How feasible is it to transfer to these schools as as a junior or sophomore transfer? I do not necessarily know if the policy is different for UC transfers compared to Community College transfers.
Currently, I have a 4.0 GPA after my first quarter at UCSD pursuing a Computer Engineering major.
Also, is the procedure different or more difficult if I choose to transfer as a sophomore transfer instead of a junior transfer?
Thank you for the advice!
First of all, why do you want to transfer? Second, realize that these highly selective schools only take ab very small percentage of transfers so unless you have a compelling story and reason for transferring out of a top notch school like UCSD, it will be very difficult.
Here is what you should know-- the seats at Ivy-plus schools (Stanford) that are available for transfers is largely tied to attrition. Since attrition is almost non-existent in the top Ivy schools, so are the seats available. By way of example, recently, Harvard had over 1500 applicants and admitted about 15, and Yale had over a 1000 applicants in which about 2 dozen were offered seats. Brown is close to 5%. Princeton takes no transfers. Stanford accepts close to 1-2%. So, while being qualified is certainly a criteria, the other portion must convey why these schools; typical reasons are that these schools offer programs and/or degrees not offered at your existing institution. Transferring because of the desire to attend a more elite institution is NOT consider a valid reason for transfer.
Cornell had the most open transfer admission rate, close to 20%, but the figure is misleading as most of the seat are reserved for NY state CC students.
Second, that you could have obtained admission as a freshmen applicant. Third, that you have perfect scores at your current institution. Long story short…it is much more difficult to obtain admission as a transfer than as applying for a freshmen seat…