Looking into transferring

<p>I just finished my first semester at UT Austin as an Engineering and Philosophy major. I had LOADS of fun, but I can't say I'm exactly content with my experience thus far.</p>

<p>My main concern is that I loathe Engineering. I thought I could tough it out for a few years for law school admissions, but I don't have the slightest interest in the field at all.</p>

<p>I'm definitely not considering an internal transfer, however, since I have a scholarship for Engineering (Fate sure has a weird sense of humor...), and I can easily obtain a dual degree in a Liberal Arts major because I have a lot of AP credit.
In addition, the core curriculum seems really dull; they're just run-of-the-mill classes we've already taken in High School.</p>

<p>That being said, I don't give a hoot about maintaining a pretty GPA or being the ideal law school candidate anymore.
I just want to go somewhere where I can delve into a field that interests me. An interesting Core curriculum to spice things up would be really nice too. I've been considering Classics, Near Eastern Civilization, or maybe even Economics lol... generally it's the liberal-artsy disciplines that really appeal to me.</p>

<p>I'll need financial aid, and when I applied to schools last year, I was awarded pretty generous grants from a few of them. Hence another reason why it might be a better idea to transfer to another school, rather than do an internal transfer.</p>

<p>Stats:
HS GPA: 3.64 UW (around 4.43/5 W)
Rank: 39/650 I think... don't remember
Fairly tough HS courseload - 15 APs that I received 4 or 5 on
REALLY weak HS extra-curriculars, basically had nothing because I was a lazy prick.
SAT: 1510/1600, 800 W
College GPA: 4.0/4.0 (took a relatively hard courseload because I received credit for a lot of coursework at UT)
I'll have 34 credit hours taken at UT after next semester
ECs in college: 3 organizations, have a leadership position in one of them, but nothing outstanding
I can get two really nice recommendations.
oh, and I'm an Asian male.</p>

<p>Right now, my list of schools includes Columbia, UChicago, Penn, Brown, Amherst
I understand that these are all a long-shot, so I'm looking for other options. I'm also aware Columbia and Brown are need-aware for transfers, and that doesn't bode well for me, but I love the schools so I think it's worth a shot.
Does anybody have any other suggestions for schools that fit my interests that I might be a decent candidate for?
Thanks in advance!</p>

<p>I think you’re in at UChicago if you can write some pretty compelling essays. The others are a crap shoot but I’d definitely give it a shot.</p>

<p>Columbia isn’t need-aware for transfers; just doesn’t guarantee to meet full need.</p>

<p>Thanks for your input ChicagoBears1 (:</p>

<p>and I appreciate that tidbit of info bioblade, thanks!</p>