How much would it hurt my college admissions chances to transfer out of an academically rigorous magnet school where I am getting bad grades (B/B+ average) to a much easier private school where I would get better grades. I really want to do it for my mental health and educational growth but I think it would negatively affect my chances.
Mental health trumps everything else. If you have good evidence that you are likely to be healthier and happier at the other high school, and your family can afford the cost of private education, then pack up and go.
You also should look into other options. Can you drop back to a less stressful schedule at your current high school? Can you move to a different public school? Can you be home schooled?
And please drop the notion that a B/B+ average is “bad grades”. That GPA will get you into plenty of colleges where you can get a good education.
I agree with the above poster. If you can get yourself into a environment that is healthier for you, it’s better to go thrive there that burn out where you are.
Mental health is all! My daughter transferred from a top notch public school (she was making straight As there, though) where she was absolutely miserable to a lower tier private school her junior year. We weren’t even thinking of college admissions then, just keeping her in school and alive. She thrived in the school and got into some great colleges. We have no regrets at all about the transfer.
No amount of prestige is worth being miserable. Seriously. This is your life, not some list of achievements you have to get through to win a prize.
- In the real world, B/B+ at a rigorous school is not "bad grades."
- Are you in 10th grade now, thinking of switching at the end of the year, or 11th grade now, thinking of switching in the middle of the year? If it's the former, going for it seems like a good idea. It's a little more radical to switch in mid-year. But I agree that you should be someplace you feel comfortable and engaged. I don't agree that you should transfer just to raise your GPA.
- Negatively affect your chances where? What would your expectations be if you stayed in your current school? Where do people there like you go to college? Where do people at the private school go?
- My daughter transferred for 11th grade from an ultra-rigorous private school, where she was getting good grades but not quite the top of her class, to a high-quality public academic magnet, where she got very good grades but, because the two schools effectively had radically different grading systems, ranked somewhere around the 70th percentile of her class. (By the time she graduated, she made it to right around the 90th percentile, but no one cared anymore.)
Did transferring hurt her college applications? Yeah, probably. She was fine, though. She ended up at a logical place for her, and she had other good choices. She was hurt by (a) not being in the queue for leadership positions in extracurriculars, (b) not being allowed into all the APs she would have taken in 11th grade had she been part of the group of students who had the best grades and were most ambitious, and consequently © her guidance counselor refusing to say that she had taken the most rigorous curriculum, (d) her relatively low class rank at a school where class rank was seen as ultra-important, and (e) her guidance counselor really not knowing her at all, and not wanting to take the time to explain her circumstances.
I think it would have been much harder, however, if she had transferred in the middle of 11th grade.
Do what is best for you. This means being at a place where you can learn and grow. Mental health is crucial to learning. Your parents are involved in this decision as well. Presumably they are on board with a transfer and able to afford it. Otherwise switching to a different public HS would be the thing to do.
A good life is not getting into the “best” college, the best job… It is leading a satisfying life. You are likely to learn more at the “lesser” school because you will not be as stressed out. This will give you a better foundation for success in college. And that college doesn’t need to be the most prestigious- it needs to be a good fit for you.
Wise of you to look at these things. Remember- those you leave behind will no longer be part of your world and their opinions do not count. The current school may be a better fit for them- or they may wish they had your options.
Your chances for admission to some colleges will be hurt as much by lesser grades as they will by school attended. Choose the right fit school for you- the place you can be happy learning and enjoy.
The junior year of HS is the last one college admissions will see. An improvement is good. It may be a lot easier to put in maximal effort if you are not stressed out. The colleges on your radar will reflect who you are, not who others are or you want to be.