Match a transfer after one year at college (applying for Fall '24, entered this fall) [MA resident, expect 3.8 first semester college GPA, 2.7 HS GPA, 28 ACT, <$50k, English]

Chance Me / Match Me!
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Demographics

  • US domestic (US citizen or permanent resident) US citizen
  • State/Location of residency: (state is important if you apply to any state universities) Massachusetts
  • Type of high school (current college for transfers): Public 4 year university
  • Other special factors (first generation to college, legacy, athlete, etc.): First gen

Intended Major(s)

English
Minor in Foreign Language

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 2.7/4.0
  • Weighted HS GPA (incl. weighting system): Not sure, will edit
  • College GPA (for transfers): 3.8 first semester so far, predicting will stay that way since 2 weeks left
  • ACT/SAT Scores: 28 ACT Composite, High Reading and English, Low Math and Average Science

Coursework
(AP/IB/Dual Enrollment classes, AP/IB scores for high school; also include level of math and foreign language reached and any unusual academic electives; for transfers, describe your college courses and preparation for your intended major(s))

Semester One (School has no A+ and only has 4 classes per semester)

Principles of Macroeconomics - A
Composition I - A
College Algebra - B+
First Year Seminar - Sports History: A

Semester Two (Still all changeable, hard to take English courses because of Composition II prerequisite for most, got override for Creative Writing)
Composition II (Required)
Solar System Astronomy (Want to be scientific technical writer)
Portuguese I
Creative Writing

Awards

Seal of Biliteracy of Massachusetts
President’s List Fall 2023 (if I keep my 3.8 after finals, studying really hard especially in Algebra)

Extracurriculars
(Include leadership, summer activities, competitions, volunteering, and work experience)

Creative writing (books, short stories)
Working at restaurant as cashier
Applying to work as receptionist for English Language Program (requires translation for ESL learners)

Essays/LORs/Other
(Optionally, guess how strong these are and include any other relevant information or circumstances.)
Strong, my best skill is writing and I am going to utilize writing center to help

Cost Constraints / Budget
Around 50k a year, 60k at max. Parents are well off thankfully and willing to pay for my college, will also use my money earned towards tuition and try to get scholarships

Schools
Need help finding matches!!!

Thank you for your help in advance :slight_smile:

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Forgot to put LORs!!!

Have two professors who said yes to LOR, History seminar & Composition I

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What do u desire - size, environment - city or rural, etc, weather, location, sports scene, etc.

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Size

Would normally prefer something smaller, but I also like how at large colleges they are easier to transfer into and have dedicated transfer orientations and support, so I don’t really mind too much in this department as I am split

Environment

City or suburban is better, rural is okay but not my favorite, I prefer to be in places where I can go out and do lots of activities by walking and not too much by car, though I would bring one

Weather

Hate the cold and snow, so would love something warmer or at least less intense than New England weather in the winter

Location

Looking at PNW, Southeast, Southwest, Midwest (I know the winters are bad there but I like a lot of the environment there) and anywhere really, including New England since there are so many good schools here despite the weather and I am okay with not going far
Sports scene

Doesn’t matter to me, though school spirit would be nice as people in my school seem to hate anything related to it

LGBTQ+

Something LGBTQ+ friendly would be essential to me imo.

Hope this covers a lot!

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Congrats on your performance thus far in college.

Would you think about spending one more year at your current college? Typically a student’s HS record is considered when transferring in as a sophomore but just the college record is considered when transferring in as a junior. You should research this for all of your potential transfer destinations.

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I think I would consider this, I am going to research for all the colleges like you said what their hs transcript policy is like for transfers, as I know there are many that require and some that don’t after even one year (UMass Amherst something I have my eyes set on too). I am not particularly looking for prestige but just for a better environment in general, I will make the best out of any school I am just not particularly happy here, but this semester flew by so I’d assume the last three would too!

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Congratulations on really upping your academic game in college, and on having a great attitude even though you’re not loving your campus environment! I agree with the earlier comments that you’ll have a wider range of options as a junior transfer, if you keep doing well in your college classes, than as a sophomore transfer where your HS stats will still be considered. That said, there are plenty of schools you could get into as a sophomore, and wanting to spend an additional year at the school you’ll graduate from absolutely makes sense.

