College and University Admissions Advice: How hard is it to transfer to Stanford?

In short, pretty hard. It was about a two percent acceptance rate for Fall 2010, and a four percent acceptance rate for Fall 2011. Transfer acceptance rates swing much more from year to year than freshman acceptance rates because they depend on more variables (like the availability of space, which depends on a variety of things, like the number of students that leave the school). The couple of successful transfers to Stanford I know had 4.0 GPAs when they transferred. Generally, transfer decisions aren't made on a "is there room in this particular major" basis but are instead made on a "will this applicant add to the campus" basis. So it's not a question of how hard those majors are to transfer into, but instead a question of who you are and what you've done and will do with those majors. Let me know if you have any follow-ups, happy to help! Data sources: Fall 2010: http://transferweb.com/stats/transfer-acceptance-rates/#.T-D5LytYtQU Fall 2011: http://ucomm.stanford.edu/cds/2011.html Disclosure: I help run Transferweb.

Stanford publishes that data. Unfortunately, to make it fit into my editor, it's too small to read.  You can enlarge it.  Also, here's the web site from which I got that data:  http://admission.stanford.edu/basics/selection/profile.htmlAs you can see, an SAT score above 600 is admissible, and the only area  in which a top score makes a difference is writing. Reading is second, and an 800 in Math seems to be a disqualifier.  I don't know whether that's a coincidence, since top math students may be less skilled in verbal areas.

As a community college student looking to transfer, I've asked this question myself. Transferring to Stanford is very competitive and they don't appear to be very interested in transfer students because of their high retention rate. They accept approximately 30 transfer students every year, and have an acceptance rate of 2 or 3%, compared to other schools such as Columbia which has an acceptance rate of 24% for their school of General Education (non traditional students). I don't know where you currently go to school, but transferring to a UC from a California community college is one of the easiest ways of transferring to elite schools such as UCLA or CAL. http://admission.stanford.edu/application/transfer/index.html

I transferred from a state school to an Ivy League; not Stanford but somewhere similar. I did not make it into an Ivy League during freshmen admissions. First I'll outline the process: Fill out the Common App for transfer students. It's used by basically all colleges for the transfer process. It's basically the same as the freshman admissions version except for its essay question, which addresses your reasons for transferring. Get recommendations. You have to get one from a 'school official,' who could be the Dean of your school or just an adviser. You also need 2 professors to write recommendations, so pick two who know you best. Send the applications in, for most there is a fee so you'll have to pay that. As with most things, the actual process is the easy part. The hard part is determining whether or not transferring is really for you. I love where I am now, and I transferred because I didn't believe I was challenged or fulfilled by my previous institution. Admissions committees look for people who would contribute most to their campus - they don't only look for hardworking kids, or smart kids. They look for kids with entrepreneurial drive, with revolutionary ideas and radical passions. Stanford is more selective than my institution, but I will say that I believe what the admissions committee looks for is similar at both places. Its culture is different and very driven by the startup scene. It's located minutes away from the heart of Silicon Valley, and that proximity defines the type of student that Stanford looks for. Do you fit the mold? If you're absolutely perfect for Stanford, you just might have a shot. Otherwise there's really no chance - the committee in this case can be as selective as they please, and even the greatest kids aren't certain if they would get in. When there's a 2% admissions rate, luck defines a lot of what happens in the end. So if you're dead set on transferring, I'd apply to more places than just Stanford. Best of luck to you!

It's very hard as others have pointed out, with about 32 accepted per year. Not only do you need stellar grades and extra-curriculars, Stanford is very focused on, for lack of a better word, the entrepreneurial spirit. If Stanford thinks you have a potentially hot new app, or will be getting a relevant patent, or have some sort of skill or mindset that will differentiate you from the herd, that's probably the #1 over-riding criteria (even over GPA). https://admit.stanford.edu/entrepreneurial-spirit