I worked really hard in high school I had a 4.3 GPA a 32 on the ACT. I wanted to go to basically the best school I could get into. So I was accepted into Lehigh University and I was undeniably unhappy at Lehigh. I hope to pursue computer engineering and for several reasons I decided I should at least try to transfer for the Fall of 2019 as a sophomore to some schools like: Rice University, Georgia Tech, University of Miami, University of Florida, University of Texas Austin, and University of Houston. After looking into the process I became slightly concerned because after looking at University of Texas Austin, I kinda fell in love with it, the program, the clubs, activities, the city. But after looking into the transfer process it made it seem like nothing I did in high school would matter to my application even though I would have only been in college for 1 year. I am doing pretty good in school especially as an engineering student, I probably will have 3.5-3.7 by the end of the semester. But It made it seem like nothing I did in high school would matter, or that the prestige or rigor of my current university wouldn’t matter in my acceptance. Maybe someone with a little information on the topic could enlighten me. I guess is it all true?
Why are you so focused on your old high school grades? What you did in high school matters for freshman admission.
Once you go to a college, your high school grades aren’t really considered for transfer unless the school targets early sophomore transfers. The colleges want to see how you currently perform and EXCEL in college coursework. They want to see how you’ve invested your time in your current university (clubs, work, volunteering, etc.)
You can’t go back to high school. It’s not the same level of intensity and study.
Why do you want to transfer if you are “undeniably happy” at your current school? Does it not offer the computer engineering program you plan to pursue?
It is very hard to transfer or gain entry into certain majors at UT, especially into computer science. If you are not a Texas resident it is an even harder admit. https://admissions.utexas.edu/explore/transfer-profile
The schools you are looking to transfer to are all over the map in terms of size, rankings, etc. Your college record will be most important to the schools you are looking to enter.
I used the term “undeniably UN-happy”, I picked it for the wrong reasons and it took me until I got her to realize that. I can’t do the things that I did for fun once and the things that used to be fun just aren’t anymore. I just can’t help but feel a very general lack of opportunity based on location and research is limited to fields outside the ones im interested in. I am also paying under $70,000 for a school I am not super happy with…
@“aunt bea” Im not super hung up on it, it is what it is. I just find it a little absurd when as a freshman in college they expect me to be incredibly involved and perfect in just one semester. There just doesn’t seem to be much room for evaluation based off one semester. Like one semester of grades can’t tell even close to a story. Just curious if they look into high school work.
Depends on the colleges.
That’s why some schools won’t take sophomore transfers.
Sorry I misread your post above. Look for schools that have high transfer acceptance rates as well as some reaches. The public universities should have lower tuition than what you are paying. Rice’s cost would be comparable to Lehigh.
Most colleges will look at your HS stats if you are applying to transfer during your first of university.
But, same as with your first round of college admissions, it is important to do your homework. That means figuring out why your first choice didn’t work out, which means thinking carefully about what you have learned so far, and your priorities for the rest of your college experience. That includes:
- academics: what matters to you? rigor, prestige, specific areas of interest within the subject, class size, level of mentoring/advising available? what do you like AND not like about where you are- you will want to try and keep the positives and avoid the negatives with your next choice.
- social: what are the factors at Lehigh that do AND do not work for you? how will they be different at X university? you have 3 schools whose most common variable is the state that they are in (so, is there a personal reason to be in Texas?) all of the places you list are in the south- coincidence? All of the places you list are vastly bigger than Lehigh- is that a relevant factor? etc.
- admissions: you need to make a realistic assessment of your options (admissions, financial, etc). Are you in-state for UT-A? if not, it is almost certainly not happening.