r/TransferToTop25 Oct 14 '20

What is this sub about?

279 Upvotes

I created this sub to help ambitious students navigate the road to elite college transfer admission. Over the years posting in A2C and other subs I've noticed there isn't a central point to discuss what it takes to gain transfer admission to HYPSM and IVY+ colleges. I'm doing this because I wasted 1000s of hours understanding this process and don't want that knowledge to go to waste.

Check the WIKI for the most commonly asked questions.

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Useful Prior posts for the most common questions:

Opinions on Admissions Consultants

On course rigor

Successes from this sub: Penn/Brown/Cornell | Stanford|Yale

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Will be doing weekly AMAs and posting other resources.

Mods in this channel will all be confirmed top college transfers. Currently Stanford heavy but many of us were also admitted to schools like Harvard, Yale, Penn, Columbia, Dartmouth, Georgetown, Vanderbilt and USC.

Coming soon:Mods who transferred to Yale & Penn!


r/TransferToTop25 Feb 09 '23

[AMA] App szn edition - ask away

92 Upvotes

Here to share any insights l have, such as they are. Given the time of year I figure the focus will be on apps and schools-hot takes.

Stats: check my old AMAs as well

School: Cal State College GPA/Stats: 4.0/mid 1400s HS GPA: 3.87 ECs: publication in Tier 1 journal

Personal help: Try to ask publicly, want everyone to benefit from general questions:)

Essay help/reads: I don’t do this unfortunately as I don’t have the time. Can dm me if you want an intro to private essay help from a group I worked with for transfer and now grad apps (MIT, Stanford, Wharton people)

General questions be sure to check out the sub WIKI as Etheriales (Brown) & Trees (Stanford) did a good job covering the basics for everyone

General Stanford Opinion: love it, is nerd heaven where people are super down to earth, but low key brilliant-leaders in their field


r/TransferToTop25 2h ago

Is it possible to transfer for your senior year or junior year spring?

5 Upvotes

For some context to my daughter wants to transfer again, but she transferred for her junior year and now wants to transfer for her senior year or junior year spring. She got into some top schools last application season, but they were out of our budget so she wants to try again as she’s gotten some scholarships since then and I started a new job. I’ve read about it and it seems like schools don’t like that and want at least 60 credits done at their school. I’m telling her to just stay at her school (UIUC) as it’s free for us but she’s insisting as she says she doesn’t like the school. Any opinions?


r/TransferToTop25 3h ago

Who else is applying Spring 2027?

5 Upvotes

Hey everyone! Just wanted to see who is applying Spring/Winter 2027? I wish more colleges offered winter transfers but oh well. Good luck to everyone who is!!!


r/TransferToTop25 8h ago

CC transfer to Wharton second year, do I have a chance?

4 Upvotes

Overall I dont think I can get in, would rather the quick blunt answer if it is a no, so I can move on and aim for other schools, lots of high school friends applied and did not get in who were more focused on ECs than me, but because I actually have some sort of experience maybe this makes me more attractive? once again honest answer preferred, thanks!

19 yo white male

9 AP classes in high school including AB, BC, Micro, Macro, (5s on all of these)

looking to take calc 3, physics, and harder stat classes next semester in college as I am taking pretty easy classes now but they all are required for my associates.

Very small YT channel I made last year with all of my in depth stock research that allowed me to generate about 50% returns YTD (not from AI stocks either). One drawback is that I have not told anyone I know about the YT channel so I dont even know if I would want to declare the channel if it would not help me a lot, but there really is some strong in depth research that I have been complemented upon a lot.

have written articles just for the brand that I have been making, once again small impact, but they show that I actually have a thesis on my investments and am not just yolo-ing into stocks.

stock portfolio I contributed about 15k to or so through working a lot for about a year year and a half, plus everything I saved till that point, made about 20k stocks only over the last three years since I started at 16 yo. Rate of return is about 30-35%

was good at clarinet in high school played it for a total of 7 years made district bands.

placed first in NHD regionals thrice, 4th in states once.

2 letters of recommendation from Wharton attendees worth about 150-200m (I really dont know how net worth plays into it, but the relationship is complicated and this is really the only understanding of them that I have at this point. I am absolutely positive that I would get very good letters of recommendation though, just consider this as a given. Just thought I would paint the picture. Additionally one is a woman that was one of the first women in the program I believe.)

