i feel like i’ve heard so many stories about people transferring to much “better” schools but because i’ve been struggling at my current (ranked top 40) school, my first semester grades are kind of average at best. i may not even end up with one A.
what kind of schools should i be looking at? any academically better than where i am now? the same kind of schools i was applying to my senior year? or worse?
thanks.
First you need to ask yourself why you want to transfer. That will help you figure out what kind of school you are looking for. You might want to give your current school a bit more time.
@xraymancs i know, of course. i’m staying next semester for sure but want to start the transfer applications over christmas break in case.
i’m just asking in terms of academic standards.
If you transfer after your first year, then high school grades and test scores will still be used. However, your ability to do the work at your current school is important too. This means that unless you can make a strong case about why your grades are middling where you are now, you should be looking at schools which might not be quite as rigorous as where you are now. Of course, you should apply to a range of schools unless you have a specific one in mind.
@xraymancs my poor grades don’t really have to do with my abilities - more so just an unfortunate consequence because of not enjoying myself at school.
should i note this or make up an excuse when i apply? i’m sure my grades next semester will improve noticeably.
All the more reason to be really sure that you know what and why you are so unhappy that you can’t do your work- so that it doesn’t happen again.
As @xraymancs pointed out, If you transfer in first year the college(s) you apply to will look at your HS record- but they will expect you to have the maturity of a college student, not a HS student.You will want to articulate- specifically- what you are looking for from a different college- and ‘I’m not having fun’ probably isn’t what they are looking for.
@collegemom3717 is correct. If you really want to transfer, you need to show that your first semester was simply a question of transitioning to college and really do better in the second term. There isno better way to show that you are ready to do college-level work.
@collegemom3717 @xraymancs yes i completely understand this - i have my reasons but would prefer not to say online, but it is definitely not just “i’m not having fun”.
my question is simply what kind of academically ranked schools i should be looking at - better, same, worse …
‘Kind of average’ is hard to guess what you mean- if you mean all Bs that’s one thing, if you mean a mix of Bs and Cs - or lower- that’s very much another. If the former, and you can get a good teacher rec and have a good narrative as to ‘why’ the transfer school, imo roughly similar unis would be appropriate. If the latter, I’m not sure why a uni with similar- or higher- stats would be interested.
Yes, if you don’t want to tell us what are these “kind of average grades” or what university you are at now, then it is very hard to give anything more than very generic advice.
@collegemom3717 @xraymancs
understandable - if either of you are familiar with the transfer process and would be willing to privately message with me, i’d be appreciative. i’d just rather not have personal info on web - otherwise, thanks for your help!