I am currently a sophomore at Kent State University in Ohio who is planning to transfer for Fall 2016. I applied to 5 schools and got accepted to them all and have narrowed down my decision to 2 schools: Appalachian State University and Western Carolina University. I plan to go there for nursing although I still have about a year of prerequisites to complete due to spending a year and a half undecided at Kent State. I have not and will not be able to visit the schools because of going to school in Ohio and being from New Jersey. I keep going back and forth between the 2 schools and don’t know which one to go for. I was hoping other people who know more about the schools could help guide me in the right direction.
Should I be keeping things like an airport 2 hours away and an extra summer semester keep me from choosing App State? Or should I go with what I originally thought and choose Western Carolina? Also, does anybody have any information on the kinds/amounts of academic scholarships that these schools give out to transfer students. Any help is appreciated, thank you so much.
Appalachian State is a better school than Western. Western is a good school but Appalachian State has much better academics. There is also a saying, “There are 2 types of people at Western. People who want to go to Western and people who got rejected from App.” Also, Cullowhee NC is much more isolated than Boone. If you interested in Nursing you should look in East Carolina and UNC Wilmington. They have great nursing programs.
Choose App State. 100% go with that. Far better school (4 stars) than Western (2.5 stars).
Or, better yet, send in transfer apps to both UNC Wilmington and ECU. Both schools have very well-respected nursing programs.
App is by far the better school. And Cullowhee is waaaayy out in the middle of nowhere.
Also - it’s not two hours to the airport - Tricities Regional Aiport is less than an hour and half away. Asheville is two hours though.
Go with App State, or apply to UNC-W or ECU. 
Choose App State over Western. App State is a great campus and located in Boone. You will love it.
App State.
I would visit before I commit to either of those, some people can’t take the mountain scene. I 2nd UNC-W and ECU for nursing.
Do you have direct admission to the nursing major at each school?
Cost considerations?
Thanks everybody for the replies it means a lot! I unfortunately am not able to visit the schools before choosing one to attend because I live in New Jersey and am currently attending college in Ohio. However, my home in New Jersey is in the Appalachian mountains and I am a big traveler so I do know I like the mountain scene. As to having direct admission, I do not at any schools I applied to. I was an undecided major for a year and a half and still have a large amount of prereqs to finish before being accepted into the actual program. And as for cost I was hoping for academic scholarships but I know those aren’t very common for transfers. I am paying for school myself through loans but at this point it’s more about my education and my happiness considering I’ll be in debt either way. I could possibly look into UNCW and ECU but I would then have to go through the applying process all over again and I was hoping to make a decision in the very near future. I could definitely use all the advice I can get though.
Find out how difficult it is to get into the nursing major at each school.
Also, high debt is never a good thing. Are these schools less expensive than New Jersey public schools that have your major?
You can still apply for Fall 2016 transfer at UNCW, but you need to get in QUICK: http://uncw.edu/admissions/TRApplying.html
ECU: http://www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/admissions/transfers.cfm
UNCW’s deadline has technically already passed, but they are reviewing applications on a space-available basis (meaning that they’re taking apps until the transfer class has been filled up). ECU’s deadline isn’t until April, so you have more time with that. However, I highly recommend that you apply to both.
ucbalumnus, the out-of-state prices are pretty similar to in-state prices of New Jersey schools considering New Jersey is one of the most expensive states to live in. Also App and Western are pretty similar in difficulty to get into the programs from what I can tell.
Not to mention that NC public unis > NJ public unis by a mile…
Nursing at ECU also requires a summer, not sure about UNCW, but I wouldn’t let that keep your from choosing App.
Since you say you do like the mountains, both of these schools might be a good fit for you. As others have said, App is more popular here in NC but I am seeing more kids here look at Western too. I agree that many of the student at WCU are ones that wanted App and didn’t get in, but I know lots of people who love it now, even though it wasn’t there first choice. App is twice the size of WCU, both will be a good bit smaller than Kent State. It looks like WCU would be a little bit cheaper for you.
I would really stress a visit, looks like App is a 7 hour drive from Kent State and then just another 2 hours to Western.
Academic scholarships are pretty much nonexistent for transfers. The time to get those big merit awards is as an incoming freshman. Is that what originally brought you to Kent State? How much are you paying now?
I’m concerned about your cavalier attitude about debt. There’s debt and then there’s DEBT. The former, which most folks would equate with Stafford loans, is one thing. They’re reasonable amounts with good terms, but they still need to be considered with your eyes wide open. You need to figure out the annual and overall costs of each of your choices. YOU cannot borrow beyond the Stafford loans. Saddling a parent or co-signer with lots of PLUS or private loans is the quickest way to guarantee you’ll have a lifetime of UNhappiness.
Yes that is what originally brought me to Kent State. When I first was looking at schools I really wanted to attend George Mason University but they offered me half the money that Kent did and was considerably more expensive. Right now I receive scholarships worth $11,500. I’m not trying to brush off the debt because I know it is a big deal but the only way to really save the money is to stay at Kent State and that just isn’t much of an option for me anymore. One of the main things that went into deciding where to apply to was price and it is very unfortunate that I can’t receive the kind of scholarships that I would have as a freshman.
Did you have any options that were affordable as an incoming frosh besides the merit package at Kent State? How much debt did you accrue for that first year and a half?
I’m concerned that you don’t seem to have a plan for how to pay for all of this. Maybe I’m missing something, but if you’re essentially going to have to start over to go into nursing, you’re not demonstrating that you know how you’re going to pay for it. And if you haven’t been directly admitted to either school’s nursing program, what happens if you fail to gain admission? The LAST thing you want to do is waste more time and money because you didn’t have a realistic plan to get your degree .
Have you sought advice in the Financial Aid & Scholarships forum?
My other option was going to University of Louisville who also gave me a $12,000 scholarship. I’m not a city girl though so I went with Kent State. For my past 2 years at Kent state I’ve taken out about $27,000 in private loans. I don’t think anybody really has a plan for paying for school. One of the main reasons I am transferring is because the nursing program here would keep me in school for longer then if I transferred and the sooner I graduate is the better. I plan to have a back up for if I don’t get in the nursing program but I am also planning on focusing on my education so I do get into the nursing program. I have not sought advice from the Financial Aid & Scholarships forum because I feel as if my family knows a lot when it comes to those things considering I am the youngest of 3. But I will definitely keep it in mind.