Hi, I’ll be starting my first year at Purdue this August and wanted to give transferring a shot next cycle. I’m thinking of applying to transfer to the top 10 unis + ucla for a better chance, and i want to maximize my chances. So for schools like Harvard, Princeton, MIT, Stanford, Yale, UPenn, etc… I know I’ll need a 4.0 college GPA but what other tips do you guys have; stuff about the best extracurriculars to focus on (i’ll be applying for something in maths/data science), or the best tips to writing a top tier transfer essay + supplemental essays, or how to have the entire application stand out holistically, or even how to choose the right professors for the best recommendation letters. Also, my SAT score is 1520 (760/760) but i’ll be retaking it in hopes of getting a better score. Any help is welcome and appreciated!!!
It sounds like you’re an international student. Is that correct?
Purdue is a great school. Why are you planning to transfer even before you’ve started?
Can you afford those other schools?
I am an International student, and I am aware Purdue is highly ranked but would like to try my chances at higher ranked schools in the majors I am considering. And yes, I am studying under a scholarship program.
You will need a more compelling reason than that, in my opinion. Schools will want to know specifically what they can offer you that your current school does not: does Purdue not offer your major, does it not have the classes you want, is it too big, too small, etc.
If you’re no longer in high school, that ship has sailed.
Maybe give Purdue a shot before deciding on whether or not to transfer? You don’t even know what Purdue will be like, maybe it will be a great place for you.
You are at an excellent university. My two cents is that it is a terrible idea to start college with the intent of transferring. This mindset can get in the way of your developing friendships, creating relationships with professors, getting involved in ECs, etc.
If you decide to throw in a transfer application or two you can but I would not count on it working out.
This is important. Those other schools know Purdue is a good school, and won’t place much weight on your desire to chase a higher rank. You need better reasons.
Besides, they don’t accept a lot of transfer students.
All those other schools don’t offer merit scholarships. Do you qualify for need based aid? There is not much aid available to international transfer students as far as I know.
Adding: Do not waste your time and enegy re-taking the SAT.
- Your score is already strong.
- More importantly, the SAT is an exam meant for HS students. Nobody will care about a higher score achieved while in college.
I get your point. A part of it is also my desire to work with a few maths professors from the unis I mentioned, and that will likely be the reason I outline in my application.
Are there limits on who can and can’t take it?
I’m open to staying at Purdue if i feel like it is the right fit for me. I just think that if I will apply to transfer later on, the intent to do so should be there early enough for me to find good ECs to then have on my application; this is why I am looking to do what I can as early as now. I may choose to stay at Purdue later on though.
I see, does it not matter as much for transfer applications?
I don’t see how a slightly higher SAT achieved as a college student will make any difference whatsoever in a transfer application.
So what would be some examples of good reasons to transfer out of Purdue? My reasons aside from wanting a higher ranked school are it’s location and my desire to work with some of the professors in those other schools, though I don’t really know whether those qualify as good reasons to admissions officers or not.
It is a separate full scholarship, meaning the tuition and expenses would be paid for in those unis as well.
Provided a 4.0 GPA, the next most important thing on a transfer application would be the extracurriculars done during freshman year, correct?
I think the reason you feel you need to transfer from an already excellent college will be critical. It is unlikely that anyone will have extraordinary EC achievements in your first semester or so of college.
That makes sense. What would you say are valid reasons to transfer out of Purdue?
That is for you to figure out. As noted above, I think starting Purdue with the intent of transferring is a terrible idea.
Just for context I have a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from MIT, and a master’s degree in a subfield of applied mathematics from Stanford.
Purdue is an excellent university for mathematics / data science. My personal recommendation is that you arrive on campus at Purdue determined to do very well in your classes, and expecting classes to be demanding. Some classes might start out a bit slow but then become more demanding over time. Upper year classes might be tougher than first or second year classes. You are already about to attend a great university and you want to take advantage of this opportunity.
