Transferring out of UC Berkeley - my chances?

Transfer Students
1

Hi y’all!

I’m currently a freshman at UC Berkeley and I want to transfer out of Berkeley. Berkeley is a great school but it doesn’t fit me, being huge and impersonal.
I’m looking for smaller private schools and some of the schools I’m consider applying are: Columbia/UPenn/UChicago/Brown/Yale/Tufts/Northwestern/Duke.

My stats:
College-
Overall GPA: about 3.6 – 3.7 (do not know yet)
Major GPA: 4.0
Major: Sociology & Philosophy
Earned 24 credits in first semester
2 Researches w/ seniors and grad students
College newspaper
Student union
other 2 clubs
*Take rigorous courses, more than half of my classes are upper division and major-related

HS-
GPA: 4.0
SAT: 1530
SATII: Math 800, Physics 780
5APs
2 internships in news press / local NGO
Editor in Chief of school magazine
founder of 2 clubs
2 International awards

background: International student

My concern is: Is my college GPA good enough for transferring into these schools? I think most schools look for a 3.8+, but given that I take rigorous courses, have a much heavier course load (I took 24 units, the average being 15), and UC Berkeley is famous for its grade deflation - will my chance be boosted a little if these factors are taken into consideration? Do AOs take these factors into consideration, or do they just look at the number?

Also, what schools do you think I have a good chance of getting into / what schools are a reach or far reach?

Thanks a lot and Happy Holidays! :slight_smile:

2

Oh, by “2 Researches w/ seniors and grad students”, I mean my fellow researchers are seniors and grad students. The researches themselves are conducted by professors. Sorry for misarticulating.

3

I think you should do a Google search to see which of the above schools have the lowest or the highest transfer rate. I believe the Ivies have low transfer rates and very low transfer acceptances. Cornel, not on your list, is your best bet for Ivies with > 10% acceptance rate for transfers. Northwestern and Tufts might be doable.

4

@UCBUSCalum Tufts’s acceptance rate for transfers hovers between 5 and 10%… on par with most Ivies. Northwestern is a bit better, and Vandy takes a good amount of transfers.

5

OP - have you looked at Pomona and Claremont? Or at the NE versions in Williams and Amherst? Tiny schools that will be the opposite of Cal. I think you have a shot at places like NW, Cornell, Dartmouth if you write some good essays. Prepare to freeze if you get into any of the latter three. Also look into the multiple colleges at Cornell (5 I think?) - markedly different transfer acceptance rates across them. College of HumEc tends to be more welcoming transfer rate wise if any of the majors appeal.

6

You were planning to transfer up from Berkeley before you even enrolled per your posting history. If any of these schools denied you as a freshman then your transfer chances are even lower.