<p>After six weeks my son laments he wants to leave his prestigious state school, maybe now!, because he doesn't like it.
He blamed us because we wouldn't allow him to go to a lesser school because his chief interest was a girl. Less than 10% from his HS were accepted to this college.
He claims he'll transfer to another school in the spring but, has no idea what school. We had hoped he'd "settle in" and realize we, his friends and HS teachers all steered him in the right direction.
BAM! He tells us he wants to leave out of the blue!
How likely is he to be accepted as a transfer for this spring at a decent/good school?</p>
<p>If he really hates the school, have him come home and take some general ed classes at your local community college. This will give him time to research other schools, send out applications, and start fresh at a new college in the fall. Make sure he is aware of transfer app deadlines at each school he’s interested in applying.</p>
<p>nearly zero. its too late for any decent college.
In order to transfer he will need to get prof recommendations, transcripts sent, etc, etc. He can start the transfer application process, and has until Jan or Feb to submit his application. He should sit tight until the end of the yea rat his current college and give it more of a chance.
He may start to change his mind come Spring time.
My son was SURE he made a mistake at the beginning of his Freshman year, so he contacted college #2,where he was also accepted and was the college everyone was sure he would attend, to see if they still had space for him- was told what he needed to do to have the best chance of transferring there in Soph year. Fast forward to Oct of sophomore year- DS is at college #2, which accepted him [again], and realized he really was happy at college # 1 by the end of freshman year. So back he goes in the Spring semester. [ he was on a "leave of absence from college # 1, something I strongly recommend your son see if he can do, if he does decide to transfer out . Sometimes, you have to leave a place in order to realize how good it actually was. ymmv.</p>
<p>2 of DD’s friends transfered for spring of their freshman year. Both knew right away they were in the wrong place, had made the initial decision on faulty reasoning. They found where they wanted to be and filed the transfer paperwork. Not sure what the timing is but applications are most likely due pretty soon.</p>
<p>Plenty of kids come home at Christmas and don’t return for spring term. I’d lay this right back on your son. Don’t let him play the blame game…that’s a cop out. Tell him it’s on him to put a plan in place and he needs to be successful gradewise this semester so he doesn’t tank his transfer possibilities and keep you posted. If it were my son I’d tell him if he comes home at Christmas with no plan he can find a job or he can get his apps in quickly and finish up the year then transfer but tell him he’s a big boy and you’re not doing it for him. He needs to get on top of transfer deadlines really quickly if he thinks he’s going to try to make a move early in 2012.</p>
<p>I didn’t think a midyear transfer to a good, or even decent, school was likely. I guess we have to let him make his own decision, even if it’s a mistake.
There’s just that niggling feeling that, as a parent, we made some error in the past 18 years that brought us to this point.
It wasn’t that long ago I thought I’d be gone long before he even attended college, fate certainly has it’s twists.</p>
<p>Kids transfer at semester all the time. If your s really did make an error in his selection, what harm is there in trying to find a new school for spring?</p>
<p>Stage: back before electricity, I was a miserable first semester freshman at your son’s school; needless to say, I graduated from said school with honors…</p>
<p>Give it until next semester; things tend to turn around…I had my transfer apps all ready to go when, lo and behold, I met a whole new group of people…</p>
<p>We know a young lady who was ready to switch OUT around this time freshman year. She phoned the admission rep at another college that had admitted her and asked if it was possible to transfer over. They had room and let her come in spring semester. Before that, I’d never heard of such a thing. Who knew?</p>
<p>OP, in your first post you wrote your S wanted to go to a “lesser school” because of a girl. Is this GF still in the picture? If so, he may want to join her still and you might take that into consideration.</p>
<p>Could the two of you compromise – you’ll allow him to transfer (i.e. pay for his tuition/r&b) provided he sticks it out for one full year? I think one semester simply isn’t sufficient to really give a school a chance especially during that topsy turvy transitional first year. I transferred and left a full ride at a fairly prestigious private in exchange for a mediocre state school. On the one hand, I was happy at the state school and met my husband there; on the other hand, I often regret the unnecessary money my parents spent. If I would have stuck it out, I know I would have eventually found my way, made the best of the situation, and been happy. Good luck!</p>
<p>D transferred after her first semester. She was 3,000 miles from home but so miserable. Took a bus to a school in Maine for an interview. Was accepted at 2 schools for 2nd term freshman year and never looked back. I think a kid should be able to say that the fit is wrong. They also need to step up and do the work to transfer.
Our S has been unhappy for 5 semesters now but has never stepped up. Now he is transferring to a much lesser school because it has easy access for him.</p>
<p>Also, he needs to check the different schools transfer dates–many are later than Oct.
But he needs to do this and if he doesn’t he might just need to adjust.</p>
<p>My son transferred for the spring semester freshman year. He knew the first few days at the first college that it was not going to work (and we had visited many times, but missed out on some important details we did not think to ask about. They were only obvious when he moved in.) He started the transfer process within the first week or two. It was easy for him because the college he wanted to transfer to had accepted him as a freshman. So they pulled that application, references, etc. All he had to do was submit a short statement and his final HS transcript. The second college actually gave him more merit money as a transfer than they offered him as a freshman. He transferred to a more rigorous academic environment and a more active campus. His acclimation at the second school went quite smoothly and by the end of the spring semester, his dormmates actually forgot he was the “transfer kid” and it was as if he had been there from the beginning.</p>
<p>It’s interesting - his college has very late deadlines for transfers. December 15 for spring and August 1 for fall.</p>
<p>good luck. We do the best we can and then we let them stomp off. National geographic has an interesting article on the adolescent brain this month. ;)</p>
<p>Rodney,</p>
<p>“From your lips, to Gods ear”. He blames us, especially me, for not allowing him to go to his “Dream(girl)” school. This school would have never been on his radar otherwise.</p>