I would like to transfer out of USF after my first year to another University. Any thoughts?

Transfer Students
1

Currently, I am a freshman at USF and I really thought I would like the school, but I have realized it’s just a bunch of people that are separated significantly by socioeconomic status. I don’t think USF cares at all about their students, while they say it is “diverse” it’s mainly a bunch of rich kids that they can get their hands on. I did not expect this school to be like this. I really enjoy the class sizes with how small they are, as well as the close relationship I can have with my professor. But, I am really not fitting in here. I’m not shocked by the culture here, I love the culture here and the mindset. I chose to live in SF because I wanted to get out of my conservative home town of Bakersfield, but I’m just not fitting in at this school. USF is nothing like the city nor are the people here. So, I am wondering if I will even be able to transfer to another University (UC or CSU) next year with my USF credits? Anything will help. I realize if I cannot transfer out I will just deal with being here, at USF, for the next four years. Also, the tuition is super steep! Im paying 45k a year right now and that includes scholarships and financial aid. I am afraid that next year I will not receive any money and it would be dreadful to be paying 60k a year just for my undergraduate. Thank you

2

Ah, so this is not Southern Florida but San Fran? You need to talk to your transfer counselor. I know CSUs and UCs don’t accept CC goers without two years of college. I’m not sure about coming from USF.

3

UC’s and CSU’s accept only Junior level transfers (60 semester/90 quarter units). You best route would be to start a CC next year and finish up course requirements needed for the transfer. The California CC’s offer TAG for the 6 of th 9 UC’s or AA-T and AS-T agreements for the CSU’s. You can use assist.org to help with articulated classes needed for transfer.
Below are links for UC TAG and AA-T information:

http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/transfer/guarantee/

http://calstate.edu/transfer/apply/priority-agreements.shtml

4

Thank you!

5

What are the community colleges in the Bay Area. Any in SF or Oakland?

6

You’ve been there less than a month. Give it a chance.

7

Is your family borrowing a lot to pay for this school? Do you think the cost is more than your family can comfortably afford? If your family is borrowing a lot to pay for it or you got one time only grants but will be full pay for the next three years, then transferring to a less expensive school may be a good idea. Are you a CA resident or do you come from a state with less expensive options?

8

Would you be willing to transfer to CSU Monterey Bay or Sonoma State?
Both are not far from San Francisco, have much greater socio-economic diversity than USF, are much cheaper, are relatively residential, and have smaller classes than most CSUs.
Sonoma State has a special program which is like an honors program, called Hutchins, where your classes are 12-15 student seminars. However, for the 2 years of the program, you can only choose 1-2 classes per semester, as the Hutchins seminar is what you take the rest of the time (it integrates ALL gen ed requirements so you can dedicate your last 2 years to whaveter you want, keeping in mind you’ll have also completed 4+ major pre-reqs during those first 2 years.)
Applications start Oct 1st.
In the meanwhile, email: if you take a leave of absence from USF after 1st semester, will you apply as a freshman or as a transfer, for example? Will you be eligible for Hutchins at Sonoma if you have 1 semester of credits? What if you have 2 semesters of credits?

9

[QUOTE=""]
Im paying 45k a year right now and that includes scholarships and financial aid. I am afraid that next year I will not receive any money and it would be dreadful to be paying 60k a year just for my undergraduate. Thank you

[/QUOTE]

Why are you afraid that you won’t get any money next year??? Did you get “one time awards” or what?

WHO is paying $45k per year? YOU or your parents??

what are they saying about transferring?

10

I am pretty sure I’ve offered similar advice in response to another one of your posts. Not sure where you are from but,if you are sure your family can’t afford USF, and you hate it… it probably makes the most sense to finish the semester then move on. If you move home and attend a CC within a reasonable distance. Assuming you do well academically and most of your units transfer, you should still be able graduate in 4 years.

Since you’ve enrolled and attended classes, you’ll probably be considered a transfer applicant at any CA public college. At most of them, you’ll need to earn 60 semester units to transfer to a CSU or UC.

Some of the less popular CSUs may take lower division transfers but, it seems to start and stop without much notice. Sonoma, for example, appears to be open to lower division transfers. http://www.sonoma.edu/admissions/ts/requirements You’ll want to verify this directly - the CSU site suggest otherwise.

https://secure.csumentor.edu/campustour/undergraduate/24/Sonoma_State_University/Sonoma_State_University6.html

My usual suspects, Monterey, Channel Island, Hubmoldt and Bakersfield are all currently closed to lower division transfer. A CC may be your only viable option - it will almost certainly save you a lot of money. You’ll want to quickly identify your target school and begin the process. You’ll want maximize the $ you get back from USF and Spring 16 registration looms.

Good luck.