I will be a freshman ina few months and I was thinking of switching from my current university to USC after the fall semester. Is this a good idea? I have heard that the first semester of college is usually where you make your friends and learn about the school. Will I be at a disadvantage?
You definitely won’t be alone. I believe there will be several hundred Spring Admits, who will also start their freshman year at USC in Spring 2017.
Those Spring admits were deferred from Fall admission. Will your high school stats get you admitted as a transfer student? You cannot apply as a freshman. Also financial aid is not as generous for transfer students.
I was admitted for fall semester but I decided not to go because of how far it is but recently I’ve been changing my mind so USC said that I could come in after fall semester. Also, they told me that my financial aid should remain the same.
Commit to one or the other, make a decision, thousands of other students do this every year. Why are you flip flopping? Of course it is better to start and stay at a school. But many transfer in later with no problem socially.
I think there is this idealization about being at the same school for four years, and for sure that is a great way to do it. But what you are talking about is not all that different, almost like a “gap semester” where you happen to be taking classes during the gap. If you are fairly outgoing and a social person, making friends is not hard. Most colleges, especially the size of USC, are not that cliquish. People make new friends all the time.
I am more concerned that you are doing this because of your desire to get into the film school at USC. I have zero expertise about this, but I have heard it is very hard. Otherwise everyone would say they were a history major or whatever and then switch. UVA is a great school that offers a lot. See if they can offer you a decent experience in what you want to do. You might get a lot more attention.