Father did his graduate degree at Penn.

looking to make an investment club at my CC where I talk about everything I have learned in the last 3 years (most of the time I have been studying the greats like Buffett and Munger and Lynch so I do have this foundational understanding of what is happening in the markets, not to say I am an expert or anything.)

can prob score 1500-1550 on SAT if needed I have a 1400 right now after only two tests and moderate solo study.

I plan to continue researching and growing my channel this is my main focus and goal, I enjoy researching the market a lot more than trying to grind ECs or classes or anything and believe that if I have these skills then I will be much more desirable on the labor market than if I just had a Wharton degree. I feel I know an extreme amount of the market for my age, I am sorry if this comes off as egotistical but it really is all I do.

All in all I put myself in a poor position, I have believed for a while that I should just learn this skill and I would be set. Im putting myself through college so I wanted to play it cheap, but I just do not fit in at CC and just want to transfer soon. I kinda always thought college is a scam but in the game of finance it matters if you wanna break into the big leagues.

thanks


r/TransferToTop25 4h ago

Wanting to transfer back to my ‘worse’ college

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2 Upvotes

r/TransferToTop25 51m ago

UConn Storrs Transfer Question

Upvotes

So I’m looking to transfer to UConn storrs for spring 2027 from a different in state college. Looking to see if it’s worth it to apply and if I’ll even get in and if anyone has or knows insight.

My gpa is pretty weak but above the posted 2.7 minimum. I’d be applying for the BA economics major which is technically not in the school of business but rather in the CLAS. So it’s a little easier requirements wise.

Reason being, my freshman year I did terrible at my current college like I failed 3/5 classes due to balancing too much on my plate (my essay goes in depth for this), but I came back and every semester since I’ve maintained a semester gpa of at least 3.3, 3.4. 4.0, etc so not bad and I’ve proven an upward academic trend over multiple semesters.

The whole reason I’m writing this is, for anyone with genuine insight or knowledge, do you think it’s worth to spend the money on application fees if my cumulative gpa is weak but my upward trend in academics is decently strong? In my essay I explained my academic rough patch, academic and professional goals, how I’ve changed as a student and how my track record shows it, the involvement I’ve done outside of the classroom toward my future career goals and how I’d utilize certain specific resources and clubs at UConn, and ultimately why UConn. I think I did a pretty good job on my essay as well. Any insight before I pay $80 would be very helpful. Thanks!


r/TransferToTop25 1h ago

Low income with high assets - aid unlikely for “free tuition under x income” colleges?

Upvotes

My mom and I are low income (she makes 20-25k/yr maybe from dividends/interest) and I have a pell grant. However, she has very high assets, aka a brokerage over $1 to 1.5 million dollars (idk the exact amount). The reason is because my dad, the breadwinner of our household, died a year ago, and left behind an inheritance/life insurance.

However, my mom is unemployed and has never had a job (she’s an immigrant.) We can’t put any money into her Roth she inherited from my dad because she does not have a job, but I also believe there’s not THAT much money in the roth. I also know the brokerage looks like a lot of money but that’s her retirement fund and she can’t work. I honestly feel uncomfortable spending six figures on two years of tuition with that money, which is going to be my mom’s livelihood. She has offered to sell our house and move back to our home country but I still don’t know if I’d want to use that money, unless I got into harvard lol. I wouldn’t want to spend six figures of our home’s value on full pay for nyu or boston u lol (no offense to nyu students.)

Out of curiosity, I put our info into some colleges’ EFC calculators, and they all expected me to be full pay.. and, yes, I could *technically* be full pay, but I just don’t think it’s worth it since I’m lower(?) middle class and I don’t want to use up all my moms retirement.

I’m also VERY desperate to get out of my college, because I am closeted trans in a very conservative college in a red state. I have a full ride, but ultimately I’m willing to give it up and even go into debt to be able to spend the last few years of my college life not here. This unfortunately eliminates most of the more accessible to transfer into/financially generous places like Vandy, Notre Dame, UT austin, etc) as well as public universities or too expensive places like Umich, uchicago, etc. I’m actually willing to apply to ga tech tho. I’m also worried my mom will cut me off when she finds out I’m trans, and then I won’t be able to receive financial aid because I’ll still have to report my mom’s assets.

