Have you gotten involved in much on campus outside of academics? The successful transfer students I know were actively engaged.
@ClarinetDad16 I think I am ready to at least consider transferring and keeping my options open. I think I should at least work on transfer apps. Whether I ultimately decide to transfer if I get accepted anywhere will be a consideration that requires a lot of thought.
@doschicos I’m the co-head of a small club (about 15 members). Besides that I haven’t branched out much beyond my academic and social life. Then again, I’ve only been on campus for a semester, so I’m not sure how much other schools would expect me to have accomplished in less than a third of a year.
Ok, so I’ve been doing some research and I’ve come up with a list that I could use some feedback on. The list is as follows:
UVA
UNC
College of William and Mary
Washington and Lee University
UPenn
UPenn is obviously a reach, but I figure it’s worth a shot. Assume that my essays will be very good and that my reasons for transferring will be reasonable and explained well. What are my shots at these schools with a 3.6 first semester college GPA? My high school transcript is okay, but not stellar, probably won’t hurt or help. My ECs from high school were very good, for what it’s worth.
Applying for what program at these schools?
@ClarinetDad16 Colleges of arts and sciences, with philosophy, psychology, and English as prospective majors. If required I would declare philosophy as my major.
Haverford has all those majors…
@ClarinetDad16 I know; have you read what I’ve written in this thread? My reasons for considering transferring aren’t because Haverford doesn’t offer the disciplines I want (because they do).
You might like a NESCAC college. Their saving graces, in terms of aspects that might indirectly relate to your current concerns, would be their ~50% greater sizes and robust sports programs. Their academic quality would generally be comparable to that of Haverford.
You need to convince penn why them. Not why not haverford.
Leaving a top lac to study liberal arts somewhere else will be a tightrope without bashing haverford
It seems like enrolling in a class or two at Penn would be the best way of demonstrating both interest in Penn and knowledge of the school that you are hoping to get in to. I don’t understand this part:
If you are so keen on leaving Haverford, it doesn’t make sense that you are so wedded to your existing schedule of classes at Haverford and another non-Penn consortium member.
The OP is a first-year who appears to be not entirely happy with his home school. I’m not getting some of the comments regarding his choices in scheduling, which he has already explained.
@merc81 I’m just worried that most of the NESCAC schools will ultimately have very similar cultures to Haverford, even if they are slightly larger (an example being Wesleyan, which I know from friends who face some of the same issues I do at Haverford). The ones that might not such as Williams and Amherst are, unfortunately, nearly impossible to transfer into. The only school on the list that might fit the bill that I’m looking for is Tufts, which I will look into further.
@ClarinetDad16 I plan to convince all of the schools I apply to for transfer that I’m not just applying to them to get out of Haverford. I will make sure to very carefully word my essays to reflect this. My reasons for leaving Haverford have nothing to do with academic rigor or bashing the Haverford administration, just simply a poor fit for me culture-wise.
@CheddarcheeseMN First-years at Haverford are generally dissuaded from taking classes at Penn. While my class schedule could technically still be altered, I highly doubt they would allow me to switch into a Penn class for this upcoming semester (it takes a certain level of coordination with Penn for it to work and the semester is starting in just a few days). I’m in no way wedded to my current schedule, but taking a class at Penn (especially as a freshman) is easier said than done.
Does anyone have any comments on my current list of schools I plan to apply to?
@opeth1998 If you want to try a “different” approach, I know a few students who were unhappy at their “first try” University and ended up at Penn via their “continuing ed” program. I’ll be honest I don’t know the details and all 3 of these students came at it differently. One did a year + at another school, didn’t like what they were studying. Went home and took a few CC courses, then took some Penn continuing ed courses before applying in and be accepted to a BA and Master’s program. Another kid I know (this was a long time ago) just took Continuing Ed courses, got good enough grades, eventually got in and graduated with a Penn degree, Dunno if it was an “LPS” degree or “regular” Penn. Anyway, info session on Feb 7 according to website. Might provide a “back-up” plan.
W&L should be considered with knowledge of its high Greek participation (2nd highest of all colleges in the country):
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/most-frats
If this appears favorable or neutral to you, then this academically elite school (tops in Virginia by the standardized scoring of its students: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-50-smartest-colleges-in-america-2016-10/#39-wellesley-college-average-sat-1390-13 ) might suit you really well.
@merc81 The high level of Greek participation kind of turns me off, to be honest, but I think I’ll apply anyway because it fits the bill I’m looking for in every other way. If I get accepted then I will have to consider much more the role of Greek life on the campus and see whether it is something I’m okay with. How competitive is transfer admission at W&L? I can’t find official statistics, but I found a thread on CC where the poster mentions a 5% acceptance rate. On the other hand, the website states that “the successful transfer applicant generally will have achieved at least a B (3.0),” which is a bar that I’m quite a bit above, so I’m not sure.
You can find basic transfer admissions rates/info utilizing each school’s Common Data Set. Section D. Here’s the most recent info for W&L.
https://www.wlu.edu/document/2016-common-data-set
W&L Tranfer Acceptance Rates
Female: 31%
Male: 19%
Overall: 25%
I’d still recommend you consider applications to any of Bowdoin, Hamilton, Middlebury or Colby that accept a reasonable percentage of transfer applicants. By size, sports programs, facilities (pools, skating rinks) and culture, these schools differ significantly from Haverford (as well as, in cases, from each other). All rank at least as highly as Haverford in USNWR and all would match the range of your currently stated transfer options by objective factors:
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-610-smartest-colleges-in-america-2015-9
If you should find the suggested Bucknell appealing, then you might want to look into the somewhat more selective Colgate as well.