<p>I am going to be a freshman at Berkeley this fall. I am an OOS, which means the fees are high and I am continually stressed about the high tution. I would like to transfer from Berkeley to another school which is better for my major (buisness/economics) like upenn or harvard. What are the chances of me being able to transfer in sophmore year? I know tution is high at those type of schools also, but it's more of being able to "get more bang for my buck".</p>
<p>any advice or previous questions like this on CC would be helpful please. thanks</p>
<p>I’m in your situation as well. Unfortunately, the HYPSM schools have extremely low transfer rates because of their competitiveness and because the spots that open up from people leaving is low. I was looking at stats for Stanford and in one year, only 24 transfers were accepted.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Since Berkeley is a public school, and, as you mentioned, you’re out-of-state, you will be what amounts to private school tuition for a public school. That being said, Berkeley’s undergrad business school currently ranks 3rd. Moreover, it has a strong undergrad econ program. If you truly do mean “better for your major,” at least in terms of business, your only other options are UPenn and MIT. (With econ, there is arguably more flexibility, particularly with Ivy Leagues. This leads me to my next point.)</p></li>
<li><p>You may want to determine your preference toward either business or econ before moving forward. Keep in mind that they are truly different: the former is more practically-based, the latter more theoretically-based. As mentioned above, if business is your first choice, if you want to retain the caliber of Haas (Berkeley’s b-school), Whorton (UPenn’s) and Sloan (MIT’s) are your only options. If it’s the other way around, I’d then more strongly consider Harvard, Princeton, etc.</p></li>
<li><p>Consider the requirements for your possible destinations. Whorton expects entering (to Whorton) sophomores to have completed one semester of calculus (5 on BC, 1A/16A), micro- and macroeconomics or an approved semester-long combination (5s on Micro and Macro; presumably econ 1). Entering (to Whorton) juniors need the sophomore requirements + one semester each in financial and managerial accounting (both require Haas), two stats classes (no AP; Stats 20/21/25 + one-upper division stats class), and intermediate microeconomics (econ 100/101A). Keep in mind that the Haas classes (which are hard to get to begin with), the upper- (and lower-, for that matter)-division stats classes, and the intermediate econ classes may all jeopardize your Haas and transfer GPAs (depending, of course, on your strengths/course load/work ethic/etc.) </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Bottom line: Understand your priorities for your major and the requirements to transfer to the desired departments at each desired university. Also keep in mind Berkeley has stellar economics and (especially) business that, in terms of rankings, is competitive with top private (Ivy League) schools.</p>
<p>There’s more to learn here than you can get to in a hundred lifetimes.</p>
<p>The brand on the diploma is worth just as much, especially internationally.</p>
<p>There are a ton of students that are smarter than you. Surround yourself with them. The experience won’t be any different from attending Wharton or Harvard.</p>
<p>Rofl if you think those schools are the career equivalent of getting a goose that lays golden eggs. I would wager and say there is no difference in career prospects if you are a high achiever at any of these schools. If not, the difference is more or less geographical.</p>
<p>But to answer your question, highly unlikely to nearly impossible. Look at the transfer rates to those schools, and those that do get in are generally the ones that would have (or should have) gotten in straight out of highschool anyway.</p>
<p>Furthermore you haven’t even set foot in a single class yet, it’s cool to be ambitious, but you are not even in Haas yet; I wouldn’t even worry about anything except getting the best grades possible and utilizing opportunities for meaningful ECs. God knows it’s competitive enough to get into Cal’s undergrad bschool… you’d have to be basically perfect to even get a sniff at Harvard or Wharton.</p>
<p>As long as you have a compelling reason, it is possible. Even so, it probably is unlikely, unless you are destroying every single one of your classes and all your professors think you are one of the best students that ever existed. I can’t comment on your academic ability/personality, so anything is possible. Do note that “going to a better school/leaving one’s own school due to prestige” is NOT a compelling reason to transfer or else everyone would be getting in…</p>
<p>Even if you do transfer, try and enjoy the college experience at Cal for the year(s) you are there.</p>