Who transfers, and to where?

Transfer Students
1

<p>Hello,</p>

<p>I'm an international student (neither a US citizen nor a permanent resident) attending a public university in the United States on several scholarships. I'm currently a freshman and am interested in transferring to an Ivy League school either at the beginning of next year or the year after. I have a few questions about the whole process of transferring:</p>

<p>1) Every year, thousands of students seek to transfer to Ivy League schools. Who usually are these people? And by that, I mean: are they students who got into prestigious universities as high school seniors but had to turn them down for financial (or other) reasons? Or are they students who got full-rides to state schools but don't really feel "at home" there? What kinds of students want to transfer?</p>

<p>2) From Ivy League school websites, I know that the transfer application process is generally way more competitive than the regular college application process (high school seniors applying to college). Why is that?</p>

<p>3) What do Ivy League schools look for when picking students from the transfer applicant pool? High school grades? College freshman/sophomore grades? College activities? Any outstanding components?</p>

<p>4) Some transfer after a year, and others transfer after two years. Which one is better in terms of maximizing chances of admission? And why do certain people transfer after a year or after two years? Is it money-related or are there some other reasons?</p>

<p>Any input would be greatly appreciated, especially advice from those with experience in transferring. Thank you!</p>

2

<p>1) It’s a combination of all of them. People transfer for a variety of reasons, be it financial, social, etc. Your reason for transferring can never be too personal.</p>

<p>2) Ivy Leagues have a high retention rate: meaning, most of the people that come there as freshman stay all four years. The more people that stay, the less transfer spots there usually is.</p>

<p>3) You’ll have to check with the individual schools to see what they want. Frequently, it depends on how many college credits you have as to whether or not you have to submit high school records. Admissions to the Ivy Leagues are usually holistic though.</p>

<p>4) If you transfer after two years, you spend less and sometimes have a higher chance of admission. If your highschool grades were really bad, it’s best to transfer once you have 30+ credits (30 is usually the cutoff number, but it varies by school). If you transfer after one year, they focus more on your high school grades.</p>