Advice about transferring?

Transfer Students
1

Hi everyone! I have kind of a long story to explain my situation, but please bear with me because I really appreciate any advice

I’ll be a college freshman this fall at George Washington University’s business school. Pretty much, I had no idea what to major in when I applied to colleges this past year as a high school senior. I either applied undecided or chose some business-field major at a couple of the schools I applied to with business schools. Since I had no clue what I wanted to study, I struggled A LOT with finding things to talk about in my essays. They turned out very general, and I think they actually hurt my applications. The whole college application process for me was draining and frustrating because I felt so far behind everyone else I knew (only 1 other person told me she was applying undecided), which brought up a lot of personal issues that I’ve had with myself for years and truly made me believe that I was a failure and that I didn’t deserve to get into any of the schools I’d applied to anyway. Things only continued to get worse as I ended up not getting into any of the colleges I really wanted to attend.

I have done so much self reflection and soul searching over the past year to really try to find my passion and what it is that I’m interested in studying and doing with my life. Over the course of the last few months, this is what I’ve come up with regarding my future: I want to end up working in business but I would really like to attend law school before pursuing my career. I want more out of my college education than a degree that focuses solely on business; I want a major that combines my interests in the social, political, and economic aspects of the world around me. That is what I believe will equip with the skills I will need in life. I want a working knowledge of the society I live in (I want to understand economics, but I want to understand politics and government and sociology and possibly psychology a little as well), and a business education just isn’t enough of the whole picture for me. I’ve spent some time looking at majors that combine politics and economics, and unfortunately GW does not offer any majors that will really provide the overall education that I desire. I’ve been looking at colleges with majors that really sound interesting to me, and here’s what I’ve found:

Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the University of Pennsylvania
Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the University of Michigan
Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University
Political Economy at Georgetown University (I might want to also minor in sociology)
Political Economy at the University of Southern California (again, I might want to also minor in sociology)
A major that I can create at NYU’s Gallatin school (I am pretty interested in this because I would have the freedom to take the reins of my education and put together a course of study that includes everything I want)
Double major in Public Policy and Economics at the University of Virginia (*maybe…? I’m not really sure about this, just considering it because UVA has a decent transfer acceptance rate I think - around 35%? I’m not 100% sure that’s accurate though)
^same as above for Vanderbilt (i think it has around 30% transfer acceptance rate?)
I’m also thinking about possibly majoring in Peace and Justice Studies and minoring in Leadership Studies at Tufts or possibly majoring in Business and Society at Emory

So that’s what I’m looking to transfer into. I know it might seem as if I just want to transfer to a with a “better” ranking or something, but I really just tried to find programs based on my interests. Now that I’ve found what I truly want out of my college education and have a legitimate reason to attend college (I have specific topics I want to learn about now) instead of just wanting to attend college so that I can get a better job, I feel like an immeasurable weight has been lifted off my shoulders. However, at my current university I will not be able to pursue a degree in PPE, Political Economy, or Public Policy, so that is why I want to transfer. I definitely intend to make the best of this year, but I do have the intention of only remaining at GW for one year. I plan on getting involved in community service as much as I can, and I’m definitely going to work really hard to get as close to a 3.8-3.9 GPA as possible. I don’t really know what to expect in terms of difficulty/work load so I’m kind of nervous about it actually. I’m taking Microeconomics as part of a 2-semester intro to economics class (micro this semester, macro next semester; it’s required because I’m in the business school), Calc I, an english class, a required first year development class (only 1 credit so I’m expecting that to be really manageable but I’m still going to take it seriously because that should be a fairly easy A without too much effort, I think), an introductory General Psychology class as an elective, and an American History class to fulfill a humanities requirement (I wanted to take a political science class or a class on government but there were none available/none that fulfilled this requirement, but hopefully I can take one next semester). I was also thinking about taking a class at Georgetown next semester (if possible) because there’s a consortium program in D.C. between GW, Georgetown, American, and other schools in the area - does that seem like a good or bad idea? I feel like it might be difficult logistically but would that make me seem like a stronger applicant (so long as I do well in the class)? I think it would also help me to get a feel of Georgetown and what it might be like if I were fortunate enough to be accepted as a transfer, but I’m not even sure if I could take advantage of this consortium program as a freshman, so I’ll have to look into that further.

