Deciding whether or not to transfer and to where

Transfer Students
1

Hi, I was wondering if I can get some general tips given my situation. Sorry if it is a bit long.

I’m currently at uark, but my family has split up and I feel just like there is no reason to stay. I also did not get any financial aid (aside from an independent state scholarship) due to applying late. I am in a terrible housing situation where I am paying a TON for a tiny shared, noisy room (it won’t apply next year but having been forced into it really makes me want to leave). I had a couple of classes I loved but others were extremely low quality (not that that is representative of the university). I am a Computer Science major which makes things all the more uncertain.

I feel similar to how I did in high school, as though while I am have done very well I cannot have an ego because I am just a big fish in a small pond (I know that sounds arrogant. I do not intend to project some superiority over my peers). I am not depressed or anything. I just feel like this is a terrible fit. I feel as though I am going to go pretty far in debt for… I struggle to think of a reason.

For raw academic stats:
College (this semester): 4.0 (15 credits)
Concurrent during HS: 4.0 (9 credits)
UW High school: 3.7 or so, but really good for the last two years
APs:
Cal AB 5
CS 5
CSP 4
Lit 2
ACT: 32

I will also have a great letter of recommendation from this semester and from high school.

I’ve finished cal 2 and will be taking discrete this spring semester. I know things will probably get a lot more interesting but past reasons still apply.

I am concerned because I have only done one semester and I was not the best student in high school, so I may struggle to get good aid (or potentially acceptance) if I choose to transfer. My ACT is not amazing, though I have legitimate justification regarding why it is lower relative to my other stats. I don’t know how to weigh whether things will be worth it from a purely statistical perspective. Average salaries by college are, of course, difficult to judge with.

Any ideas on what I should do? I don’t want to believe it is too late. I want to go somewhere I will be challenged without going into a ton of debt. I also don’t really want to stay in this state for many reasons. There are so many options and factors I just really don’t know what direction to turn, and I don’t know if my profile is competitive enough to make me desirable. Please help with any tips or recommendations.

2

What do you want to study?

Where would you want to study?

How would you pay for it?

Your family has just split up, you dislike your living situation, you aren’t happy with your classes. Why don’t you take at least some of those problems to a counselor at the health center on campus? Their whole job is to help students sort through the multiple issues in their lives and come up with good plans for their futures.

3

@Lupe123 You have great stats and if your goal is to transfer, yes, of course you can transfer. There are plenty of top-tier colleges I’m sure you’d be happier at. However, funding your next college is something you will have to consider very carefully. Transfer students normally don’t receive significant merit scholarships. Is your family low-income or lower-middle income? In that case, plenty of schools will meet all of your need or even most of it (I keep reading the misinformation on this board that “transfer students can’t receive aid” – that is flat-out not true when it comes to need-based aid! Merit is another story). If you are upper-middle-class, on the other hand, you may be out of luck when it comes to aid.