If you are interested in getting a master’s degree in the future, then Stanford and other top universities in the US will know how strong your degree from Purdue is. However, you will want to do very well as an undergraduate at Purdue if you want to have an opportunity to attend a top 10 university for graduate work. In addition to grades, it would be helpful if you can get internship or research or coop experience. Also, many graduate students get some relevant work experience after getting their bachelor’s degree before applying to graduate programs.
It is very, very difficult to transfer as an undergraduate student to Harvard, Princeton, MIT, Stanford, or any of the other universities that you mentioned. Usually you need a very compelling academic reason to transfer, and given how excellent Purdue is I have trouble imagining what a valid academic reason would be. However, it is very common, and perfectly normal to get a bachelor’s degree at one university, and a master’s degree or some other graduate degree at a different university. Most of the people I know who have or are getting a graduate degree got their bachelor’s degree at one university and at least their last graduate degree at a different university. Moving to a higher ranked university for the graduate degree is relatively common also.
Congratulations on both your acceptance to Purdue, and on your apparently very good scholarship. You have a great opportunity coming up.
For UCLA, 90%+ of transfers are from California community colleges. As an International student you have the lowest priority in transferring to the UC system, the Transfer admit rate for International students was 17% (2751 applicants and 471 admits).
OK I don’t think you understand that some of the posters here have seen and heard admissions results and are giving you the benefit of their experiences.
Just "fess up” and say that you didn’t like being rejected from the top 10 schools and you want to be at a top 10 school because you feel that it’s where you deserve to be.
So now, you will do a year at Purdue and you’re assuming that you will get an A average and transfer into a top 10.
Transfers have a very difficult time getting into top 10 schools. Those schools are not large, for the most part and their departments are small. Openings for transfers are very limited.
What you don’t understand about those schools is that they need to have a seat available for a transfer student who is in the same major. They would have to wait for someone to transfer out to make a spot for you in that department.
I don’t know where your financial aid is coming from-if it’s privately funded, or what, but the schools typically don’t use their financial aid dollars on transfers.
Most of those top tens have less than five spots open, if that. Typically, admission goes to nontraditional students. A nontraditional student is not a student was who is unhappy that he was shut out of the prestige schools that rejected him.
A nontraditional student is someone like a grandmother who put her education on hold, to go to “war” and be a nurse. Military vets, long term Peace Corps volunteers, Stay at home Dad’s are non traditional. Usually, these students have compelling reasons for going back to school.
You know in the United States, a number of professors can retire at any time or take sabbaticals or transfer to another university. So any admissions officer will assume that your lame focus on a certain professor is very narrow minded.
Please don’t assume that the courses at Purdue will be easier and that you know best. You’ll have to take the humanities and social science courses. Those will be a bear.
Trying to take only math or data science courses may not be to your benefit and may not be allowed. You’ll have to acclimate to a new environment, do laundry, get yourself fed and bathed, live with a roommate and have time to study. Not easy during your first year.
Frankly none.
Here are your problems.
- Usually there is no FA for transfer students. Especially for international.
Majority of scholarships are assigned to freshman. - SAT is not even considered for transferring.
You should go to Purdue with a plan to stay there for 4 years.
Valid reasons to transfer (without FA)
are changing major (not available at your school), family move (became resident of another state), need to stay close to family, cannot afford school…
And those are reasons not for top 10 schools.
A valid reason would be that you want to major in Classics or Egyptology or something very literary that is not really Purdue’s strength.
For math, wanting to work with specific professors would imply you are more advanced than most Purdue students and have skipped 1st&2nd year classes, are taking advanced 3rd year classes as a freshman, with an eye on specialized advanced courses that Purdue doesn’t offer.
It’s almost impossible for you to transfer as a 1st year student:
You will only have 1 semester of grades and even having 5 As is not going to move the needle, indicating only that you’re able to do the work.
As a newbie, you won’t have earned the right to a leadership position. If you got into the Honors College there may be Honors-only positions you may be able to pursue.
Generally, transferring after the 1st semester or year only works for lateral transfers. So you could go from Purdue to UMN or to Georgia Tech or other Big 10 universities. But you’d have to apply Spring sophomore year to have a shot at the universities you listed. Some wouldn’t really consider your application (UCs, Princeton…)