Transferring to Harvard/Yale/Stanford from a UC

Hello!

I’m wrapping up my freshman year at one of the higher ranked UCs. I was looking to transfer to the three colleges above because I’d like to study a major not offered in my university, and also because I have been disappointed by the quality of the student body here. I have a 4.0 in fairly rigorous courses, and will do my best to keep it up, but how would I best prepare my application for the three institutions? The three are the only ones I’d be considering – I don’t mind staying here for another two years if I’m not accepted, since I know I can be one of the top students here. Thanks!

Edit: I also have a 2300+ score from before.

Yale transfer acceptance rate: 2%

Stanford transfer acceptance rate: 1-2%

Harvard transfer acceptance rate: 0.009%

There is no harm in applying if you have the time and money for applications, but you should be realistic about your expectations. I think Stanford admits mostly non traditional students or students with an interesting background, not just good grades. If you are not accepted, why are you fine with staying at your current institution if your preferred major isn’t available? It seems like you are applying to better schools just for the sake of higher prestige. If I were you, I’d apply to a broader range of schools. Harvard, Yale, and Stanford are not the only elite colleges.

What was your high school GPA and class rank? A few intro classes as a college freshman at a UC will not get you into any of those schools if your high school grades were not good enough.

High school GPA was 3.6-ish, ~25% percentile, but it was at a nationally recognized top tier school. I did get accepted to a mid-tier Ivy as a freshman applicant, but family finances at the time made it unrealistic to attend there at the time. Now, my family’s in a much better situation, so I thought I’d give it a shot.
I’m fine with staying at my current institution (Berkeley, if it makes any difference) because only the three schools have the major that I want (History of Science) and are of an “upgrade” over Cal, and my eventual goal is to obtain an MD/PhD.

In reviewing you posting history your high school peccadillo will likely follow you and make your chances even lower than what was mentioned above. You were accepted at Brown and you blew it when they rescinded your acceptance for academic dishonesty in high school. It may even affect your chances at medical school.

You were not even honest in your initial post on this thread.

Thanks for bringing that up, but that has been 2-3 years ago, I’ve truly learned a lot from that incident, and thank my lucky stars that I still have the opportunity to receive a top notch education. I believe my performance in college reflects that academic maturity and am looking to switch because of the major I want but also because UC’s med school placement is pitiful compared to the three colleges above.

Kind of harsh for someone who is trying to turn his/her life around…

@bradthegrad2019 A person cannot turn his life around by pretending that what happened in the past didn’t happen. That issue will likely affect transfer chances and is relevant.

Right, but you make it seem as if he doesn’t know his own past lol. I just think to broadcast someone’s educational history on the forum, especially someone who obviously knows it was mistake and it has been listed previously, is a bit harsh. But, to each his own!

@onewithahistory I was accepted at Yale this year as a transfer student, and I think a big part of it was due to the essay. Anytime you are dealing with schools that have acceptance rates in the 5% range or lower, your writing and reasons for transferring have to take center stage in your application (this is, of course, assuming you maintain your GPA and disclose that information).

@bradthegrad2019 I think @TomSrOfBoston was referring to OP’s misleading statement that he was unable to attend Brown due to a financial situation, when in reality, his acceptance was rescinded due to plagiarism. Blatantly lying about this makes it hard to believe that he fully reflected on his mistake. Also, his past academic history might affect his transfer chances, so failing to bring it up defeats the whole purpose of giving him advice.

edit

Then why were you dishonest in describing your situation in this thread?

I was not being dishonest, both the incident and the change of finances are true. I won’t go into more detail due to how specific in nature it had been. I don’t believe continuing this thread will bring any value however since all you seem to do is focusing on one aspect of my application and not looking at any other elements.

I would argue that your high school GPA would have prevented you from acceptance at those three schools when you applied as a high school senior, and that your application as a freshman transfer student is not substantially different after a few courses. Perhaps try to transfer as a junior if you continue to get stellar grades in college. Your high school record would be much less relevant at that time.

If the school you’re at doesn’t have your major, I hope you’re applying to other schools with your major that are realistic.

Getting 4.0?at Berkeley is impressive in my book. You should have no problem doing work at those three schools. Apply and see what happens.

The history major at UCB is very flexible. See http://history.berkeley.edu/undergraduate/major . You can choose a concentration like “history of science” with courses like History 138, 180, 182, 183 and perhaps courses in other departments like Math 160, CS H195, Engineering 125 and 157AC, Energy and Resources 180, Integrative Biology C187, etc.