<p>Hi all, I was admitted into Harvard for the class of 2018 but turned them down for Stanford due to athletic reasons. After a quarter here, I've realized that this isn't the place for me and that I am missing out on incredible opportunities in Cambridge. I am originally from California and feel very stagnant here. I am considering transferring to Harvard next fall and was wondering if the chances are higher or lower for someone from another top school? Stanford is not lacking in any form, but I personally feel as if I am not living up to my full potential here. Also as a side note, I am not a recruited/varsity athlete. </p>
<p>Every year, about 1500 students usually apply for transfer admission to Harvard and about 12 students are admitted – that’s less than a 1% acceptance rate. That said, your chances might increase if you speak with one of Harvard’s coaches to ask about the possibility of transferring and playing on their team.</p>
<p>FWIW, if you are NOT a recruited athlete, then your chances depend solely on academics. Harvard’s website doesn’t say what GPA they look for in transfer applicants, but Yale’s does: it’s 3.8+. Is that you? If so, your chances might increase if you can identify specific academic reasons why Harvard is a better choice for you than Stanford.</p>
<p>It’s difficult to tell. May I suggest that you pick up the phone and call Harvard Admissions ( 617-495-1551) the week of December 17th (after SCEA acceptances have gone out) and speak with Christine Gibbons Mascolo, who handles all transfer applications. She is the one who can best evaluate your chances.</p>
<p>I don’t have any recent information, but in the not-too-distant past, when Harvard was accepting slightly more transfers (and before the period when it was accepting none), it was reasonably clear that having been accepted before was an advantage. I say “reasonably clear” because there were really only three types of transfer students accepted: recruited athletes, people (like Hanna) who had just blown the doors off of whatever college they were attending, and people who had been accepted out of high school but who had gone to another reasonable choice, like Stanford (or often like Deep Springs or West Point). I have no idea how many people like that applied, but Harvard seemed to take several every year, so the acceptance rate must have been way higher than that of the average applicant.</p>
<p>Most people who apply to transfer to Harvard don’t have a 1% chance, they have a 0% chance. People who were accepted previously and who have done well at a comparable college certainly have more than a 0% chance.</p>
<p>Thank you all! Another question…does being from another top university diminish my chances of acceptance given that there aren’t necessarily academic drawbacks here?</p>
<p>Applying to Harvard from Stanford will not diminish your chances. Not having a good reason for preferring Harvard to Stanford will (or would) diminish your chances.</p>