I have a few questions on transfers that I thought this community can help me with.
Are transfers most common after freshman year or after sophomore year?
Does it help to retake the SAT if the old SAT is semi-ok?
If you apply to a school for a transfer after freshman year, and they turn you down, would the school give you a fresh consideration if you apply again after sophomore year?
What kinds of courses (for a kid in a stem major) would the school like to see on the transcript to consider the application favorably?
If applying for transfer after freshman year, how are the second semester grades sent to the college for consideration as the application deadline is in the middle of the semester?
What are some other considerations to keep in mind that I may have missed asking?
I can’t answer all your questions but can try to tackle a few.
SATs are meant for high school students. Retaking in college isn’t going to help a transfer application.
Typically the advice is to not re-apply to a school that has previously rejected the applicant.
Generally speaking a freshman transfer will rely more on their hs record than a sophomore transfer so if there was a big upwards trajectory in college, it may be worth waiting to do a sophomore transfer.
Course requirements are going to be major dependent, as well as school dependent. “STEM major” is too broad of a description.
I don’t know which one is more common (I’d guess after sophomore year), but many colleges seem to have a better defined process/pathway for rising juniors transfers.
SAT is less important for sophomore transfers (vs freshman applicants) and not considered AFAIK for junior transfers.
A sophomore transfer application is largely based on the HS record because the student has completed only 1 college semester. The 2nd semester grades will be sent later (post acceptance and enrollment) after the semester is over.
A few things come to mind:
a college may not accept certain courses credits requiring a student to retake classes. This can, in some cases, extend the graduation date.
some schools like Michigan will reject a junior transfer candidate who has accumulated too many credits, because they think it’s not the in the best interest of the student to transfer. So, need to hit the sweet spot where you have enough transferable credits but not too many.
I think there are only 3 valid reasons to transfer. a) there are special circumstances due to which a student cannot continue at their current school b) a change in financial circumstances requires transferring to a cheaper school c) compelling academic reasons. The student needs to be able to articulate this reason in their essay. I know students who were looking to transfer simply to chase rank/prestige, and they weren’t successful.
I do think many schools say in their rejection - you can always try us later - whether those words are true or not, I don’t know.
It seems like some schools have a far higher acceptance rate for transfer than out of high school and some don’t.
Vandy took 430 of 2450, for example, or nearly 18%. I don’t know after which year (first or second)- I know someone who transferred from New School after first year. The 18% is 2.5x their out of HS acceptance rate.
Cornell was 16% vs 8% in their latest CDS (a year old).
I think you have to look school by school and if you are serious then talk to a transfer counselor.
I would think going in after one year to a previous rejection is likely hard but I’d talk to the school if it’s one of interest - and I believe you’re seeking pedigree and while high teens acceptance is much better than single digit, it’s still not likely.
Just a note that Cornell’s transfer numbers are artificially inflated because they offer a guaranteed transfer pathway for students who weren’t accepted outright for freshman year and they also have articulation agreements from NYS community colleges.
I really don’t agree with this. Sometimes the school is just not a good fit due to size of school, location, focus on fraternities (or not) etc. People transfer all the time to find a better fit. There is no reason that a student who made what turns out to be a bad decision coming out of high school should have to live with it for four years. The only reason I would consider invalid is transferring to increase prestige.
Here are Cornell’s (dated) transfer data (they don’t share detailed acceptance rate). Generally, the acceptance rate will be higher for students who fit at least one of their institutional priorities.
I’ve seen some random transfers up in rank, but of course they are packaged as due to fit. I know someone who went from GT to Penn and someone from Emory to Columbia.
Thanks for adding that. Yes that’s a legitimate reason to transfer. In my mind I thought of a whole bunch of scenarios under “special circumstances” but should have separated this out.
1: Depends on the college. Some colleges, like California publics, prefer junior transfer students who have completed two years’ worth of college course work and are ready for upper level courses in their majors. Others may take more sophomore transfers after one year of college course work. For junior transfers, high school stuff is typically of low or no importance, but for sophomore transfers, high school stuff is still important. Senior transfers who have completed three years’ worth of college course work (particularly including upper level courses) are less likely to be admitted at many colleges.
2: SAT or ACT retaken after high school is unlikely to be considered, since they are intended for high school students.
4: Generally, there will be basic courses like English composition and some general education (check the target college) plus frosh/soph level courses for one’s major.
There is another very obvious valid reason to transfer: the student started college at a community college (often for financial reasons, or because high school record was insufficient to gain admission to a desired four year college) and needs to transfer to a four year school to complete a bachelor’s degree in the desired field of study.
Are transfers most common after freshman year or after sophomore year?
I think this depends. Some students transfer after each of these years
Does it help to retake the SAT if the old SAT is semi-ok?
the SAT is designed to be taken by high school students, not students who have completed some college
If you apply to a school for a transfer after freshman year, and they turn you down, would the school give you a fresh consideration if you apply again after sophomore year?
only if you have done something quite extraordinary to improve what you bring to the admissions application
What kinds of courses (for a kid in a stem major) would the school like to see on the transcript to consider the application favorably?
again this depends. What is more important is what courses the new school will accept
If applying for transfer after freshman year, how are the second semester grades sent to the college for consideration as the application deadline is in the middle of the semester?
I am not sure these grades matter. Really, if you apply as a freshman to transfer, your high school record will be the main ingredient…plus any accomplishments you might have
What are some other considerations to keep in mind that I may have missed asking?
I think students considering transferring really need to understand why they want to leave school one. Also, if finances are a consideration, you need to know the policies at the new school for transfer students
family situations like divorce or move due to job change and as a result losing in-state residency or scholarship.
foreign students + new immigrants who already completed several years abroad.
I do not believe that you even need an essay to transfer… May be in some schools.
I believe I once read a story of one guy who tried 3 times to transfer to GaTech. He DID it!
