Hi, I’m currently a rising sophomore at the University of Florida, and I’m planning on transferring to another college Fall 2017. I’ve been going over some of the requirements that colleges have for transferring students and I need some help and advice.
I’m in the Pace (Pathway to Campus Enrollment) program at UF, and this means that my classes are online until I reach 60 credits. Once I reach 60 credits, my classes will move onto campus to finish up my degree. My degree will be the same as someone who was admitted as a traditional student from the start but as of right now, I do not get the same privileges as traditional campus students. For example, UF does not give Pace students housing or transportation access, meal plans, football ticket discounts, etc. until you reach 60 credits and transfer onto campus. They said they made this program because with UF being a huge state school, they did not have enough space to accommodate the number of students they needed to admit for my year (my year was the first year Pace was initiated). Therefore, they made around 60 majors available online and students who applied for one of those majors, received a Pace offer instead of a traditional campus acceptance. The point I’m trying to make is that this is a legitimate program and my degree will be a normal degree and not an online one, I’m just doing it a little bit differently.
I chose to participate in this program because UF is the highest rank school in Florida and it was very affordable for me to attend. With the state scholarship I received and the full prepaid plan that my parents already had, I’m actually getting paid back while attending UF. I come from a middle/ upper-middle class family and I do not qualify for any financial aid. When I was a senior in high school, I wanted to attend a small liberal arts college (particularly a women’s college) but since I do not qualify for aid, my parents could not afford to spend nearly $65k+ per year so I settled for UF. However, my father got a promotion this year and my parents are willing to let me transfer into a private college and pay the tuition.
This is where I need help/ advice. I’m not 100% sure which colleges I’m going to apply to but I know Smith and Mount Holyoke will be included (I was accepted into both my senior year and Smith was my first choice). Both of these schools (and other liberal art colleges that I’ve looked at) require two professor recommendations but I do not think I can adequately provide this. Since all of my classes are online, my professors do not know me at all. I chose to stay in Miami (where I’m from) instead of moving to Gainesville since I was not offered housing or transportation (and other on-campus services). My online classes not only have Pace students like myself in them, but also traditional on- campus students, and UFOnline students. There are literally hundreds of students in my online classes. The only people I have spoken to in my online classes are my TA’s who basically run the course instead of the professor but I’ve never actually had a full discussion with them. Since the assignments are online, the TA’s are very specific with the instructions of the assignment so I never really had a reason to talk to them unless it was a quick clarification question. So what would be the best thing to put for professor recommendations in my situation?
Also, do colleges care about extracurricular activities when it comes to transfer students? Since I’m not on campus, I’m not active in any clubs and I also do not have a job. I was very active in high school, participating in community service and honor societies, but as of right now I’m more of a home body. My father is a pilot so he is always away and my mother has several medical conditions that make doing daily activities hard so I help out around the house a lot and run errands. My family is financially stable so I never felt like getting a job was necessary but I have applied for them throughout the year and just never had any luck. I’m pretty much a housewife to sum it up.
If you’ve read this far wow, thank you. I’m sorry this was so long, I thought explaining everything would be the best way for readers to understand my circumstance. I’m stuck on what to do about recommendations and extracurricular activities (if they’re necessary on applications for transfer students) so if there’s anyone that has been in a similar circumstance that I am currently in and has advice I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!