Some info about me in high school:
I had a 3.6ish UW GPA taking as many advanced and AP classes as I could (I went to a rigorous and well regarded private school in my area, there are people with lower GPA’s than me who got into very good schools and ivy league schools) and I got a 34 on the ACT (36R, 33E, 32M, 33S, 25W - i think, but I’m not 100% about the writing score. I might have gotten a 23). I really really hated my high school so I was not very involved and I did poorly in 9th and 11th grade, which brought down my GPA quite a bit. My teachers in 9th and 11th grade were not great/not helpful and also I was struggling heavily with some personal/mental health issues during both of these years. My teachers in 10th grade were very approachable and I genuinely liked them as people, which made it a lot easier to get through the day/do my work/study. I was in a fairly similar situation this year as well.
I don’t really want to list out my extracurricular activities from high school too specifically because they’re pretty specific to me and I just feel kind of uncomfortable about doing that, but a general overview is that I did 2 sports since 7th grade, I did a lot of community service, worked at a summer camp over the summer in 2015, I had an internship in 11th and 12th grade, and I’ve had to take care of a family member. I am currently working full time at a day camp this summer (9am-5pm)

This past year I applied:
ED to Penn’s CAS undecided, was rejected,
RD to Georgetown’s College undecided, was rejected
USC Marshall School of Business for Business Administration, was rejected
NYU Stern for Finance and am waitlaisted
didn’t apply to UMich, Cornell, UVA, Vanderbilt, Tufts, or Emory this past year

Pretty much I was just wondering if anyone had advice about what I should do this summer to make the application process easier or if anyone has suggestions for extracurricular activities that might be relevant to what I want to study?

I know this is crazy long and I’m sorry. I really appreciate anyone reading through it and welcome any advice whatsoever. Thank you so much!!

2

If you apply after only 1 semester of college to the same schools that rejected you as a freshman applicant, it is unlikely that your results will be different with the exception of perhaps USC because they have a higher transfer acceptance rate than freshman acceptance rate. If the biggest issue for you is that GWU doesn’t seem like a fit, you should consider some more top 30-50 schools to apply to so that it’s not just reaches that are a lottery for everybody.

3

Thank you very much for taking the time to read through my post, and thank you so much for giving your advice; I appreciate this so much! My big issue though is not that GWU doesn’t seem like a fit - my issue is that it does not offer the major I am interested in. At your suggestion, I just looked through “top 30-50 schools” and found a few that fit my location preferences, but out of those only Villanova offers a major I am interested in pursuing, which would be Peace and Justice. I kind of thought that my results might be different because I would be applying to a different major, and in some cases different schools within the universities as well, and I would be able to show my passion for pursuing these studies, which I was unable to do before because I had no idea what I wanted to study; do you think that this aspect does not matter as much as I had presumed?

4

Why do you want to transfer after one semester? I would suggest you do a two year program and then transfer

5

I actually do not want to transfer after one semester; I would like to transfer after the end of my freshman year and begin my sophomore in one of the programs I listed

6

The peace studies major that you want is super specific. There’s probably more schools available if you’re willing to do a political science major with a peace studies minor (They have that at Brandeis for example)

https://www.brandeis.edu/registrar/bulletin/provisional/courses/subjects/5300.html

BTW side note: I don’t see public policy at a lot of schools as an undergraduate major, mostly as a masters program “MPP”

In addition, If you feel you are not a good fit at GWU, you should see if you can find a couple safeties that have much higher admittance rates (think like 50-75% transfer acceptance rates) just in case! For example, Goucher College.

GWU seems to have peace studies actually l http://bulletin.gwu.edu/arts-sciences/peace-studies/ba-peace-studies/

7

Thank you very much, philbegas! I really appreciate your post! My first choice major is really something that combines political science with economics, and, as in your experience, I have had difficulty finding many schools that offer such a program, which is why I am looking to transfer to a small group of schools that coincidentally happen to be quite competitive. My first choice major is Philosophy, Politics, and Economics or Political Economy, but again I have found these majors offered at only a few schools that fit my other preferences (location being a big one - I would very much prefer to be in/near/not too far from a major city like Philly, NYC, D.C., LA, or Atlanta but especially Philly, NYC, or D.C.). I’m not particularly interested in majoring in Public Policy or just in Political Science (because I really want a more interdisciplinary major that combines politics with business); I am considering Peace and Justice, but it isn’t exactly my area of interest either. The only reason I’m thinking about applying to Tufts as a major in Peace and Justice is because I can easily minor in Leadership Studies. While I could major in Peace Studies at GWU, the only available business-type minor they have is Business Administration, which isn’t really what I’m looking for. Again, I’m not too concerned about the fit of GWU being an issue for me. My only issue with GWU is that I’m not really able to pursue my areas of interest there. Thank you again for your advice, I’m going to look for some schools that have higher transfer acceptance rates!

