<p>Just curious as to what caliber school I might be able to transfer to from Caltech given the following vague statistics and ECs (sorry Caltech is too small for me to maintain any level of privacy with detailed information):</p>
<p>College:
Starting Sophomore Year
3.6 GPA
Involved in Student Government
Involved in Multiple Sports
Have had Several Research Positions, including a SURF Fellowship
Some Other Random Things</p>
<p>High School:
3.86 GPA UW
2370 SAT
Averaged 790 on 5 SAT IIs
National AP Scholar, 9 APs: 3 and 8x5
Several National Physics Awards (PhysicsBowl + USPHO Recognition)
State Math Awards, Research Every Summer
President Model UN with Several High Profile Awards
Newspaper Editor
4 Varsity Letters over 2 Sports</p>
<p>I’m looking to transfer to a school that isn’t as competitive and ‘study-obsessed’ as Caltech with an interest in Math and Economics.</p>
<p>I was wondering if I’d be able to secure a transfer to a number of top 25 universities or top 10 LACs.</p>
<p>A common rule of thumb is to assume you can transfer into any school ranked lower than your current one. However, the rule should apply to students with grades above 3.5, which you do possess. There are a few exceptions like Duke where the transfer acceptance rate is just too minuscule for anybody to have a reliable chance.</p>
<p>On the other hand, trying for a college of equal or higher rank will be very difficult. Your 3.6 means a lot coming from CalTech, but many other students are applying from almost as prestigious schools with perfect grades. I think you have a moderate chance at Penn. You should try.</p>
<p>Thought I’d be a bit more specific: How realistic would it be to transfer to one of the following: Penn, Columbia, Georgetown, Amherst, Williams, Middlebury, or Northwestern. I’d also probably try to transfer to HYPSM, but I already know what my chances there are.</p>
<p>It’s realistic for you to try for the level of schools you list. Staying at Caltech is always your safety, but if you really want to transfer, include some schools with higher transfer rates as well. </p>
<p>Also, be careful of some of the LACs, Midd for instance has taken no transfers in 2 of the past 5 yrs:</p>
<p>[Common</a> Data Set | Middlebury](<a href=“Assessment and Institutional Research | Middlebury”>Assessment and Institutional Research | Middlebury)</p>
<p>You came at the right time for Northwestern. The school is starting an initiative to enroll more transfer students, so I think you have a decent chance there. Strange of you to say you want a less competitive and study-oriented environment and still apply for MIT. Columbia is just too hard. Georgetown should accept you, but who knows how transfer admissions is going to roll one year from now.</p>
<p>Woah, so Caltech is THAT study-obsessed. Can you give some examples? :o</p>
<p>100 hours a week purely on academic work for 3.5-3.7 is not something that I think I can sustain indefinitely.
I would rather ake some of that time and put it into volunteering, interning, or really doing anything else.</p>
<p>Northwestern actually holds spots for people to transfer to after 1st year. Even though my D dropped out of the application process before the admission outcomes, they said they will hold the application as a transfer probability until next year.</p>
<p>Most of the top schools trade off based on how many leave the school. </p>
<p>If you have a GPA of 3.6 after 1st year, you seem to be doing quite well at Caltech. I understand 1st year GPA is the hardest to handle. May be you should try study abroad etc to get away from Caltech for a semester or two to relieve some pressure.</p>
<p>Finally a thread for the upper 10-25 that is actually realistic.</p>