<pre><code> Right now I am a freshman at Lehigh University and have finally come to the decision that I want to transfer. I am a business major and the schools that I have decided to apply to so far are Boston U and NYU. My main concern is that my college grades will hold me back. I am taking 15 credits and expect to get mostly Bs and Cs. I actually have a 68 in geology right now!!! Should I drop it and only have 12 credits? or should I keep it and try to pull a C??? How much will my college grades hurt me in transferring? Also any other suggestions for schools would be appreciated. I am looking for a good business school in or near a city. My high school stats are SAT=1380, ranked in top 6% of 500 kids. Please give me feedback on if you think I will have a tough time transferring due to my poor college gpa. Will they take into account the difficulty and grade deflation of the school? I feel that Lehigh is very difficult. I would think that since they will only have 1 semester of grades to look at, that they would not weight it too heavily. Also, will the fact that I am coming from a pretty highly ranked school help me? Thanks, sorry if this is unorganized.
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<p>You should probably check on the minimum credits required and any specific course preferences for transfers into business at BU as well.</p>
<p>Obvioiusly, good grades are always going to improve your chances. It is unlikely "Grade inflation" at your current college will be viewed as an excuse for C's and lower grades. Your best bet: work like heck to bring those grades up before the end of this semester, and keep them up next semester. Good luck!</p>
<p>I just checked the BU site and the US News & World Reports premium edition for you. The good news is that Boston U does not appear to require a minimum number of credits for transferring. The bad news is that the US News site says: </p>
<p>Minimum college GPA required: 3.5 </p>
<p>I can not find this on the BU transfer information site, but you need to check with them to see if this is correct. Drop the admissions office an email simply asking "Is there a minimum GPA requirement for transfer applicants to be considered for admission?" It also couldn't hurt to ask the same question of NYU admissions, but be sure to specifically ask if there is a minimum for Stern (the US News site only indicated the minimum requirement was not available, not that there wasn't one).</p>
<p>In any case, BU strongly suggests that you get a written recommendation from a college teacher who can address your academic performance and potential. They also ask for a recommendation from the Dean of your current school.</p>
<p>Don't know if you were hoping to transfer for next semester or the fall, but the deadline for Spring semester applicants is tommorrow, November 1.</p>
<p>One other thought. On the oft chance that you applied to and were accepted to either BU or NYU last year, you might contact them and ask if you would even need to reapply as a transfer. Some schools will keep applications of accepted students on file for up to a year. Don't know if this is the case with either BU or NYU, but if you did get in last year, it might be worth pursuing.</p>
<p>A few ideas for other schools to consider as back ups for NYU and BU: Villanova (their transfer deadline is June 1 for next fall which would give you the full spring semester to get your GPA up), American U, Ithaca College, the University of Denver, Providence College, Loyola College of Maryland. I'm sure other folks will have more ideas for you as well.</p>
<p>So are you guys basically saying that I'm stuck here? I would be applying for the fall of next year, and unfortunately I did not apply to any other schools besides Lehigh. BU is probably my number one choice. I would think that they would consider 4 years of high school work over 1 semester of college grades. Am I incorrect in this assumption? I may be able to make get somewhere around a B average here for the semester.</p>
<p>Gibson: Carolyn gave you four posts filled with information and specific advice. YOu should get a lot more out of that than "So are you guys basically saying that I'm stuck here?"</p>
<p>No, you're not stuck there. But NYU and BU may not be alternatives, depending on what grades you get this semester. Whether or not you think that balancing one college semester against four years of hs is fair, doesn't matter. The fact is, you are giving colleges a chance to see how you perform in college, and they are going to use that information.</p>
<p>So I concur with what is basically a two-pronged approach laid out in Carolyn's posts: first, move heaven and earth to raise those grades if you possibly can, and second, explore all alternatives including what exactly BU and NYU will require, along with what other schools might be possibilities (such as those Carolyn listed). You have some time; even the earliest transfer apps aren't usually due until March, and as she said, Villanova isn't due until June.</p>
