I currently am a senior in high school and am going to attend UIUC. I am very disappointed and in all honesty, angry. There is a lot to this school that I very much don’t like, and am very upset that this is where I will be attending. (I’m sorry to act like such a snob, I know this makes me sound like an a**hole). I am weighing my options, and considering a transfer. I’m hoping that UIUC will really impress me and make me want to stay, but I’m just considering my option. How early can one transfer, and how can I increases my chances. I want to apply to places like Vanderbilt, and Dartmouth. Thank you for your help, and have a great day.
I can’t help you with information concerning transferring, however if you share what you dislike about UIUC I may be able to help you modify your attitude toward the school. Disappointment is understandable, but in my opinion, a mature person will grieve and then move on.
Where else did you apply this year? Were you admitted anywhere else that proved affordable? Are you modifying your potential application list based on where you were and weren’t admited this year? It doesn’t make much sense to just reapply to places that rejected you. Usualy you will get rejected again.
Why don’t you take a gap year and put serious energy into applying to a whole new better list?
I can understand being disappointed that you didn’t get into Vanderbilt, but I don’t understand why you’re angry. There are probably kids who wanted to attend UIUC who weren’t accepted, and some who were accepted who can’t afford it. Not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to afford residential college or to have more than one to choose from. If you go to UIUC hating it, I think it’s going to be difficult for you to find things to like. Why did you apply to a school you so thoroughly dislike?
I’d recommend a gap year over transferring personally
To be honest, you kind of are sounding like an “a**hole.” Prestige is an irrational emotion that tends to drive people to do crazy things…like spend $150k on a bachelors degree. You’re not getting any more than a bachelors degree from these other schools. I would suggest a cure. Spend a week volunteering at a homeless shelter 
There are people who would give up the clothes on their back to have the educational opportunity you have right now.
So . . . not going to lecture you about attitude because I think you are self-aware about that already.
Moving to your question: Have you applied to Dartmouth and Vanderbilt and been rejected?
If so: Then you know that your current profile wasn’t sufficient this year. Assuming that their pool of applicants are similar for next year (and that’s not a given), then you will be in a similar position. A gap year might make you a better applicant if you plan that well. But that’s anyone’s guess.
As a result, you may want to consider starting at your current school, get As, and transfer. Let’s look at those stats to figure out if that’s a wise move. Dartmouth’s transfer-in rate is about 1%, much lower than their freshman acceptance rate of 10%. Transferring in there probably isn’t going to happen. Vanderbilt there’s about a 30% transfer-in acceptance rate 217/756 (28%). This is far higher than Vandie’s regular admission rate of 11%. You have a chance here.
To my mind it’s clear that you can look to transfer into Vandie. Vandie also pledges to meet 100% of demonstrated financial need for its students. If you’re expecting need-based aid this is good. If you’re hoping for merit, you will need to see if Vandie awards merit and if so, if it awards to transfer students.
Other elite unis that have pretty high transfer-in acceptance rates:
- Emory
- Notre Dame
- Several top state schools (but you’re on one of those already and are not please; also your FA would be severely affected.)
Best of luck to you.
Give UIUC a chance. I don’t know why you hate it so much, but at least give it a year before you decide.