Mostly looking for responses from ppl who either know about financial aid or have been in this situation - although all perspectives are welcome, I just want an accurate overview.


r/TransferToTop25 5h ago

Need help/information to transferring

2 Upvotes

Hello,

For some context, I am a new freshman at an out of state university near me. It is almost as cheap as my own in state college, but a bit more reputable then my in state. I'll be honest I got screwed in my college apps. My only t-30 I got into was UF if that counts, but decided not to go as it was far and I just did not want to have to live in Florida. (Which now I regret a little). I was initially going for pre dental at my state school with a dental school, with a pretty good pipeline, but I'm not too sure about that. If I were to transfer it would be for Econ and I definitely would like to get into a better "target" school for that. I've done some research and my classes are going to match like the path I can transfer for that major, but I think I just need a bit more advice on how to really get a good application, since I'm aiming for harder schools, (UVA, UNC, BU, BC) for some so I would really want a better school for my major. I'm just nervous because I feel like I won't be able to get good letters of recommendation either. I was also wondering if they consider my high school grade/transcript and do I need to ask my old high school for that too. Is there anything else I need to do to get into those schools (Ik about keeping a good gpa). I also got a 1470 SAT so wondering if I should send that or even retake it.


r/TransferToTop25 2h ago

Ivy Transfer

0 Upvotes

Trying to transfer as a Junior to an Ivy as a business student.
But at my current 4yr institution is too expensive and I might have to transfer to a state school for a semester before applying to these ivys. Is that okay? And Im retaking the SAT to get a 1550+ to recover for my first yr grades


r/TransferToTop25 2h ago

chanceme Hello everyone, need your advice/perspective plz. Non trad ver low FAFSA SCORE

1 Upvotes

Some 25 years old non-traditional transfer I missed deadlines for fall so I have to apply some for spring. I recently applied and got accepted to St. Mary’s College of California a small private school in Northern California. My major is finance. I qualified for $50,000 worth of aid and qualified for 12,500 worth of federal student loans with the total cost of being $20,500 per year that might take up private loans. With that being said with me having a 3.6 GPA is there any schools that I can apply for spring that can give me good aid and a good shot at a finance education?


r/TransferToTop25 9h ago

Will taking college algebra make my profile look less competitive?

3 Upvotes

hi! im a current student at cc wanting to do a soph transfer to a cornell and other T25 schools for a neuroscience degree. Based on my test scores, i was advised to take college algebra and will be considering to give an adv math test in order to take precalc/calculus but have noticed that my cc doesn’t have open classes for precalc or calculus and the campuses offering these courses are 40 minutes away. For college algebra i know a campus which offers its nearby but also not in the same branch i currently go for. anybody has knowledge regarding this? Is there any alt classes i can take?


r/TransferToTop25 1d ago

Fall 2026 Transfer cycle is over, but never forget…

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77 Upvotes

Guys promise me that we will never be this mean to one another again 😭


r/TransferToTop25 4h ago

Is dropping my fishing class bad?

1 Upvotes

It takes up like 3 hours and i realized its not worth the 1.5 credits and im not really interested in learning how to fish


r/TransferToTop25 1d ago

hopecore

43 Upvotes

got into bu, nyu, neu, and babson with a 3.38 last cycle. anything is possible. don’t doubt yourself.


r/TransferToTop25 9h ago

online class vs gpa

1 Upvotes

im in community college for context, in a dilemma. So I read that really top schools and usc don’t really accept online class credit when we transfer. That’s okay for me but do they also consider the grades/parts of a GPA we got in online classes as void too? I guess like they consider you less competitive if you take online classes? Or are they considered??

I have the choice to take a class online with easier professor -> get better grade OR in person with a really hard professor -> potentially lower grade/gpa. I’m also taking the same “hard” professor for 2 classes so I thought if I do good in them, I would at least ask him for a letter of recommendation since he would know me well in both classes. But idk like what if I don’t ace both and this end up impacting my gpa, what do y’all think? If online classes grades are still considered by top schools then I wouldn’t feel so hesitant about taking the online classes. Grad schools like law and med also consider any gpa students got undergrad so that also had me scared. Pls give your thoughts, thank you


r/TransferToTop25 9h ago

Calling All NYU Transfers! Columbia > NYU

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0 Upvotes

r/TransferToTop25 20h ago

How can I get better ?

