How difficult is it to transfer as a freshman to top schools. For example, with high school grades that were decent, but far from outstanding, and 1 3.8 GPA at a school thats ranked about 55th nationally, is it realistic to apply to schools like UNC, Vanderbilt, UVA, Georgetown, William and Mary. (I would be applying as a transfer for fall of sophomore year… NOT spring of freshman.)
-Bonus Question: Could it hurt to apply as a transfer? (If I were to be rejected, could that hurt my chances at being accepted if I applied again as a transfer to the same school the following year.)
That’s not unusual at all. Personally, I would much rather apply as a rising sophomore(having just finished freshman year) than apply as a junior. I’d like to make the most of my time at my desired university and I don’t think two years would be the “whole experience”. I say go for it, you have a great GPA- if you combine that with EC’s relating to your desired major, along with excellent test scores and reasons to transfer, than you have a very solid chance.
I don’t think applying again would necessarily hurt your chances, but I’d suggest applying to a reasonable amount of colleges the first time around.
On a side note, I’m also applying to some of the colleges you listed (UNC, Vanderbilt and UVA) so here’s hoping to best of luck to us! I’ll see you on the respective threads of those universities whenever they pop up!
Take care.
I would say applying as a transfer for the fall of sophomore year makes sense. It allows you to get a full year of experiences under your belt, decide if you really want to transfer, and allow you to start at the beginning of the school year. I can only speak for William & Mary because that is where I attend, but it generally has a higher acceptance rate for transfers compared to regular admissions, perhaps also influenced by the guaranteed transfer agreements from certain community colleges. It recommends you keep at least a 3.5 GPA for you to be competitive.
And yes you can apply multiple years. I know a girl who applied three times (RD, transfer twice) and eventually got in because she showed massive improvement throughout those three times. No it will not hurt you