Low gpa first semester, is transfer still possible?

Transfer Students
1

Hi,
I am currently a freshman at Lehigh University and looking to transfer to a school like USC. Unfortunately, I have had great trouble adjusting to the climate of the school and my first semester grades are not looking so good. I am expecting around a 3.0 GPA my first semester, but I still really want to transfer. Is it still possible to transfer into a different university for my sophomore year if I were to excel my second semester? My high school stats are decent (3.8w GPA and 1520 SAT), and I know I can do well my second semester, I just got off on the wrong foot my first semester. What are the chances I get into a school like USC if I do really well my second semester?

2

When is the application deadline for the schools you want to apply to? If the application deadline is before your spring grades are finalized, then they won’t see them - so those grades won’t help you. For example, the transfer deadline for USC is February 1st.

What I’d suggest is that you apply to transfer to USC, even though your current grades aren’t amazing. Use your essay and etc. to your advantage. If you get in, great. If you do not, then you know you’ll need to spend more time before you can get in.

Is staying at Lehigh going to allow you to get the grades you need to get where you want to go? Would you be better off transferring to a community college near your home, acing those classes, then transferring? Just something to consider. If Lehigh isn’t a fit, you might transfer to your local cc, spend more than one term there, then transfer to USC.

3

For me, the hardest part was just getting good college recommendation letters. Do you think you can get good recs from your professors, who most likely don’t know their freshman students, with a 3.0 gpa?

Honestly, I don’t think it would hurt to apply now. Your HS SAT and GPA seem pretty good. If you get accepted, congrats! If not, I’m sure you will have a much better chance when you re-apply for junior transfer. By then, you’ll have a higher GPA along with better recommendations and EC’s to go along with it.