<p>Anyone ever do this...finished freshman or sophmore year and didn't get accepted to their desired colleges for transfer and took a year off to reapply?</p>
<p>I didn't get into any schools I wanted to transfer to although they are fairly competitive...</p>
<p>I will have a much-improved essay, another 4.0 semester in college, and apply to the schools I want to go to so I think I'll have a better chance.</p>
<p>Is this recommended or has this been done by any one?</p>
<p>I would say yes…</p>
<p>depends really on how you fill the gap year too.</p>
<p>So if I took a year off, how would I get teacher recommendations for transfer applications?</p>
<p>Sorry, at first I thought you’re not in college yet.
I’ve heard of an MIT recent admitted transfer being off school and worked for more than a few years. </p>
<p>You had finished a year, so ask your teachers for their evaluations.
Again, it depends on how you fill the coming year. Whether you go to college, still you can be part-time or try to select your courses with teachers you love (kinda professionals for writing evaluation, easily accessible and dedicated) </p>
<p>If yours is a long shot, see if you have nice job opportunities.
If you end up being transfer, you most likely will lose your credits and have a sophomore standing. </p>
<p>In my case, I froze a semester and took this one as being part-time.</p>
<p>You should meet with your professors now. Tell them that you are thinking of taking a year off, and that you might be applying to transfer to a different college/university during that time. Ask if they feel that they can write you a good letter of recommendation. If they answer in the affirmative, ask what is the best way for you to keep in touch with them so that you can let them know if/when you need the letters written. They may be able to write a draft now and keep it on file for the future.</p>
<p>Rather than withdrawing formally from your current college/university, ask for a leave of absence. That way if you decide against transferring, or if the process doesn’t go well for you, you will be able to return and pick up where you left off.</p>
<p>Wishing you all the best.</p>
<p>Are you taking a “gap” year off to pursue something new (with the goal of making your transfer application a little stronger)? Or are you planning to take a year off because you want to make sure you spend 3 years at the school you’ve transferred to?</p>
<p>If it’s the former (ie gap year), it may not help you with your transfer chances. Your transfer application needs to be completed by next fall, and that leaves no time for you to have accomplished anything significant during your gap year to have made a difference.</p>
<p>The common way to do a gap year is to get accepted to a college first, and then take a year off. If you want your gap time to increase your chances to transfer to a better college, you’ll very likely need more than a year.</p>
<p>On a somewhat related note, here’s something to keep in mind when taking time off from college. The longer you stay out of school, the more doors begin to close which make it more difficult to return to school. With time off comes enjoying a paycheck and the lifestyle it provides, dependency on that job to make car payments, a significant other who may not support your return to school, or babies/kids who are depending on your paycheck to eat.</p>
<p>Gap years can be tremendously rewarding and often provide invaluable life learning. Take time to plan it seriously (with a definitive plan to return to school).</p>
<p>Well my parents don’t want me to take a year off. BUT they said I can do what I want…</p>
<p>After 1 year, I have a 3.96 gpa in the honors program at University of Miami. This past semester I only got into Wake forest and Vanderbilt. I wanted to go to a more “intellectual and nerdy” school rather than those 2 although I prefer Wake Forest. I also wanted less partying.</p>
<p>SO I was thinking if I take a year off and apply again to some tougher schools, I can definitely get in…I would take only ONE year off and I would travel/work and hopefully become fluent in spanish. I have teachers who I am close to who have already written recs for me and I could ask them to keep the recommendations.</p>
<p>I don’t know what to do though!</p>
<p>So you’re thinking of applying next year with the same academic credentials? Why don’t you stay at Miami for sophomore year and fill more prereqs? I would think that would make you more attractive to schools.</p>
<p>What “better” school do you want to transfer to?</p>
<p>What is the deadline for applying as a transfer student to that “better” school?</p>
<p>Given the amount of months between now and that (above) deadline, what can you do to in a gap period to significantly make you stronger candidate?</p>
<p>Remember, it’s not what you think will make you a stronger candidate. It’s what the adcoms think. You better make sure you know the criteria they will use to judge your gap-year accomplishments.</p>
<p>This feels like it’s a steep uphill challenge. You may find yourself a year from now with no school options at all.</p>
<p>I took a gap-year after my sophomore year of college. My situation is a little different than yours, as I didn’t apply anywhere during sophomore year. I just decided I didn’t want to go to school anymore during the summer and dropped out. I applied this spring after a year off and will be attending a top-10 LAC in the fall. </p>
<p>I didn’t do anything special in my year off. I just worked a retail job. Not much to it.</p>
<p>Took a gap year as well after my freshman year. I was very unhappy at my school, and I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to study or where I wanted to be. I took the year off and interned, worked, and volunteered. I applied in the Spring of my gap year to transfer in the Fall, and had no trouble. It’s a little hard to get recommendations, but I ended up sending in one college rec from my freshman year, one high school rec, and one from an employer during my gap year. If you really need the time off, you can make it work. Take advantage of the time, figure out what you want to do, and come back confident in your studies and college choice.</p>
<p>Another option would be that you stay at Miami for one more semester and apply as a spring transfer.</p>
<p>If you’re talking about schools more competitive than Vandy, it better be a very impressive year.</p>
<p>I agree with Redrose’s reply.</p>
<p>You have an impressive set of credentials, which got you into Wake Forest and Vanderbilt. But as you aim higher, you’ll be “standing in line” with all the other competitive transfer students wanting to get accepted to those top schools. </p>
<p>The number of transfer students a top school accepts in a given year or the percentage of transfer students it accepts is nothing that you have control over. You can be assured the better the school, the lower the numbers.</p>
<p>Maybe I was too pessimistic in my original replies. It just felt like you were letting all your current options “expire” in hopes of landing at a better school. When you realize how many very strong students with great profiles get rejected from top colleges, it makes you understand how important it is to keep your safety-net options open.</p>
<p>I did pretty well in HS (1430 and 2160 sat with 3.8 gpa). I was rejected from WashU, Dartmouth, and Brown just recently (and waitlisted at Bowdoin), however they did not see my 2nd semester grades at Miami. (I got into Wake, Vandy and Uconn-instate). My 2nd semester gpa was a 3.94.</p>
<p>The reason I want to transfer is as much social as it is academic. I believe I can improve my essays and I would apply to Brown, Georgetown, Dartmouth, WashU, Tufts, Middlebury and a maybe a couple “safeties” to study International Relations/Poly sci.</p>
<p>The only reason I’m concerned about Wake/Vandy is that they will, socially, be too much like Miami. I want a more nerdy/intellectual/academic student body and a less fratty/party atmosphere…which is why I want to transfer from Miami. I also want a school more focused on the humanities/social sciences.</p>
<p>So, my plan would be to work and travel in my year abroad and I want to become fluent in Spanish hopefully. I have recommendations I can use, but I’m torn if the gap year will help my admissions chances. I don’t want to go to 3 schools in 4 years and want to spend a full three years at my next school.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot guys–any help would be great.</p>