<p>So try to make the best of Lehigh while you're there, and expand yourview of what other choices you might make. Good luck!</p>
<p>Carolyn you are a treasure trove of information -- the advice you offer is always on target and practical. If I have any questions when it comes time for S2, I know who to ask!</p>
<p>Gibson, I just re-read many of your previous posts. Based on your discomfort living in the dorms, discomfort with college social life, and trouble studying at Lehigh, I would suggest that you consider another alternative besides rushing to transfer. </p>
<p>Leave Lehigh at the end of this semester. Return home to your parents house. Enroll in community college or a local 4-year school where you will face easier coursework. Work hard to bring your grades up over the spring and fall semesters, complete general education requirements, and meet any potential pre-recquisites for transferring such as those at NYU. </p>
<p>In the meantime, do some solid research about possible transfer options in order to find the right social and academic situation for your needs and comfort. It may be BU, it may be NYU, it may be a different school. You will then have a more solid college record to offer them, a clearer sense of the type of situation you want to be in, and a year's maturity might also help you be better prepared for college social life.</p>
<p>In most cases, I would not recommend this route, especially as there are other colleges you could probably transfer from directly from Lehigh (see my suggestions above) where your grades won't be a total deal breaker. However, it sounds to me that your difficulties adjusting to Lehigh involve more than just getting poor grades. It sounds like you may just need a little more time to be ready for living away from home while facing tough academics in a college situation. Please consider whether this is true for you, because, if it is, transferring is not likely to help things. There's nothing to be ashamed of if you just need a little more time to be ready to handle living away from home or the stress of college academics at a very competitive school.</p>
<p>I hope you'll take some time to think all of this through and discuss it with your parents. Sometimes it is better not to rush from one solution to another until you've given some thought to what is really at the root of the problem. Best of luck.</p>
<p>I did think about leaving after this semester and enrolling in a community college in order to get better grades. But if I am applying to transfer for the fall, schools would not see my 2nd semester grades anyway would they? I thought they only see 1st semester grades. Also, I really don't have an problems being away from home. It is not like I am homesick or anything. I just want to move to an environment that I can truly enjoy, and it really feels like a city would be the place for me. There are many more different types of people and different things to do at places like BU. I would think that I could get somewhere in the 2.5-3.0 range overall here. I would also be kind of embarrassed to leaver this school and go back home to communit college, especially since I thought 1st semester grades are what would count for a fall transfer. Am I incorrect in this? I am flying up to Boston this weekend to visit BU.</p>
<p>Gibson, I sympthize and understand what you're going through. The answer to your last question depends on where you're trying to transfer to --- as I noted, some schools such as Villanova (and others) will take transfer applications up until June, giving you time to get another better semester under your belt at Lehigh or elsewhere. The truth is that you will be at a disadvantage applying to transfer with only one semester of so-so grades, so looking at schools with later transfer app. deadlines may work to your favor. If your GPA is above 2.5, all of the schools that I suggested will be open to taking a look at your transfer application for next fall. What I'm concerned about is that Boston U may not be willing to consider a transfer app. if you don't meet a minimum GPA in your college courses. Obviously, if that is true, you'd be best served by another full semester so you could get your grades up. Or, just get your grades up for this semester to meet the minimum!</p>
<p>Will you be doing an interview at BU admissions this weekend? If so, be sure to ask about that required GPA and any required classes.</p>
<p>Carolyn - You are so good. Your advice is practical and straightforward. Sometimes the advice and news is not what one wants to hear, but you have a way of mixing the sour with the sweet that makes a person stand up and listen. I hope the poster takes your advice and does some serious introspection.</p>
<p>gibson, as I mentioned to you previously I graduated from Lehigh and i know what you mean. Several comments to add to carolyn's excellent advice.</p>
<p>1-You still have half a semester, don't assume you can't bring up the grades. No offense but you're smart and you can do better than that in a course like geology, where I doubt if it's a problem of understanding the material, rather putting in the time. You still have a month and a half, including finals. </p>
