[Goose]

Transfer acceptance rates (source: admissionsight.com):

Princeton 1.0% (1,360 applicants, 13 accepted)
Harvard 1.0% (1,553 applicants, 16 accepted)
Stanford 1.4%
MIT 4.1%
CalTech 1.9%
Dartmouth 0.5%
Yale 2.5%

The difficulty of being admitted as a transfer student these days isn't unique to Stanford. The availability of a top education at less exclusive schools is an entirely different conversation, but transferring to the highest ranked universities (those generally regarded as Stanford's peers) strictly as an academic applicant isn't something for injured athletes to count on as a backup plan.

This fact also explains why Stanford coaches don't stay up nights looking to recruit transfer athletes. It is pretty safe to assume the vast majority of the transfer applicants to Stanford are somewhat qualified. Only 1.4% get in. Even if a coach found somebody qualified, getting them admitted is pretty improbable. Grad transfers are a different story, but not totally different. Getting into Stanford graduate school, depending on what you are applying for, is never "easy" and in some majors it is very difficult. Neither pathway is liable to be a viable source of athletes to "fill the holes". Certainly not a path to count on year in and year out.

[Goose]

Transfer acceptance rates (source: admissionsight.com):

Princeton 1.0% (1,360 applicants, 13 accepted)
Harvard 1.0% (1,553 applicants, 16 accepted)
Stanford 1.4%
MIT 4.1%
CalTech 1.9%
Dartmouth 0.5%
Yale 2.5%

The difficulty of being admitted as a transfer student these days isn't unique to Stanford. The availability of a top education at less exclusive schools is an entirely different conversation, but transferring to the highest ranked universities (those generally regarded as Stanford's peers) strictly as an academic applicant isn't something for injured athletes to count on as a backup plan.

This fact also explains why Stanford coaches don't stay up nights looking to recruit transfer athletes. It is pretty safe to assume the vast majority of the transfer applicants to Stanford are somewhat qualified. Only 1.4% get in. Even if a coach found somebody qualified, getting them admitted is pretty improbable. Grad transfers are a different story, but not totally different. Getting into Stanford graduate school, depending on what you are applying for, is never "easy" and in some majors it is very difficult. Neither pathway is liable to be a viable source of athletes to "fill the holes". Certainly not a path to count on year in and year out.