Is it worth it?

Transfer Students
1

Hi CC. I’m a sophomore undergrad at a local, unknown (unranked) 4 year school in Illinois. I got the highest scholarship (which also puts me into my school’s honors program) offered at my institution, and I’m pretty much paying as much (or less than) as the room and board at a lot of schools (in-state public schools’ tuitions are more expensive than my school’s w/ my scholarship!). And I’m a commuter with reliable transportation, so I don’t have to worry about staying on school and food (though it’s an annoying 40 minute drive one-way everyday).

I’m a bit frustrated with my school because I can’t seem to find opportunities to do amazing things, and all that I can do at this point is try to make my own opportunities happen. The problem with this is that I can only make opportunities happen to the extent that others would allow me. I want to research, so I’ve tried talking to faculty about that, and have not been given an opportunity so far. Also, the school’s environment has been fairly disappointing. I feel like I am one of the very few that puts an effort in my education and seeks opportunities to have a well-rounded education, be active in my school, and have intrinsic motivation to get things done.

I’m a Biology and Spanish double major, and I aspire to become a physician scientist, or at the very least a physician (being at this school is keeping my hopes low for the former career, but I’m not so concerned about the latter).

I’m interested in applying to some top-tier LACs in the midwest and the east in the hopes that I can remain in a small-school environment as I am in right now, meet like-minded students, have more opportunities to research or participate in activities that can satisfy my intellectual curiosity, and they appear to be financially-friendly (it’s been hard for me to find “affordable schools” and I’m not even sure if some of the schools I list are affordable, but a quick glance on their websites say otherwise).

Here are some of the schools I’m interested in (not a final list), and I’m looking to apply for Fall 2017:
Colby College
Oberlin College
Carleton College
Davidson College
University of Rochester (I’m interested because of research)
Lehigh University
Denison University
Middlebury College
Swarthmore College
Grinnell College
University of Richmond

My Stats from High School are:
~3.8 UW/4.58 Weighted (scale out of 5)
top 5% in competitive public school (class size of ~750)
13 AP classes (+ 2 AP-level math classes that didn’t have AP exams)
32 ACT

College Stats are:
4.0 overall GPA w/ 32 credits taken at unknown, “easy” University so far
29 AP credits transferred in
Honors Program (<20 students admitted each year)

I honestly can’t afford more than 20,000 w/ loans and student work study (which is a bit high of an estimate that also includes room and board, ~10-15k is more reasonable w/ loans, scholarships, grants, and work study), which is why I decided to select my current school. But my school has a very low med-school admit rate, I’m not getting many opportunities to succeed, and I haven’t really been happy with my college experience so far. But it will be affordable for 4 years, I have a higher chance of getting a 4.0, I will get to stay at home, and I won’t have to worry about transitioning to a new school (meaning I can build on my relationships w/ professors, opportunities I already have now, and have a chance to become an outstanding student at my school)

Being accepted as a transfer student is definitely not a guarantee, given my ACT composite isn’t that strong for these schools, and my coursework rigor will not appear very highly. However, I would like to make the move if the schools that accept me are willing to help me out financially. So my main question is, do i have a reasonable shot at any of these schools? And of all the schools I mentioned, which would be financially friendly (if accepted) to the point where my overall costs can be less than 20k (with room and board)? I am a pre-med student, and I am worried about credit transferring (including AP credit transferring), so I might have to take some schools off my list (i.e. Grinnell College), but I want to know what you guys think. I am a full time student, commuter, and involved in activities, not to mention I can’t afford to do interviews and apply to several schools (pay application fee, CSS profile, travel to other schools, etc.), so I want to have a short list of good, financially-friendly target schools as a transfer applicant. Also, can you guys recommend any other good, financially-friendly institutions in the Midwest/East that I may have a shot of getting into if I missed any?

Thanks!

2

I would like to make some changes to the previous list of schools. After careful thinking, I decided to keep my list of schools close to home, which would make it a whole lot easier to travel back when I can. So here’s my new list (again, tentative):

UIC (more expensive than current school though I can commute)
Wheaton College (fairly expensive as well though I can commute)
Carleton College
Oberlin College
Beloit College
Grinnell College
College of Wooster
Kenyon College
Earlham College
Davidson College (only exception distance-wise to my list)
Washington University in St. Louis (I took out a bunch of other competitive schools, so why not add this?)

