Hey everyone,
I’m currently a freshman at a top liberal arts school (think Williams, Amherst, Middlebury) and I’m really keen on transferring. I think the NESCACs are just too isolated. Unfortunately i got a 3.75 gpa my first semester (3x -A, 1x A). Is it over for me if I wanted to transfer to a better school like cornell, duke, georgetown, dartmouth, penn, ect?
What is the academic reason you want to transfer? That will be what needs to be on your application to the schools you listed.
Your grades are fine?..in my opinion.
Is it April Fools Day?
You could have a 3.75 at directional state U - it’s still a 3.75.
And a top liberal arts school isn’t any better or worse than the others you mentioned. They are different but not better or as you note - worse.
hmmmm - screwed is probably not the word I would use to describe your situation.
I do think you need a reality check on both of your premises - the “horrid” GPA (not) and that the LACs are not “better”. Maybe they’re not better for you - but they’re certainly not worse than the other list you’ve provided.
If you want to transfer - and I’d hope you’d give it more time - but if you want to transfer, then go ahead and try. Whether or not you have the opportunity - the schools will decide.
If you want out so bad, you might add other schools that might be easier admits. Or is only schools at this level you are willing to leave for?
Anyway, congrats on your success but I do think your perspective is a tad off.
Good luck.
I’d love to add a few more schools that are easier admits, but i can’t. I’m not happy where I am and i definitely need a change of pace, but my father said he wouldn’t pay my tuition any more if i went to any school worse than where i’m at.
i need a community more conducive to entrepreneurship, my current school doesn’t provide that.
What program will you be applying to at these schools that provides this…and can’t be achieved where you are.
Your grades are great, please congratulate yourself rather than continue with the dramatic beat down.
Look at Babson if you want to be in an environment that lives and breathes entrepreneurial thinking.
Bentley also. Entrepreneur focused colleges don’t have to be top 20. They have a unique focus…if that’s what you need.
Another thing…see if your school does away semesters or years. Some colleges allow a student to study elsewhere for a semester or a year. Maybe that would help. And of course, start looking for internships…now.
Understood - but please stop saying better or worse. All schools have great traits and not so great. What you are likely talking about is a US News ranking - but that doesn’t make any better or worse.
As @Mwfan1921 notes, Babson is known as the top school for entrepreneurs. It’s built into their culture. It’s in everything they do. With a 22% admit rate and a 31-34 ACT range (comparable to some top schools), perhaps your dad can get on board. This isn’t where you go to study the liberal arts though (although they offer some) - this is where you go for business/entrepreneurship. You can also cross register at Brandeis, Wellesley, Regis, and Franklin Olin. btw - Babson is also known for top placement and showed up on a link today for top outcomes on a different CC thread.
Here’s a list, from Princeton Review, of top schools for entrepreneurs. It doesn’t necessarily match your dad’s needs - but perhaps you’ll find something on here that can work. Of course, the student spirit for entrepreneurship will be most important and perhaps you’ll find more elsewhere - as the academic offerings will likely be more broad than a top ranked LAC.
Keep your chin up - and good luck.
Your grades aren’t bad at all. Are you still involved in the sport that helped you to get into your LAC? If yes, maybe that might help with the transfer?
If you’re looking for a more entrepreneurial atmosphere, perhaps you should choose a school that isn’t rural and isolated. Yes to Babson, Penn (Wharton or SAS/econ), but no to Dartmouth and Cornell. I think that your grades are good enough. It’s going to depend upon how you present yourself, how you lobby to show that you need what that school has to offer. And if your sport is highly valued at that school, it might help a bit (although you’re not going to be a recruited athlete, just a presumed walk on).
“Williams, Amherst, Middlebury” (and Bowdoin) for a bachelor’s degree are on the level that is at least close to Harvard, Princeton, Stanford sort of level. These are all really, really top schools. Which I would personally prefer would depend upon my major, but for a major that the smaller LACs on this level are good for, I might prefer them to a larger university, particularly for a bachelor’s degree.
I do not agree that Cornell, Duke, Georgetown, Dartmouth, or Penn are “better” than Williams, Amherst, or Middlebury. I agree that they are bigger. Bigger is not always better. I do agree that these are all really top schools.
Cornell, Duke, Georgetown, Dartmouth, and Penn take very few transfer students. Cornell probably takes more than the others, but from what I have heard tends to take them from some schools (community colleges?) in New York that they know.
I agree with @thumper1. I do not think that three A-'s plus one A is going to hurt you much compared to, for example, four A’s. I think that the bigger issue would be that the schools that you are applying to take very few transfer students.
Can you explain any academic reason for your transfer?
Dartmouth College is a relatively small school in rural NH. What does it have that your current LAC does not have?
How would your father feel about a top university in Canada such as Toronto or McGill? These take a lot more transfer students compared to top US schools. I do not think of either of them as particularly conducive to entrepreneurs. However, since both are in the middle of a large city, they are at least not isolated.
I know of a few kids who have transfered to Vandy…one from New School and one from - I want to say - College of Wooster but maybe it was another Ohio LAC - both as 2nd years - so Vandy might be transfer friendly.
PS - meant to OP - sorry about the tag.
Then create it yourself! My son went to Michigan and not one of the 1600 clubs spoke to him so he started his own with another student and it led to lots of opportunities /grants /internships /job.
One part of being an entrepreneur is about thinking out of the box.
Opportunities are at every college. Talk to some professors on how they can help. . Invite CEOs to speak. Does your school have any business classes?
As stated Babson is excellent. Know people that graduated and went immediately into the job sector. They are sought out.
Go to the career resources center at your college. Talk to them about what you want to do. Connect with alumni who were entrepreneurs or in fields related to what you want to do. Get internships. Talk to your college about how they provide funding for any entrepreneurial projects you’re interested in (if you’re at a top LAC, there’s money). If you’re interested in an entrepreneurial club and there isn’t one, start one.
Or is there a different issue as to why you want to transfer? And if being remote is one of the issues, do not apply to Dartmouth. Did you apply to any of these schools last year? If so, what were your results? If not, why not?
Viewed by standardized scoring profiles, Williams and Amherst appear difficult to distinguish from the schools named above.
What is his definition of “worse”?