Does being at a top school help with transfer admissions chances?

Transfer Students
1

Hey everyone,

I am currently attending a top 20 school, and am really not liking it. It is way too isolated and is not at all what I wanted in a university. The academics are great, but I just am not happy. One thing I really don’t want to give away is the academics part. I am planning on applying to transfer to reach schools, as well as a few non reach schools. So far it is…

  • Stanford
  • Duke
  • Pomona
  • USC
  • Pepperdine
  • Tulane

I was just curious if a) my admissions chances as a transfer will be higher because I go to a very good school (and am maintaining a high GPA) and b) if there were any other schools anyone might suggest for someone looking for a very good academic school in a more urban setting.

Thanks!

2

Those are some wildly different schools, and you really want the next choice to be the right one.

You do need to be realistic in that your reaches typically don’t have many openings, because most 1st years stay.

3

The school you apply to is going to be concerned with grades and HS transcripts, if applicable. Rankings are subjective and not a reliable admissions criteria for transfer. If you have competitive stats, you’ll have a shot at getting in, depending on how competitive the university is. I agree, an isolated university would drive me nuts! Good luck!