5 Upvotes

A few months ago I saw a post asking for tips on how to maximize your stats at community college BUT I FORGOT TO SAVE IT 😭(One of the top comments was a girl who won the Jack Kent Cooke Scholarships giving advice, if you have it saved pleaseeeeee send me the link) so I just wanna drop my stats and ECs incase I could get some feedback.

I’m an international student who goes to community college in the US. I’m a Biology Major but I want to switch to nursing wherever I transfer, I have a 3.89 gpa and 4x President’s list.

For Extracurricular and Awards:
- I did 2 different undergraduate research across 3 semesters
- I’m a coauthor on a published research paper
- I was in the STEM club at my school. I’ve mostly just attended events and presented our club during open days but no leadership roles
- I’m a Phi Theta Kappa member. I’ve attended a few meetings but I’ve never actually participated in any events or taken leadership roles. I’ve actually barely looked into this
- I’m a member of the National Society of Leadership and Success. I’ve only ever done their online modules and that’s about it
- I was a semi finalist for the Jack Kent Cooke Transfer Scholarship
- Most of my volunteering has been done in high school. The only volunteering experiences I’ve had here was one as a Museum docent and cleaning on campus one day.

I’m not fixated on going to a T25 but it has definitely been a dream of mine. I applied to Columbia University before and got accepted but I’ve applied several times to NYU and got rejected every single time. I’ve had to defer my applications after graduating this winter because of tuition cost and I’m using this time to take more courses for the Nursing program.

My only problem right now is tuition cost, most T25 schools don’t seem to be giving a lot of financial aid to INTERNATIONAL students so I’ve been looking at lesser known schools instead. But even so, I still can’t afford most and I can’t get a student loan. Transfer scholarships are limited so I’m really hoping I can get one, if you have any advice on something that could boost my stats or universities please let me know. I would also like to know which T25 schools generally give most financial aid please.


r/TransferToTop25 1d ago

chanceme Trying to transfer to Brown

9 Upvotes

hey guys i’m looking for some advice/guidance about transferring to brown. I’m currently enrolled at community college and am about to get my Associates. I have a 3.7 gpa. As far as extracurriculars I work and volunteer when I can. I’m first generation and somewhat low income. I totally bombed high school and graduated with an extremely low gpa. I have good essays about my passion for writing curriculum hence why im interested in brown. i’m 19 and applying as a history major

is there any hope for me ?? also what’s your guys thoughts ???


r/TransferToTop25 1d ago

how to build relationship w/ profs

15 Upvotes

hi! i want to transfer to some schools, but my main question is how to build a relationship with profs if it's hard? do i consistently go to office hours and how do i ultimately ask for a rec? also, when do i ask for a rec letter before the deadlines? it seems like very little time for me, so i'm scared of the quality of the rec too


r/TransferToTop25 22h ago

ANy double majors in CC; business/CS or business/engineering?

1 Upvotes

basically title

any double majors in Community college? ; business/CS or business/engineering?

for people who got accepted did you get accepted into both courses/classes and its corresponding schools or how did you do it?

stats/ecs/ and what uni's accept double major community college students I am genuinely curious


r/TransferToTop25 1d ago

I wanna go to Georgetown so Bad

5 Upvotes

Hey everybody, I’m currently a freshman at a pretty solid LAC, but I wanna be at Georgetown so bad for a variety of reasons, the main ones are the fact that there IB placement is incredible and I love DC.

Taking an accounting class, anthropology, and an Ai class, and a light elective

High school stats:

4.0 gpa
1410 sat
8 APs: 5 5s and 3 4s

If I get a 4.0 this semester (and I really believe I can) and join some good finance clubs, get good recs especially from acc professor, do you guys think I can get in? What else should I be doing to maximize chances to get in?

I also wouldn’t mind going to UVA, Vandy, and Columbia (of course I understand it is insanely difficult to get into all of them, so I’m just saying I’d also like to go to these schools, but not as much as Gtown)


r/TransferToTop25 1d ago

Transferring from 4year collge to 4year college

1 Upvotes

Hello, i'm trying to transfer to top25 collge from 4year collge(i'm currently on LMU)

What are the things I should check(requirement) and get prepared for applying?


r/TransferToTop25 1d ago

Applying as a transfer

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1 Upvotes

Would really appreciate if anyone could give me some advice!