<p>I went to a gifted High school and unfortunately did not excel grade-wise. Therefore I was accepted to a mediocre University for the Spring 2011 semester, and was originally planning on taking a year off to do volunteer work abroad and apply to a better University as a freshman. However, I've been told that this is not a good idea considering my poor High School grades and decided to attend college in the Spring. If I do well for that one semester, will I be able to transfer and still be considered a "Freshman" and live in the freshman housing? I won't have enough credits to be a Sophomore, right? Also, will my one semester of spectacular (hopefully) grades be enough to overshadow my HS grades and get me into a top 20 school? Seeing as this is a pretty unique situation no one has any answers for me, so I hope you guys can help!!</p>
<p>Successful top 20 transfer students are usually students, who as HS seniors, rec’d a handful of acceptances from top 20 colleges. A common scenario might be the stellar student admitted to a bunch of colleges but chooses to accept the merit scholarship at his nearby public college. After rethinking, he applies to transfer to one of those he initially rejected.</p>
<p>One semester of good grades at a community college will not overshadow your HS performance. I’d say your chances are slim to none, unfortunately.</p>
<p>You can find the answers to many of your questions about transferring in the Transfer Forum. Click on “Discussion Home” in the upper-left of this screen, and scroll down to find it. Once you are there, don’t forget to read through the thread at the top of the forum titled “Transfer Admissions 101”.</p>
<p>if you attend college in the spring semester you will no longer be considered a freshman applicant by other schools. As a transfer applicant, few will consider you with just 1 semester of college grades; they will want to see a longer record. It of course may be possible to some day transfer to a “top 20” school, but I have to admit I wonder if it would be a good fit for you given that you apparently were unable to hold your own against the other kids at a gifted HS; the top 20 schools enroll the brightest kids from across the nation, not just the school district.</p>
<p>As for taking a year off for volunteer work and re-applying, your HS grades are not going to improve in that year off. Colleges are in the education business, not the humanitarian-aid business. So while excellent ECs can be a tipping factor in admission to a good college, they play 2nd fiddle to grades and test scores. Any adcom or college rep will tell you that. If you go that route you will help some people, get some valuable experience, but not change your college admission prospects.</p>
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<p>General statements like this about who is a transfer applicant cannot be made, each college has their own definition. For instance GWU considers you a transfer applicant if you have taken 1 post-HS college course. While Y & H still consider you a fr applicant if you have not completed a full year of post-HS college work. </p>
<p>NOTE: these are policies about HOW you apply, and don’t say anything about your chances of acceptance. Considering your question of 1 spectacular semester of college making up for 4 years of HS, no it won’t. And don’t forget that the transfer rate at most (if not all) top 20 schools is lower than fr admissions.</p>
<p>Thank you to HM1 for referring the OP to the Transfer Students forum, where they are most likely to receive up-to-date, accurate information.</p>
<p>mikemac: I thought it was unnecessary to mention it earlier but now that you bring it up I actually only struggled through High School because I had a learning disability that was not diagnosed till my Junior year. Even after that my school was not very helpful in terms of accommodating to my needs because the teachers rarely had to deal with learning disabilities. So in response to your comment I feel that I could absolutely “hold my own” against the brightest kids from across the nation, and I feel that my test scores (34 on my ACT with time and a half) attest to that. Also I do agree with your point on volunteering which is why I said I decided against it.
To T26E4, I actually have to strongly disagree with your comment that “Successful top 20 transfer students are usually students, who as HS seniors, rec’d a handful of acceptances from top 20 colleges”. All of the students I know who transferred were not in that situation whatsoever (e.g. BU to Vanderbilt, or Trinity to Dartmouth). They all transferred simply because they weren’t enjoying their experience and wanted to go to a better school.
Also, entomom, when looking at the transfer vs freshman stats from the top 20 schools I am interested in, it actually seemed that transferring is actually easier than applying as a fr. For example, Emory’s fr acceptance rate is roughly 30%, while their transfer rate is about 40%. Vanderbilt’s is 20% vs 51% (but I’ve heard how Vanderbilt really likes transfer students for some reason, not sure why. I’m not complaining though seeing as that’s where I want to transfer! hahaha). Other top 20 schools (such as Rice, Cornell, and Upenn) differ in the same way, just not quite so drastically. Though I’m sure that there are many other schools that make it much harder to transfer! I guess it just depends on which.</p>
<p>I think your best option would be to go to re-apply now and see where you get in as a first year for the fall. Even if its not an amazing school do your best there then apply in the spring to get into a new school your sophomore fall.</p>