Transfer Schools

I am currently at a top 50 private undergrad only college. We are ranked top ten for undergrad engineering by various rankers. Through my first two years it’s safe to say I will finish with a 3.5-3.6 GPA as a double major in mechanical engineering and computer science. What are the best schools I have a realistic chance at transferring into? What schools do I have a slim chance at getting into but should submit an app regardless? As far as ECs, I am a student athlete and an rotc cadet.

Why do you want to transfer?

I got into much stronger schools out of high school. I had good grades, but this was mostly a result of being a highly recruited student athlete. (Ivy,Duke,Stanford,MIT) I took a scholarship at a weaker but still good school(like I mentioned top 50 by Forbes). I’ve had a lot of issues with injury in my sport and also want to be at a more recognized school that has strong grad programs as well.

Can you tell us what school you are at now?

When I read “undergrad only college” and “top ten for undergrad engineering” I think Harvey Mudd.

If I am guessing right, and if you want to transfer to somewhere considered stronger for engineering, then there pretty much isn’t anywhere. You could I suppose look at MIT, Caltech, and Stanford. You might put these as “slim chance at getting into but could submit an app regardless”. I am not convinced that you would get a better undergraduate education at any of them.

It’s a patriot league school. So it’s not as good as Harvey Mudd but it is competitive amongst the rankings. I’m seeing extremely low transfer rates among the other top schools, which is concerning when looking for places to submit apps.

First off, rankings are not reliable or even useful. Why kids use them to choose a school still eludes me. They’re nothing more than a subjective compilation based on a popularity contest, and should NEVER be used as a credible criteria for choosing a school.

Second, this transfer idea sounds like a solution looking for a problem. You’re at a school, that I’m venturing to say is ABET accredited, right? I’m not seeing a problem big enough to warrant a transfer. Transferring for the sake of prestige is a lousy reason to transfer, because the accreditation is identical for both schools…but in the process you lost thousands of dollars in nontransferable classes you have to re-take. Financial aid has limits, and that could come back to haunt you for your senior year.

Probably at Lafayette College or Bucknell University or Lehigh University.

If I understand correctly, you turned down Ivy, Stanford, MIT & Duke for an athletic scholarship at your current Patriot League school.

If you transfer, will you be a full pay student ?

Regardless of where I go, finance will not be a part of the decision. School will be paid for. My main concern is on what schools are realistic to transfer to and are strong in both computer science and mechanical engineering based on my current GPA and ECs. Any advice on the transfer process and applications would be greatly appreciated.