<p>All throughout high school, I wanted to be a journalist. So naturally, I applied to the best two Journalism schools in the country: Northwestern and the University of Missouri. I got into both. (GPA - 3.95, ACT - 34, SAT - 2120). I ultimately decided to go to Mizzou because it was cheaper and supposedly better at my intended major. BIG MISTAKE! I have since become disinterested in journalism (nothing against Mizzou's program; it's just not for me) and have decided to pursue film studies instead. Mizzou has a film program, but it's not exactly good. I feel like I'm qualified and deserve to be in a top tier film program. </p>
<p>So I want to give Northwestern another shot. It's too late to transfer immediately (isn't it?) and I'm not ready yet to leave the friends I've made here. So I'll remain at Mizzou for my sophomore year and maybe transfer for my junior year. Could I get in? Does having already gotten in help my chances, or is the fact that I already turned them down work against me? (My college GPA is a 3.62)</p>
<p>IMO, neither. Having been accepted as a fr doesn’t help your chances as a transfer, but at least you know you have a realistic shot as long as your college record is at the same level. People turn down schools for many reasons, so colleges are not going to take it personally that you chose another school fr year (if they even remember 2 yrs later).</p>
<p>Keep in mind that you’ll be applying to transfer to Medill, which is more competitive for transfers than WCAS. Additionally - and I know you probably know this already - be more tactful when you write your application essays. Though you clearly won’t say you “deserve” to be in a better program, even giving that impression to those reading your essays probably won’t play well.</p>
<p>Doable, but the numbers are usually more difficult. Acceptance rates for transfers are often lower than acceptance rates for first years since there are fewer slots available. At least you know you probably fit the demographic. My D was accepted as a transfer to a college she passed on as a freshman. The transfer acceptance rate there is something like 7% compared to a freshman acceptance rate of @ 30%. You can probably look up the transfer acceptance rates at NW to see how they compare. It may be somewhat different for you since you are looking at transferring into a different program as well.</p>
<p>This is only true for elite schools, and even for some it is not true. Vanderbilt’s transfer rate is a good bit above their freshman admit rate, for example.</p>
<p>I expect that acceptance rate greatly depends on a school’s retention rate. If they have few vacancies, there will be fewer transfer slots available. In any event, anyone considering transferring should check on the transfer acceptance rate to get a better idea of their chances for a particular school. Ultimately, although my D was fortunate in that she was accepted at all the transfer schools to which she applied, knowing the low transfer rates at those schools helped temper her expectations and caused her to apply to more schools since she really couldn’t count on being accepted given the numbers, even though she had been accepted to one of the schools previously.</p>
<p>I am surprised that Vandy’s transfer acceptance rate is higher than its freshman acceptance rate.</p>
<p>^Emory, Notre Dame, W&M, UVA, UNC-CH, UCLA, USC, Rice, Cornell, and UPenn also have transfer acceptance rates that are higher than their freshmen acceptance rates.</p>