Hi everyone. I am currently a Freshman at an Ivy League school, and I am seeking to transfer to a different one (one that is a better fit for me and my aspirations), however, I did get a C in one of my courses my first term, but I got A’s in my other courses. What should I do and what are my chances of actually being able to transfer?
Generally speaking giving more information can give respondents here a better chance of giving you useful information. In the specific case of transferring between Ivy League schools it is however generally speaking difficult to do this, and difficult to predict which small number of cases will be successful.
Is this a matter of transferring to a higher ranked university? Alternately, does the school that you want to transfer to have a better program in your major, or are you attempting to transfer away from a school that is lacking a program in your intended major?
Is your C in a course closely related to your major, or in some unrelated course?
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Yes, of course, thank you for responding so quickly! The school I desire to go to is a school I actually applied Early Decision to, however, I did not get in. I currently attend Dartmouth and the school I want to transfer to is Brown or Duke, which are both amazing for what I want to do. The course unfortunately does relate to what I want to pursue, but it was a very challenging course that I should not have taken as a freshman. Dartmouth also doesn’t offer my major, it only offers it as a minor, and I feel as though I would be happier at either Brown or Duke.
You sound like you have legitimate academic reasons for wanting to transfer, but one thing to keep in mind is that the schools you mention have transfer acceptance rates that are as low or lower than their freshman acceptance rates.
For the your ED school, it will be an especially uphill battle given that they have already reviewed and denied your application. Your transfer application will need to be different, and it may be hard to show significant differences so soon. You may want to consider applying to the non-ED school for fall 2024 and if you aren’t accepted, then apply to your previous ED school for spring 2025. In that way, you will have more runway for your transfer application to be different than your ED application.
I’m not sure if Duke or Brown was your ED school, but were you accepted to the other as a senior?
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I got rejected from both 
I applied early to Duke but if I got into Brown I 100% would’ve committed there, but I still am very grateful to be at Dartmouth!
I can understand why you might be disappointed, as Dartmouth could not be more different than the other two. In fact, Dartmouth is more like a liberal arts college (Williams/Amherst) as opposed to a research university. What are you trying to study? Maybe there are other possibilities?
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I don’t have specific advice. You were obviously a really strong candidate to get accepted at Dartmouth! So I would be really introspective in trying to figure out what it was about your applications would lead you to be accepted at a school that doesn’t have your intended major, but not at two schools that do.
Do you have other options, outside of these schools?
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This is a valuable lesson. There really are courses that you are not ready to take yet. However strong of a student you are now, you will be stronger or at least better prepared for some tough classes in the future. I definitely took hard classes as a graduate student (and got A’s and A+'s in them) that would have crushed me as a freshman or sophomore in university.
It is really hard to know how much impact the C will have. Transferring into Brown or Duke is tough. Transferring into a school that rejected you ED is tough.
I think that you apply, and do as well as you can at Dartmouth. Make sure to take classes that you are well prepared to take, such as by having completed any prerequisites. Make a strong effort to stay well ahead in your course work. If you do not get to transfer, then Brown and Duke (and many other excellent universities) will still be there if you are considering a graduate degree in the future. Also, Dartmouth College is a very good and very well regarded school.
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I am trying to study biomedical engineering
I meant public policy, I’m minoring in biology
So there are a ton of schools you can study biomedical engineering.
It doesn’t have to be Brown or Duke.
Without two years academics, it might be tougher to transfer (depending on the school).
There’s 165 that are ABET accredited.
And many are great. It sounds like you want pedigree - but if you forgot that and went for mid size (sounds like you want), why not schools like:
Bucknell
Case Western
Lehigh
U Maine
Miami (both Florida and Ohio)
UNH
RPI
RIT
Syracuse
Tufts
Wentworth
And there’s so many more - large flagships.
If you want to be in biomedical engineering, then you should be in that.
Not - only if I can get into another top 10 school
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Last year, Duke had about 2,000 transfer applicants. They offered 50. I would be shocked if any of them had a C. I think you need to understand the odds are against you.
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So…you are majoring in public policy and minoring in biology, but want to major in biomedical engineering. Is that correct?
If you really want to major in BME then you need to include schools besides Brown and Duke. I would add Lehigh, a few flagships, etc (just a few suggestions, as noted above).
If you are getting FA to Dartmouth then that is something else to keep in mind. I do not know how that works with transfer students.
If you are accepted to BME at a “lower” school and it is affordable, then you will need to decide if you really want the major, or if you prefer the Ivy name and want to remain at your current school despite the major. In that case you can go to grad school for BME- there are a lot of good programs.
If you really want BME I would expand your list and be prepared to attend a school that is not Duke or Brown. You can also add UNC- it has a joint program with NC State and I don’t think there are OOS caps for transfers. My family member did this (not as a transfer) and then attended one of your “wish list” schools for grad school.
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It looks like they do 
Have you thoroughly researched your current options? Are there other (non academic) reasons you want to transfer?
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Which major as youve stated both BME and public policy.
What are your long term goals?
Did you choose Dartmouth on rankings alone?
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If you were already rejected as a high school senior to Brown and Duke, it is very highly unlikely you will get accepted as a transfer after one year of college. Your high school record will still be considered.
I think you need a different set of schools to apply to if you decide to transfer.
And if biomedical engineering is what you want to study, Dartmouth has that…so that would NOT be a reason to transfer to another Ivy.
And why another Ivy? If you don’t like Dartmouth for whatever reason…there are thousands of other colleges out there beside ones where you have already been denied admission.
Do you have a career goal? Very often, a career goal doesn’t necessarily align with a college major.
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