Help with transfer

Hi guys,

I want to transfer from one UC to another UC or a T20+ school next year. Can someone give me tips on what I can do for my extracurriculars? I am genuinely confused. I have a bunch of high school ECs, but most of them are not relevant now that I am in college. So any tips are welcome!

As an international freshman, my chances are already quite low. I spent a lot of my first two quarters adjusting to university life and American culture. However, I do have a 4.0 GPA.

I am currently conducting self-research in deep learning, GenAI, and NLP. I have obtained some online certifications and have written research articles on my areas of interest. However, I believe these achievements may not be very appealing, and may be extremely popular among students. So, I am seeking things which are unique.

The reason I want to transfer is because the environment at my current uni is not really for me, and the department for data science is average (staff wise) with extremely less research opportunities. So I want to apply elsewhere where I may gain better opportunities and secure a future job in the already over saturated market.

Thank you.