I want to make this list short (5 or less) so I’m not stressing about transferring (which I haven’t made a full commitment to yet) during my school year. Any advice regarding this post or the previous one will be greatly appreciated!

3

If you want to be a physician, wouldn’t continuing to get a 4.0 at your current school be very helpful toward reaching for that goal?

4

Yes, I agree with your comment. In response, I have to say that I’ve always felt like a grade machine since sophomore year of high school, and so I found the difficulty of getting a 4.0 in my freshman year of college to be low-moderate (only 1 class gave me a hard time), so I’m not too concerned about maintaining good grades at different colleges (honestly, it takes hard work and a seriously good effort), even if they’re very rigorous. However, I’m having an extremely hard time find EC opportunities that match my interests at my school, such as research. And my real interest lies in MD/PhD programs post-undergrad (although i know one can be a medical researcher w/o a PhD), which have different expectations than MD programs (research, academic leadership, publications/presentations etc.), and I have to find opportunities outside of my school for that at this point. I feel that being in an environment with more funding, more research opportunities, more opportunities for student to develop intellectually in all disciplines (I’m fond of social sciences, interfaith/political discourse), and a higher med school admit rate (my school’s is pretty low…), which my school lacks, would help me stop feeling so gloomy.

Honestly, I really hope that things work out this semester and I can find good EC opportunities (I’m trying very hard to find opportunities wherever I can at the moment) while at my current school, otherwise I’ll want to invest more time in transferring out in the hopes of finding an environment more suitable for my career goals. I hope this makes sense…

5

If considering Beloit, you might also look at Lawrence U.

6

Schools give money to incoming freshmen rather than transfers. I’d stay where you are and try harder for research. Assuming there is any available. The schools on your list are not exactly big research universities. University of Illinois is a big research university. That might make sense if you were to get financial aid.

7

Thanks for the response.

This makes sense. Although research exists at my institution, I couldn’t find a professor who had available positions for their research this semester. My only hopes are research outside of school (nearly impossible to find with my weak credentials for this fall) or in the spring term (which is doubtful). My only other possible options for research are conducting independent research (wrote a white paper for a research writing class last year, which I can continue), summer research (but I’m planning on studying abroad this summer for my Spanish major) or research while studying abroad. U of I and UIC would be 5k/20k more expensive yearly, assuming I get no transfer aid and I decide to get /not get housing, and financially that seems unreasonable for my circumstances (5k more only if I commute to UIC). My hope would be to transfer to a school on my list that offers the best research opportunities to science students (honestly my current school is pretty awful for research) and gives generous aid to transfers (all of the schools on my list seem to give decent aid to transfers), and I’m willing to work really hard to find outside scholarships to try to lower my tuition this year and next year. I forgot to mention this,but I felt miserable near the end of the spring term (almost none of my passions have been realized at my school), and I don’t fit at all with 95+% of the student body (“commuter” school, excelled in all classes unlike many of my peers, bit of an intellectual type, but I have varied hobbies/interests).

While it seems like I’m answering my own question (that I should transfer out), I’m keeping my financial circumstances in mind and would prefer to work things out at my school (only things going for me are that I can save money and graduate with a very high GPA, but nothing else), which is probably more affordable than all of the schools on my list. But I’m not finding enough reasons to stay till I graduate (at this rate, my EC prospects will look very poor, so only my GPA and possibly MCAT could carry me for med school apps).

I wish I planned better in high school to find an affordable research school/generous LAC w/ good EC opportunities, especially with my stats. But I undervalued researching my possible undergraduate options during senior year (applied to only 5 schools, 3 safeties, 2 reach, went to a safety) and now I’m struggling to find reasons to stay at the school I chose (I enrolled for the honors program, double major possibility, and a scholarship). Now I’m in a big dilemma and probably facing the most important decision of my life so far (to stay or not to stay)…

8

Add Lawrence - their R1 program would be especially useful to you - and St Olaf (research partnership with Mayo.) I think both take spring transfers but you’d have to email, typically the best opportunities are for Fall admits.
Hendrix guaranteed a research spot if you apply (see Odyssey program).
As for staying or not, It’s a win win situation : if you don’t make it, you still have your 4-year scholarship.
YOur institution likely has its faculty on a 4-4 teaching load making research almost impossible. You don’t need a high research institution, but you need an institution where undergraduates are involved in research and where the teaching load is 3-3,3-2, 2-2.

9

Some schools give transfer scholarships and fin aid to transfers. Fin aid is typically at the extremely-difficult to enter elites, however.