8

Well, here are the schools that offer PPE or variants: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy,_Politics_and_Economics



If you don’t want to go to the UK (and their style of education is quite different), there are a bunch of options here.



But why not double major in econ and poli sci? You can do that as well at most schools.

9

There is no reason to go to GW at all if it doesn’t have the major you want. Take a gap year and apply to a new list that suits you better. Transferring is a hassle, reduces your chances of good financial aid, and means that you will forever be ordering up copies of that first Us transcript whenever you apply for a grad program or for a job that requires all your transcripts.

10

Thank you very much, PurpleTitan! I was thinking of doing that, and I might double major in econ and poli sci if I am not accepted at any of those schools as a transfer student, but I honestly just would prefer a program that combines them. I think it would just be easier to major in one thing that contains both political science and economics, but if I am not accepted to any of the programs that offer such a curriculum, I will probably end up majoring in econ and poli sci at GW. Thank you again! Your link was very helpful as well!

11

Thank you for your advice, happmomof1! I hadn’t even considered your point about the transcripts! I agree that transferring is a hassle, but I just believe that the programs I am interested in transferring into are more focused on what I want to study. With regard to financial aid, I actually do not qualify for very much financial aid, if any at all, but I was offered a merit scholarship at GW for $18k/year, so it would be cheaper for me to attend GW for one year and get some credits before potentially attending a school that does not offer merit scholarships and having to pay much more. Thank you again, I really appreciate you taking the time to read my post and offer your insight!!

12

What about a double-major or a major and minor to combine politics and economics at GWU? Or a major in one field with electives in several related areas. Most degree plans have plenty of room for electives. Ignoring the title of your major, are there courses available to you to follow your interests?

Since this is a new passion for you, are you sure this choice is going to stick? College students change interests and majors a lot. Make sure it truly requires going through the process of changing schools before you commit to doing so.

13

You’re welcome. You really need to look at the courses required for each major in order to judge whether one would be easier.

14

What is your state of residency? UVA is pretty fair with transfers (I’m a VA resident), but our community college system here has a guaranteed transfer agreement. I would also point out that all of the schools you are interested in transferring to are competitive for first-year students and transfers. Just to be safe, I would look at some in-state public options too. It is always better to have a backup plan.

Now, some other advice for you. I knew as a freshman going to college that I was planning to transfer from the place I decided to go. I had a full scholarship and felt pressured to go there because I got waitlisted from my #1 school and many of my second choices. I ended up leaving after the first semester to go to community college, and I’ll be transferring to my new school in the fall. My point here is, think about if you really want to go there. A year at a community college will not hurt you at all.

15

Thank you, AroundHere, these are very good questions! My plan is to try to transfer into one of the programs I listed, but if I am not accepted to those colleges, I would most likely pursue a double major in econ and political science at GW. With regard to the second part of your post, I wouldn’t exactly call this a new passion. Up until a few months ago, I really just did not know what I wanted to pursue. In all honesty, I was not very aware of interdisciplinary programs like the ones I have now found. I have definitely always had an interest in business and that is still true; I plan pursuing a career in the business sector. I have also always had an interest in history, psychology, and government/politics. I just never knew that there were programs out there that combined these subjects into a degree. So I wouldn’t really call this a new interest, it’s more like this has always been what I’ve wanted to study, but I only recently found out that there was a way for me to study it all. Because of that, I actually do believe that it is worth it for me to undertake the procedure of applying to transfer. Again, thank you so much for reading my post and giving me your advice!

16

Hi, rvalover7, I am from PA. By any chance, do you know if UVA is fair with out of state transfers? I am beginning to consider the University of Pittsburgh in my list of transfer schools as perhaps a backup public in-state option. To address the second part of your post, I really would like to try out GW before community college. I agree that a year at a community college would certainly not hurt! I sometimes wonder if it actually might help in some cases, since, like you said, some colleges have guaranteed transfer agreements like UVA. Nonetheless, I am very interested in attending GW this year, at least for the first semester for sure. After the first semester, maybe I will follow your lead and attend a community college. But for now, this is what I prefer. Thank you very much for your advice! You have given me a lot to thank about!