I did four semesters at a second tier liberal arts school and I HATED my time there. I am looking to transfer to a more acedmically challenging school to finish up my remaining two semesters. The fall is quickly approaching and I have no plans. I would love to go to a top 15 school but I don’t think I have the numbers for it. I have a 3.2 gpa and 30 act. My top choice was reed college but I didn’t get in. I got into bard and Sarah Lawrence but SLC did not give me enough financial aid. I believe it or not am still waiting to hear back from bards financial aid office and won’t until August 4th. If I get enough money I will likely attend there.
I don’t know what to do. I have already taken a year off and don’t want to do more of gap time. I definitely couldn’t enjoy or benefit from a state school. What do I do?
Do you mean final two semesters or final two years? If just two semesters (guessing due to lots of AP credit?), could you study abroad for one semester and then graduate with just one more semester from your original college?
It is rare to transfer and finish in two semesters. Even if every single credit transfers, colleges usually have a minimum residency requirement before you’re eligible for a degree. Bard requires 64 of 128 credits to graduate to be earned at Bard. If you’re really two semesters away from a degree at your original school, you might consider toughing it out.
Transfer students have a hard time getting the best financial aid. If you want a degree and you’re not rich, you can’t afford to blow off your in-state tuition options. The nice thing about state schools is that there are all kinds of students, so if the undergraduate classes are not challenging enough, you can petition to substitute a graduate level class.
Is 3.2 your college GPA? What are your major and career plans?
Sorry, that should have read that I have two more years. I really can’t see myself going to a large state school. I know I would hate it both socially and academically. 3.2 is my college GPA. Thus far I have taken physics, psychology, philosophy and music courses. I am feeling most drawn to philosophy but I am occasionally put off by the abstractness. I don’t have a specific career plan and am just following the liberal arts philosophy of “figure it out as you go.” Lately I have envisioned myself as a writer or journalist but nothing is set in stone. I know that is a somewhat common application of philosophy
For what it’s worth, I am coming from Illinois Wesleyan, which is a fairly solid liberal arts school. I felt unchallenged towards the end of my time there. My low GPA is due to depression rather than struggling with the material
Have you dealt with your depression? Until that is under control, you will struggle wherever you are. It really, truly, is that simple.
The colleges that you are targeting have accepted all of their transfers for this fall. Check through your list of possibles again, and see which admit students in January.
There is still time to apply to Penn’s College of Liberal and Professional Studies (LPS) for Fall 2016, thanks to their rolling admissions. If you are under 21, you will be limited to 2 courses per semester until you are over 21, but the limit would lift after you reach 21 and it is a top 15 school. However, Penn’s no-loan policy does not apply to LPS, so you’d likely be taking some loans to make it happen.
You’d also be eligible for Columbia’s School of General Studies, but their admissions for fall are closed so you would have to apply for spring, and it’s reportedly a more selective program than LPS. Also, the program has a reputation for disappointing financial aid.
Finally, it’s not top 15, but Southern Methodist University has the rare combination of a 50%-ish transfer acceptance rate and a high estimated median SAT (1302), and they’re accepting transfer applications until August 1. Might be worth a look if “academically challenging” is your primary motivator. They’ve reportedly beefed up their financial aid as part of their efforts to attract top-tier students, so good chance of getting strong FA support there.
Download it to excel, and filter out schools that don’t want transfers and don’t have housing.
Remember to think about what you need as a student recovering from depression: All of your brain, the emotional side and the intellectual side, is coming with you to college, and both will need to be supported to be happy.
By top 15 I meant liberal arts college, not otherwise. I could never survive at a large school. As a student recovering from depression, being back in school with structure and people that would (hopefully) care about me would be vital
Then it sounds like your best option is to wait and see what happens with Bard, and apply for spring transfers if it doesn’t work out. At this point in time, the number of non-public LACs that are still accepting transfer applications for fall 2016 approaches very near to zero. The NACAC site listed above may help you to find one or two outliers.
If your objection to state schools does not include public LACs, then checking the NACAC site for COPLAC member schools open for fall 2016 could be a valuable exercise. http://www.coplac.org/members/ Again, none of those are top 15 LACs, but if your primary objection to IWU is feeling challenged (not prestige) then a change of venue might be all you need to find the challenge you seek.
Is it wrong to equate prestige to challenge? Part of wanting to go to a higher ranked school is to be around more talented and motivated students. Where might you recommend for me? I’m looking for somewhere pretty far left, hippie, artsy, etc. Places like Reed, Wesleyan and bard, though I got rejected to the first two
“I’m looking for somewhere pretty far left, hippie, artsy, etc.” Hampshire comes to mind. Evergreen State in Washington, but you might consider it too big. Marlboro, if you’re on board with super-tiny.
Re: Columbia, Your stats are probably a bit low for Columbia GS with only a 1 year gap. I’m saying you’d be eligible to apply since you do have the interruption in your education, but actual acceptance is more iffy. Applicants with a longer gap in their studies can argue that they’re not the same person they were when the grades were received. For you, that’s a tough argument to make.
Do you feel that I am at all behind being 21 and on,y starting my junior year? I would feel terrible having to take more time off if this fall doesn’t work out.
I’m also just terrified of going back as my last experience was horrible, and bordering on traumatic. Illinois Wesleyan was probably the most difficult time in my life
I have tried most of the "slightly boho colleges. Reed was my top choice and I didn’t get in, got in to Lewis and Clark but no financial aid. Rejected to oberlin and still waiting for bard. Sarah Lawrence was redo illusory expensive and didn’t work out.
If you’re genuinely interested in considering Columbia, then I’d advise you to take a closer look at your belief that you couldn’t survive at a larger school. If you can do it for an Ivy, you can do it for a school like SMU or Evergreen.
Anyway, given your overall set of criteria, Bard sounds like a great fit for you. Here’s hoping the financial aid comes together for you and all the rest of this becomes merely needless speculation.
Continuing @DreamSchlDropout’s ideas: Evergreen has an older than average student age and definitely a hippy vibe, no majors. If you like interdisciplinary and artsy, it may appeal to you.
On the negative side, the classes are “what you make of them,” and some kids frankly aren’t there to make the most of them. There are serious premed students though. Other good things to study there include environmental science, government (it’s in the state capital w/ internship opportunities), art. Business if you want to be an entrepreneur more than corporate. There is an informal music community, but class opportunities are not as good. They have cooperative enrollment with a community college to do music for credit. A good number of kids stay for the Masters in Teaching program and go into education. You don’t really have to concentrate in anything in particular if you want to do general liberal arts. Read the class catalog carefully to help you see if it’s really a match.