Hello all, I’m a student at UT-Dallas (decent school, ranked #142 on US News) currently and studying Political Science. After completing my first year, I’ve decided that the school just isn’t for me. I’ve made some good friends, but as a whole the student social life leaves a lot to be desired. I think just about any school I could transfer to would be better in that respect. With that said, the main things I am looking for are a school that has some name value, more academic prestige, and division 1 athletics (preferably with some decent teams).
I went to one of (if not the) top public high school in my state and only came out with a 3.3 UW GPA and a 3.8 weighted GPA. I had some decent extracurriculars throughout and ended up getting a 1730 on my SAT (1200 Math+Reading). I applied to various colleges and mostly got rejected. I got into UT-Dallas, Texas Tech, Baylor, U of Alabama, and was waitlisted by SMU (I did not accept). I was rejected by both UT and Texas A&M + some prestigious out of state public schools (UW-Seattle, UofM).
Since then, I’ve done okay at UT-Dallas. After taking 28 credit hours, I’m likely going to finish with about a 3.26 or 3.3 GPA depending on a couple of grades that come in. I expect to do pretty well next semester and probably boost my GPA to about a 3.4 or even 3.5. I’ve been involved in 2 student organizations and have done some (not a whole lot) volunteer work on the side. Next semester I will also be working for the university as a supplemental instructor for a Government course.
So… I’m wondering, what do I do now? is it possible for me to transfer up to a better school that will be a better fit for me? What’s the best school that I would have an okay chance of getting into?
I’d love to transfer to UT-Austin, but I don’t think I have the grades. They also weight transfer GPA’s equally which hurts students from 4 universities (as opposed to community colleges).
I think I may be able to get into Texas A&M now. Thoughts? It seems like a pretty good fit to me.
I’m open to any ideas, including out of state or private schools. I would just like to know where I could realistically go and where I should be applying.