<p>I'm currently a freshman at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, and I'm interested in transferring to a more reputable engineering school for my sophomore year. What schools do you think would be a good match for me?</p>
<p>Male
White/Asian</p>
<p>Competitive public school in TN
GPA: 3.7 UW, ~4.1 W, upward trend
ACT: 32 (33 math, 32 science)
Extracurriculars: Pretty mediocre...Astronomy Club, JROTC, some NYLF forum of medicine at UCLA</p>
<p>University of TN-Knoxville
GPA: expecting a 3.8-4.0 based on current courseload, upward trend in high school, and grades so far.
Schedule: Honors Chem, Honors Calc I, English I, Engineering Fundamentals
Recommendations: I have no idea, hopefully pretty good.
Essays: Not phenomenal, but I have written great admissions essays in the past.
Extracurriculars: None, yet. Planning to get involved in some if I don't get a part-time job.</p>
<p>I'm planning on applying to one reach and maybe 2-3 matches...what schools that accept freshman transfers would you recommend? Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>Nice stats. For computer engineering, I would recommend schools in areas that are hotbeds for computer science.</p>
<p>Consider:</p>
<p>Texas (UT Austin, Rice)
Washington (U Washington)
Silicon Valley (Stanford, UC Berkeley)
Massachussets (MIT)</p>
<p>You may want to select a school where you intend to settle down. All of the schools I indicated would likely be "reach" schools.</p>
<p>It is likely that you'll have to stay at UT and transfer your junior year. Your high school record won't really matter. Just work hard and get good grades...Don't let this transfer issue distract you from your studies.</p>
<p>I have considered Georgia Tech and will most likely apply there. Do you think Stanford, Berkeley, and MIT would be reaches for me? I'd be thrilled to go to Berkeley, though I'm almost certain they wouldn't consider me, even if I do meet my expected GPA. Thanks a bunch for the input; I'm definitely going to look into these schools more thoroughly.</p>
<p>Berkeley would be a stretch because you're OOS... But, I've read articles that not as many people are majoring in computer science...</p>
<p>Advice: Get stellar grades at UT and write an awesome essay for your transfer detailing how Berkeley (or any other school) would give you more opportunities than UT.</p>
<p>If you don't get into the school of your dreams, you'll still have opportunities at UT, maybe go to grad school at your dream school...try to find an internship for a company you'd like to eventually work. Computer science techies are in huge demand.</p>
<p>Thanks again for the advice. I'll be content with staying at UT, even though its engineering program isn't top notch, though I'll still be using the possibility of transferring as motivation for keeping my GPA up to standard.</p>
<p>^ Getting strong grades and having the appropriate skills for the workplace will take you a lot farther than a name brand degree. Several years after graduation, the college will be a footnote to your resume.</p>
<p>You're doing right by picking an academically challenging and rewarding degree.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I assume you are receiving in-state tuition at UT. Going out of state potentially will cost a lot more money. Weigh any extra cost with the expected premium a prestigous engineering school will offer you in terms of increased opportunity and starting salary.</p></li>
<li><p>Tennessee is a fast growing state. Cost of living is much cheaper and large businesses are flocking to the state (eg. FedEx and Nissan). Look at employment ads for careers that interest you in your home state to see if it has the opportunities you seek.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Oh, I have considered them. Tuition costs aren't a huge factor for me, as long as they're not something ridiculous like ~50k with no merit or need based aid. Also, UT Engineering has co-op and internship programs that I'm definitely taking advantage of. Who knows, if I can get an internship at Oak Ridge or a co-op with a major company, I'll probably have no desire of transferring.</p>
<p>I would also recommend looking into Cornell. Cornell has large transfer classes (over 500 each year) and an excellent college of Engineering, particularly in Electrical and Computer Engineering.</p>
<p>I have already looked into Illinois, Michigan, and Purdue. I can't apply to the first two until my sophomore year, though I'm definitely considering Purdue.</p>
<p>As for Cornell, I'm not sure if I should bother applying again (I got rejected last year). I'm trying to choose more realistic colleges this time instead of applying to just one dream school and a safety like I did last year.</p>