And it still may make sense to consider UIUC (as well as UIC). Especially if for the final 2 years only, you’ll be mostly in your major only, which may have smaller classes.

10

@MYOS1634

Thanks for the response. I will add Lawrence and St. Olaf to my list. Thanks for the insight on teaching loads (I’ll have to look into it). The reason why I couldn’t find an open spot yet is because all of the research professors can accommodate a limited number of students, and no professors that I’ve contacted have any openings due to upperclassmen occupying positions; that, or they aren’t researching due to possibly 4-4 or administrative purposes. And I disagree with your opinion that I am in a win-win situation. Perhaps my options for transferring/staying are reasonable as a student with reasonable stats; however, my options for med school seem dreadful (especially MD/PhD programs) should I remain at my school and not get the opportunity to research until junior/senior year; my financial options for transferring seem terrible/very inconvenient that can really cause a burden on my family. I know beggars can’t be choosers (and I still have to apply as a student from random university before confirming that I get admitted to these schools). This 2-front battle (financial, getting to medical school) seems far too difficult for me to outsmart, unless I get a breakthrough with financial aid/research opportunities (I have a pretty weak, though serviceable gameplan for this semester which doesn’t include research and has no “clinical/lab experience”). And now, the stories of kids not getting to med school from my current school are scaring me more than ever before.

Anyway, here’s an updated list of the schools I’m currently interested in (which I still want to shorten):

1)Lawrence University (good research opportunity as mentioned, but seems a bit pricey at ~20k+)
2)St. Olaf College (good research opportunity as mentioned, but seems a bit pricey at ~20k+)
3)Carleton College (quite possibly the best out of this list for name recognition, though not sure about research and getting in the school as a transfer)
4)UIC (little more expensive but doable, though probably would commute grueling 2+ hour two-way, but research)
5)Oberlin College (don’t know if I’ll get in, financial aid is reasonable, but school seems to be focused on fine arts which isn’t bad)
6)Beloit College (not too sure about their research opportunities, financial aid seems a bit weak)
7)Earlham College (seems like a good option though I’m not fully informed about their financial aid for transfers)
8)Grinnell College (tough to get in, and I’m not a big fan of their transfer credit policy)
9)College of Wooster (not so sure about this school in general)

I did take out a few schools because they didn’t seem like reasonable choices, plus I want to apply to up to 5 schools (assuming they all strongly recommend/require interviews). I think I’m gonna contact the schools whose admissions/transfer departments I haven’t already talked to, and figure out the 5 I want. Is there any more advice I can get? I’d really appreciate it, and I do appreciate all the other advice given to me and have considered all comments.Thanks guys.

11

If you’re middle class /lower income (family of 5, 56k I think) you can print out the nacac fee waiver form for transfers. Most colleges accept it. It would allow ourselves to apply to more universities than 5, which is really little for someone in dire need of financial aid.
Add Vanderbilt to your list, since they offer excellent financial aid for transfers. And even if our school is unranked, you have a 4.0 and that’s quite valuable.
Uiuc could be included but the Illinois budget is unlikely to make it affordable.
A 2+h grueling commute is not possible - dangerous in winter and would keep you from getting involved in a research lab, etc.

12

Have you looked into summer REU programs? You can do those at other institutions. Many of my peers in my PhD program did research at institutions different than their home institution.

http://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/reu_search.jsp

REU is just one of many programs for undergraduates to get research experience. When I was a graduate student, I hired undergraduate assistants from all over, never just my home institution. Start searching the web and get on the listservers for the field you want to do work in.

13

I agree you are in a sorta win-win situation. You have the scholarship and 4.0 in Honors. Even if it is unranked, you’d have impressive credentials.

With your history of academic excellence, though, I’d expect you’d keep that up at a higher ranked more rigorous school. Attending at a college better matching your academic ability/work ethic will actually produce a higher grad rate. Is it harder to stay motivate when the vast majority of fellow students are not as motivated or serious, and the retention rate is low. It will be cheap (but will take time) to get some applications out there. Look more toward Kalamazoo/Beloit/Earlham/Wooster types rather than Oberlin/Carleton. Not saying that you can’t get into the latter, but the others not only have lower SAT/GPA ranges, they have a little bit lower retention rates, which leaves more room for transfers coming in. And they may be more generous with merit. All of the schools you have listed are well-known to medical and other professional schools.