Transfer Advice

Hi all,
I’m currently enrolled at Rutgers-Newark as a freshman and am looking for advice on transferring schools. I applied to Rutgers-Newark for its rolling admissions policy after having failed to get into my preferred choices. I attribute this failure mostly to my being out of school for 4 years as I pursued a soccer career. Through high school my grades were just ok, but after a short time in Newark, I believe I can easily show my academic capabilities with a 4.0 while doing an internship. I am a philosophy major who is doing some science courses to keep the option of med school open. I’m also interested in the possibilities of going into academia or management consulting - both of which care about school name.

Here’s my list of where I’d like to go (in order of preference): UChicago, JHU, Pomona, Amherst, CMC, Williams, CMU, Emory, Bowdoin

I realize these are super competitive schools, and although I’d like to dream, it’s important to be realistic. So:

  • Does this list make sense for my goals?
    -Should I take the time to visit some of these during free weekends?
  • Should I scrap some of these and instead apply to ‘prestigious’ universities that are known to have higher transfer rates?
    -Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

PS. I am applying to all D3 schools with the hope that I can walk on (I am quite good but do not have video). However, I do realize it is always difficult to come in as a walk-on, and there are no guarantees. So I am willing to apply to other schools if they make more sense