<p>Hey guys. I'm a community college student hoping to transfer soon, and I really need your help.</p>
<p>Credit-wise, I'm a 2nd semester sophomore right now. But in actuality, I'm only 18 and my whole freshman year here was completed through PSEO (while I was still in high school). So on one hand, I feel like I need to leave this CC right now before I accumulate too many credits. On the other hand, the classes I took freshman year were for fulfilling my high school requirements, so I really haven't gotten very far in major-related classes like Calc I and II, Principles of Chem I and II, Physics, etc.</p>
<p>I was accepted to DePaul University in Chicago, but I don't really want to go there. I'm waiting to hear back from the University of Minnesota, which is absolutely positively where I want to attend, but I'm worried I might not get in. So I guess my question is this: </p>
<p>If I'm rejected at UMN, should I switch to a 4-year college that I don't want to go to (DePaul) or should I stay at my CC for another semester or year, take solely major-related classes, and then try again for UMN?</p>
<p>Oh, and if you're curious, here are my stats:
High school GPA: 3.2 (that includes the PSEO senior year)
ACT: 31 (34 English, 31 Reading, 27 Math, 31 Science)
College GPA: 4.0 (including my PSEO classes)
Extracurriculars: Not a ridiculous amount...I'd say roughly 8 different things throughout HS and college.
+ I am a tutor for my CC in English, Math, Chemistry, and American Sign Language.</p>
<p>I applied for the College of Biological Sciences (Neuroscience) and College of Liberal Arts (Chemistry) plus Pre-Med.</p>
<p>No, I’m actually not in. The College of Biological Sciences is one of the most competitive at UMN, and most successful applicants have at least one semester of both Calculus and Principles of Chemistry. I have neither. Also, admissions are rolling and I waited a full month after admissions opened to apply. My GPA and test scores are high, but really, I have good reason to be concerned.</p>
<p>To answer your question, I would advise staying at the CC. I can tell you from experience of mine and others that transferring twice is not fun. The first semester at a college is a very difficult time for students, whether you are coming in as a freshman or a junior. Many people start out believing they will transfer because they are having such a hard time adjusting, and then end up loving it the next semester. So, you have a couple things to think about.
First of all, don’t make any decisions until you hear from UMN. Keep your hopes up and see what happens. A “full” month after admissions is nothing compared to others. You can’t possibly think that every person interested in the College of Biological Sciences applied the day it opened up - there will always be people who apply later that get accepted.
Now, if the way you are calming yourself down about UMN is think about plans for the future, (as I suppose you are because that is what I would do lol) here are some things to think about.
Why did you apply to DePaul? What intrigued you about it? Was it just the program? How much research have you done on it? Do you know what the students are like or what the program is like? If not, you should spend some time finding out information on it. Talk to students on here - I’m sure there are boards for it in the Alphabetical List of Colleges.</p>
<p>If you have done the research, then you have to ask yourself an important question - do you think it’s possible that you could go to DePaul and like it so much that you would want to stay? This is a very difficult decision as no one can really know until you are there (another reason visiting is so important). If you can’t see yourself being really happy, can you see yourself being happier than the CC that you are at now? If the answer to that is no, than you shouldn’t go to DePaul. End of story. In my opinion, there is no reason to switch to another school if it will make you less happy than where you are now. You have a community at your CC and you’ll have to start a whole new one, twice if you go to DePaul and then UMN. Think seriously about changing communities, twice.
However, if you think that you might like DePaul, even though it isn’t as high on your list as UMN, maybe you need to get out of your CC. Maybe your CC is driving you crazy and you can’t wait to get out. Maybe you love your CC but you know you want more. It’s all up to you and the way you feel.</p>
<p>I wish you best of luck with UMN. You have high ACT scores and GPAs for someone who graduated high school early (technically). You should be proud of yourself for that, alone. Good luck and let us know how it goes!</p>
<p>Wow, thanks for the advice. I really appreciate it. =) I suppose you’re right. The reason I applied to DePaul is because my mom has been continually pressuring me to go there. I don’t know…I think she’s trying to live vicariously through me or something. But I have a very strong desire to stay in Minneapolis. I just don’t want to leave right now. (Plus, it would be nearly three times cheaper to go to UMN!) </p>
<p>I guess what I’m worried about is that if I stay at my CC for another year, colleges will look down on me for staying there. But that might be something I would have to ask each college about individually.</p>
<p>Maebee,
The only reason that the college might “look down on you” for staying at the CC is if your grades went down, or you didn’t do anything different than what your current application for UMN was this year. If you reapply to a school for transfer, they keep your previous application on file, and they look for differences - did this person’s GPA go up? What were the reasons they were rejected last time?
If (and you don’t know you are yet) you are rejected to UMN, it is worth a call to a transfer counselor to have them review your file. You can ask them any questions you want. Be blunt and be specific. Ask them what it would take to get you in next year - what you need to improve. The worst case is that they say they can’t tell you anything and they hang up. They are not going to remember that you called and had that conversation - so don’t worry about it ending up on your file as something bad or rude.</p>
<p>Good luck and stop worrying until you know for sure! Most of the transfers on here have to wait until May or June until they find out, so you have no excuse! :)</p>