think you have a shot to get into a top school that has good IB recruiting. But I suggest apply to all of them that you would be happy to attend.