<p>2-If you are going to transfer, put all your energy (frustration!) into doing the best you can in every course. </p>
<p>3-Respectfully I'd scratch Villanova...too Lehigh-like (just in the suburbs vs run down mill town).</p>
<p>4-I agree Lehigh is a tough school but this isn't widely known so I don't think that will help your situation.</p>
<p>5-If you can't get the grades up above 3.0 you will probably have to trade down, but hopefully at least you'll be happy and do well there. For instance if BU doesn't work, consider Northeastern. </p>
<p>6-Seems like you'd enjoy a city school, but have you considered a very large school, like UMd, UMass, Syracuse? Although not in a city you might like the diversity of people, more action, less absolute rule of the fraternity life...in other words these are places not like Lehigh.</p>
<p>NJres, yep. I have been under a lot of stress lately and spelling is the least of my concerns. : )</p>
<p>2331, excellent advice, especially about Villanova. Syracuse would be a good possiblity, and I also like the suggestion of U Md. which has a terrific business program. I know of several students who transferred there from Lehigh-like smaller schools and they have been satisfied with the move. Even Penn State might be a good possibility to consider.</p>
<pre><code> First I just want to tell you all how much I appreciate your time and effort. It means a lot to me to have people I don't even know go out of their way to help me. I just got back today from Boston. I went for the weekend to look at BU. It seemed to me that Boston is a very clean, safe, and fun place with lots of college kids. I was with my friend who goes there and we were walking around the city at 3 am with no worries at all. While the dorms I saw were not great, and the security policy was a pain, I don't think that those issues would be a problem for me since I would probably just get an apartment.
I talked to an admissions person before the info session. We talked for a while about the transfer process. She mentioned that the average transfer gpa was a 3.6 for last year's applicants. She understood that I was in a tough situation but she did not really give me any real answers or advice. She suggested possibly going back home next semester to go to a comm. college in order to raise my gpa. My fear of this option is that I go home to community college, apply to schools and don't get in. This would leave me stuck at a community college after leaving a well respected university all for nothing. Not to mention all the crap I would have to take from my friends about going back to comm. college. I really do not feel that it is worth leaving Lehigh to take a chance on rasing my gpa to apply to other schools.
I really did like the city of Boston. I keep hearing about the incredible amount of grade deflation there, and how students have to work very hard just to earn B's which should probably be A's. This scares me. But I feel that I would really enjoy living in an apartment in Boston, as opposed to being stuck in a dorm here for ANOTHER WHOLE YEAR, as they just made a rule saying that all sophomores must live on campus from now on.
I had no intention of going in for so long so I will try to sum it up here. I liked Boston, BU had some positives and some negatives, and I don't really want to stay here or go back home. I am going to D.C. soon to look at GWU and will try to keeo an open mind, regardless of some things that I have read. Thank you everyone for all your help.
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<p>I will tell you guys my plans as of now, so let me know what you think.
I am going to leave Lehigh after this semester with 13 credits(i am actually going to go drop my 2 credit calc course right now so i don;t risk getting an F on my transcript). So I will leave after this semester with probably around a B average. I will go to a school near home called Monmouth University. This is not a very competitive school, so I am expecting to do extremely well there. I expect my gpa to jump there. I will check out schools over winter break and then send in apps sometime around the beginning of Jan/Feb? For Monmouth, I do not need letters of rec and they will not look at my college work. Their average sat is 950 and they want a 3.0 in HS(i had a 1380 and a 4.8) The app deadline for spring is Dec. 1st so i will get that done. My question is will this route work for getting into a school for fall of next year such as BU, GWU, Northeastern, and other schools on those levels? Will they look down on me for leaving Lehigh and going to Monmouth? Also, will they be able to see my grades improving soon enough for admission for Fall '06? Also, for the apps for next year, would I have to get letters of rec from profs at Lehigh or Monmouth? I am still somewhat confused as to how I will get to the schools I eventually want to go to, but I am just happy that I will no longer have to struggle for mediocre grades after this semester. All advice and guidance is much appreciated. Thanks</p>