Bowling Green State University / Elon University

<p>Hello, here's my predicament: I am considering applying for transfer from Bowling Green State University to Elon University. In high school, I took college classes at BGSU (I am from Bowling Green- my high school is not very well off academically) and accumulated enough credits to graduate from high school a year early. I craved a more challenging academic experience and applied to 6 colleges: Elon University, Vanderbilt University (my reach school), DePaul University, University of Michigan, Ohio State University, and BGSU. I was accepted to Depaul, OSU, and BGSU. I was wait listed at U of M and was rejected from Vanderbilt (as I predicted I would be). I received a full merit scholarship from BGSU and a decent scholarships from DePaul and OSU. Elon was my #1 choice, I simply fell in love with the academics and the campus. I applied to their Fellows program to help pay for tuition. An admissions rep from Elon called me and told me that as competitive as my application was, they could not accept me/offer me merit scholarships at that time because I had not completed 3 full English credits (I was in 2 Honors/Post Secondary English courses). They also told me housing would be a little challenging because I would be 17 my entire first year. I was extremely upset and accepted my full scholarship from BGSU, planning to make the best of the situation. At BGSU, I have a 3.7 GPA and was involved in 4 organizations (leadership positions in 2). I am an Economics/Finance major but am unsatisfied with the academics here. BG has a decent business program but have trouble finding people/professors who are passionate academically and care about creating the best possible future for themselves. I am strongly considering applying for transfer to Elon, the school still seems like a perfect fit for me academically/socially. I'm not sure if I would be accepted for transfer (I have good recommendation letters from professors here and will be completing an internship in the fall), but I was wondering about opinions. As far as financials, I would anticipate being $20,000 in debt if I finished my degree at Elon vs. $0 at BGSU, but I've heard the reputation of the program/connections can make a large difference in salary post-grad. Thank you for reading.</p>

<p>I think that you should seriously consider transferring to Elon. Definitely a better school than BGSU, especially if you have no plans to remain in Ohio after graduation. However, I recommend also exploring some other colleges, just to keep your options open. </p>

<p>Also, make sure that the $20,000 figure is accurate. Once you get above $25,000 to $30,000 of debt, it can start to pinch. This is another good reason to expand your search to other colleges. Costs and aid vary widely. You might find a great school where your debt would be lower.</p>

<p>What is the total additional cost besides debt? $20k is a very reasonable amount of debt for your dream school.</p>

<p>@NROTCgrad and @chardo -the $20000 is what would not be covered by my parents’ anticipated contribution. DO you think I have good chances of being accepted to Elon for transfer? </p>

<p>Actually, nobody knows your chances. So apply. That is the only way to determine your chances. It is your dream school. You might kick yourself later if you failed to try. Failure does not hurt near as much as failing to try.</p>

<p>Also, you might consider Centre College down in Kentucky and Denison in Ohio. Plus, have you considered Miami University in Ohio? Their business school is considered to be excellent.</p>