Most people who pursue technical writing careers establish a strong science foundation by getting an undergraduate STEM degree. There are a few schools that have undergraduate science writing programs (here’s one example - possibly attainable admissions wise but almost certainly over-budget: https://sciencewriting.cas.lehigh.edu/ ) but for the most part an undergrad STEM major is the norm, though of course you could double-major in English/writing. What are you most interested in, science-wise? If you want a broader approach, maybe look at schools that offer a “Science, Technology, & Society” program or other interdisciplinary STEM major.

As one proof-of-concept example, James Madison University in Virginia could be worth a look. More temperate weather, a really nice residential community with school spirit, and several programs that could be a good fit academically:

The transfer acceptance rate is 74%, and your ACT is a couple points above their median, so you could have a decent chance even as a sophomore transfer; and the OOS sticker price is under 50K/year. JMU gets a 4/5 Campus Pride Index score. It’s considered rural, but the small city of Harrisonburg is walkable from campus.

That’s just one example - I’m sure there are many good possible destinations for you. Good luck and keep up the good work!

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My S22 transferred from a northeastern school to a midwestern school. We didn’t do any of the paperwork until late spring maybe early summer after his first year. He applied to 5 colleges and 4/5 needed college and high school transcript and 1/5 only wanted college. None needed a letter of recommendation from professors. However, 2 needed a document of good standing from the registrar’s office. He was offered excellent transfer merit from all 5 of the colleges. Clearly less than if he had gone there right out of high school but I think it was in the 18-24K range from each school. He also had very high stats from high school/ super high ACT and the colleges he was applying to were not uber-selective but were private.

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Hi, thank you so much for the nice comments! I appreciate it :slight_smile:

I think I am most interested in Astronomy and space-related things, but the truth is it requires a lot of mathematics and physics which are definitely not my strong suit, I would enjoy covering marine science as well, anything environmental in general. I do think I shouldn’t limit myself, but if that were the case I would need to transfer now as my school does not offer anything physics related, I would come in way behind as a junior transfer I believe.

I honestly am trying to balance my passion and something that will keep me afloat financially. I think technical writing is possibly the best way to do this, but I also would like to follow my passion of creative writing at the same time. I also like songwriting as well but I decided to avoid this route due to the lack of recent musical experience I have. (I considered Music Business as well because it would avoid auditioning, but I really am much more interested in composing songs than the business behind it.) I think technical writing would be better though as it can combine all the things I enjoy about writing with science, which I also like.

Lehigh’s program looks like exactly what I would need, and I can at least give it a shot despite the pricing issues, but JMU looks even better in various aspects and I am definitely adding that to my list!

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Was about to recommend Lehigh. Also Denison.

See if you can add a Physics minor and an Environmental Science concentration to the Professional Writing major.

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Not sure either is realistic with one semester of college grades - plus budget.

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You’re right- I assume OP would apply in the Spring for fall 2024 transfer so would potentially have more grades to submit (though only 1 full semester on the transcript).
Not sure it’ll be within budget indeed but short of transferring to their instate public or a public university where tuition is 40-45k OOS, I’m not sure many private universities will since merit scholarships for transfers are few&far between.
@aquapt’s JMU idea is probably the closest in terms of subject&cost.

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Congrats on a good first semester of college. You might look at Arizona and ASU, but obviously larger. Both with good astro. Both give merit to transfers. Look into Elon, not sure on the school spirit thing though.

I do agree that you may have more options if you wait another year (because your HS record will carry much less, if any, weight after 3 good semesters of college than it will right now). But, if it’s best for you to transfer then don’t hesitate, you know yourself best.

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Also, if you like Environmental Science but Physics/Math isn’t your cup of tea… how are you with statistics (vs.the type of math required for physics)? You could major in writing and add courses in Statistics/biostatistics/data representation without a formal minor. On your resume, you’d list these alongside key major courses under “relevant courses”. Same thing for environnemental science if you don’t have space for a full minor.

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App State could be another one to look at:

Also WVU: Scientific and Technical Writing, B.S. < West Virginia University

Both are within budget, have a >75% transfer acceptance rate, and score 4.5/5 on the Campus Pride Index.

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