Got in! Now need to decide...

Transfer Students
1

<p>I'm looking for some advice and guidance as to whether I should transfer. At first I thought it would be an easy decision, but now I am not so certain.</p>

<p>Background:</p>

<p>I'm currently a junior majoring in English at Marist College. I applied to transfer to the University of Connecticut for the Spring 09' semester. I enjoy the small class sizes here at Marist, as well as the awesome professors, the beautiful, well-kept campus, and the on-campus housing (currently living in a 3-floor townhouse with 9 other guys.) </p>

<p>What I don't like, and what prompted me to apply to transfer, is the social environment. I have made a few great friends here, but I don't feel that I fit into this school socially. I'm Asian American, and had a few incidents last semester with kids taunting and hurling racial slurs at me. There is also not much in the way of ethnic diversity here, and many kids come from wealthy families and tend to act very spoiled, obnoxious, and selfish. Also, the cost is another factor: my family is paying around 24,000 a year right now with FAFSA financial aid, a Stafford Loan, and Marist scholarships. The tuition is slated to hike 2,000 dollars for next year.</p>

<p>From what I know of UCONN so far, they have a much more racially and economically diverse student body, and thus have a wide range of academic and social resources geared to different populations. Big interests there for me are the Asian American Cultural Center and Asian American Studies Institute. UCONN's English department has a very solid reputation, and has a wider range and breadth of courses than Marist does. I'm also originally from Connecticut so I would qualify for in-state tuition. The full cost for a year without any financial aid for UCONN is about 18,000 dollars. It would also get me closer to my girlfriend, who goes to college in Boston (although she strongly emphasized to not let her be a factor in my transfer decision). Another problem with transferring to UCONN is that I will most likely have to either take summer/winter courses or stay an extra semester. UCONN only has a 1 year residency requirement to graduate, but I don't know if all of my courses will transfer or count towards my major requirements.</p>

<p>I find myself at a difficult crossroads because this semester, for the most part, has been shaping up to be enjoyable. I haven't come across any discrimination or racism, and I really like the guys I am living with and have become good friends with them. I also landed a job in town as an EMT, and am starting up a new club on campus with a few friends.</p>

<p>Given this, I don't know what to do. I know nobody can make that decision for me but me, but I'd really appreciate some guidance with this.</p>

<p>Also, as far as financial aid goes, will FAFSA give me no financial aid if I go to UCONN, since it is much cheaper than Marist? The full price per year for UCONN is 18,000 dollars. I'm currently paying 24,000 for Marist right now with financial aid/scholarships (full cost for Marist is 37,000 dollars).</p>

<p>I'm trying to schedule a tour of UCONN for next weekend. They need a decision by October 16th at the latest.</p>

2

<p>First, congratulations on the acceptance.</p>

<p>You <em>do</em> have a big decision ahead of you. And a relatively short time frame for making it. So I understand how you'd like to bounce the options off of others for other opinions.</p>

<p>I think you're wise to schedule the tour of UConn. I'd suggest making an appointment with the right person to review your credits and see what will transfer (this might involve sending information to them ahead of time and their reviewing it for transferability. Whatever the method, I'd jump right on that, as this information will factor into your decision).</p>

<p>I agree with your GF that you should try not to let the distance between your campus and hers be a factor. I realize that may be difficult, but I think you and she are wise in this regard. Soon enough, you can live in the same town if you are still together.</p>

<p>You didn't say much about academics and major field, and how that factors into your decision. Nor about your plans post-college and whether one or the other school has an advantage in that regard.</p>

<p>I think it's great that you have continued to develop your interests, friendhips and activities on your current campus.</p>

<p>You've thought about the cost factor, which is good. I'm not strong on financial aid issues - I'd suggest you contact UConn's financial aid office re that. Or possibly someone on the FinAid forum here, or the Parent Forum, would know. But that would be second hand info vs. contacting UConn.</p>

<p>I'd suggest you gather all of the information/thoughts I've outlined above... and then I recommend trying this approach - see if it sends you toward a decision. <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=51596%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=51596&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

3

<p>Andale, thanks for your reply. I forgot to mention that UCONN's policy is that they will not evaluate credits for transfer until after the prospective student has already enrolled and paid the deposit fee. Same with financial aid, but I will contact their financial aid office to try to get more information regarding FAFSA, scholarships, etc.</p>

<p>As far as major field and academics, I'm currently an English major and applied to transfer into their English program. This is tough, as Marist and UCONN both have excellent English programs. UCONN has a wider selection of courses by virtue of it being a large state university. I would say though, after perusing UCONN's course catalog, that they have more English courses that pique my interest, such as early American/colonial lit, Civil War era lit, Asian American lit, and creative writing/fiction writing courses.</p>

4

<p>I expect that UCONN is FAFSA-only, so you can get a good idea of what UCONN would expect your family to pay by running one of the online FAFSA calculators (there's one at FinAid</a>! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans). Is the 24k you are paying Marist just your family EFC, or did they gap you for financial aid?</p>

<p>24k - 18k = 6k</p>

<p>6k per year for 3 more years (approximately) is 18k - not exactly chump change.</p>

<p>Lots of people transfer every single year to colleges/universities that are going to be less expensive for them. Saving money is a perfectly good reason to transfer.</p>

<p>And, don't worry about "having" to go to summer school. Lots of folks end up doing that.</p>

5

<p>Doing a tour should help with your decision. I can imagine this is a tough one since you have started to really find your place at Marist. We toured Marist when my son was looking at schools, so I have a idea of what it's like there. We were also turned off by the very preppy and homogeneous student body we saw at that time. I give you credit for getting past the difficulties you encountered. </p>

<p>My son is transferring schools now as a junior. He likes his current school too, and has found a good group of friends, but feels he's come as far as he could in the environment he's in and wants to try something very different. He is actually heading up from the South to closer your way to New Paltz.</p>

<p>Good luck with your decision.</p>

6

<p>Re the summer/winter courses you might need or the extra term you might need.</p>

<p>I agree with happymom that having to do some summer school is not so big a deal. My S had to take one summer course after transfer in order to make everything work and graduate on time. It was a busy summer, with a full-time job and one tough course. It also cost a couple thousand $$. But it was doable.</p>

<p>Now, if you need to do another term, that would eat into (but not totally eat up) your cost savings, I would imagine. Or, if you had to do a full summer term (or more), that might affect whether or how much you will earn that summer. </p>

<p>All things to think about. As if you didn't have enough already ;).</p>

<p>Just remember that you now have two good choices. Which is a good thing.</p>