Give your child a second shot at the right school.
You can hear it when the fit is wrong.
They come home for break and say it is fine.
They look up another school's classes late at night.
They finish the work and still want more.
A school that does not fit is a wrong fit. Wrong fits get fixed.
They picked their school at 17, from a list and a campus tour. Now they know what they want to study and how they work best.
A transfer lets them apply as that person, on college grades and college work.
The longer they wait, the fewer semesters they get at the school that fits.
What a transfer is.
- What it is
- Applying from one college to finish the degree at a different college. Most students apply after one or two years.
- What counts
- College grades count most. Then an essay on why they are leaving and what they would do at the new school, and letters from professors.
- When
- Most deadlines fall in late winter and spring, for a start the next fall.
- The catch
- Credits do not always move with them. Lost credits can mean extra time and tuition, so check each school's rules first.
Top schools let transfers in every year.
13,905
transfer students enrolled at these 12 schools in one year, from each school’s 2025-2026 official data report. Each source is linked below.
Columbia University (Columbia College and Columbia Engineering)357transfer students enrolled453 of 4,909 applicants admitted, 9%Source, 2025-2026
University of Pennsylvania113transfer students enrolled162 of 5,144 applicants admitted, 3%Source, 2025-2026
Cornell University625transfer students enrolled864 of 7,381 applicants admitted, 12%Source, 2025-2026
The University of Chicago311transfer students enrolled380 of 3,231 applicants admitted, 12%Source, 2025-2026
Northwestern University249transfer students enrolled498 of 4,562 applicants admitted, 11%Source, 2025-2026
Vanderbilt University446transfer students enrolled831 of 3,177 applicants admitted, 26%Source, 2025-2026
Georgetown University190transfer students enrolled319 of 2,878 applicants admitted, 11%Source, 2025-2026
University of Southern California1,544transfer students enrolled2,929 of 10,827 applicants admitted, 27%Source, 2025-2026
University of Michigan1,533transfer students enrolled2,394 of 6,845 applicants admitted, 35%Source, 2025-2026
New York University1,549transfer students enrolled4,128 of 10,681 applicants admitted, 39%Source, 2025-2026
University of California, Berkeley3,055transfer students enrolled5,658 of 23,401 applicants admitted, 24%Source, 2025-2026
University of California, Los Angeles3,933transfer students enrolled6,665 of 28,487 applicants admitted, 23%Source, 2025-2026
What your student needs, and what we do.
Grades that hold up
We cannot change grades. We show each school's real transfer numbers, so the list fits the student.
A reason for leaving that looks forward
The essay review scores this first and says plainly when an essay blames the current school.
Proof from college
It scores how well the essay uses their classes, research, jobs and clubs, and asks questions that pull out better material.
Real reasons for each school
Feedback on each school's extra essays, so they name real classes and programs, not compliments.
Every deadline and document on time
The command center keeps the list, the deadlines and what to send each school in one place.
Built by students who transferred into these schools.
- Vanderbilt
- Michigan
- USC
- Penn
- Columbia
A counselor costs thousands. The parent bundle is $199.
A private transfer counselor
$7,500 to $14,925
- $7,500: Quad Education transfer packages, 2026
- $14,925: College Essay Guy with its founder, 3 applications, per College Essay Mentor price list, 2026
To cancel, email support@stairly.co. The plan stops renewing, and the pass stays on until the paid period ends.
Full refund within 7 days, no questions asked. Email support@stairly.co.
Parent bundle
$199 today
A real admitted transfer student reads your child's essay, plus every tool for the season.
- The Season Pass: every tool for 6 months
- One essay read by a student admitted as a transfer, with notes back by email
A student who was admitted as a transfer reads one essay and emails notes back. Every other review comes from our AI tool.
$199 today, then renews at $90 every 6 months until you cancel.
Season Pass
$15 a month
billed $90 every 6 months
Renews at $90 every 6 months until you cancel.
Monthly
$40 a month
Renews at $40 a month until you cancel.
- The essay editor, with notes on your exact sentences and a fix for each one
- Unlimited essay reviews, so you can see each draft's scores move
- Feedback on each school's extra essays
- The command center: your list, deadlines and what to send each school
Buy the pass for your student.
What happens next
You pay on Stripe with your own email. The receipt goes there. You do not need an account.
We email your student that the pass is theirs, with a link to sign in.
The pass goes on your student's account. No account yet? It waits, and turns on the moment they sign in with that email.
To cancel, email support@stairly.co. The plan stops renewing, and the pass stays on until the paid period ends.
Full refund within 7 days, no questions asked. Email support@stairly.co.
Your student can also send you a pay link from their pass page. It works the same way.
Straight answers.
- Do you write the essay?
- No, and that is the point. We never write the essay. Your student gets clear notes on what to cut, what to add and which lines are weak, so the essay sounds like them, only stronger.
- Who reviews it?
- Our AI tool. AI models process the essays and score them against a rubric built only for transfer essays. Feedback comes back in minutes, on every draft, at any hour.
- Does a person ever read it?
- Only with the parent bundle. A student who was admitted as a transfer reads the one essay your child sends and emails notes back. They point out what to fix and never write it for them.
- Is the essay used to train AI?
- No. We never use an essay to train AI models without the writer's written OK. Your student's work stays theirs.
- Can it get my child in?
- It helps them send the strongest application they can. No one can promise admission, and we do not. Each college makes its own decision.
- Where do the numbers come from?
- Straight from the schools. Each one publishes an official data report called the Common Data Set, and every number here links to the report it came from.
- What if it is not worth it?
- Full refund within 7 days, no questions asked. Email support@stairly.co. No questions asked.