Match me as a Transfer Student Who Hates the Culture Here

College Search & Selection
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Essentially, I want to transfer because I’m attending a large state school that’s rural and also a massive party school. I’m completely sober and therefore my opportunities for a social life are extremely limited. I also don’t feel challenged by the classes here, even though I’m taking some upper level courses, and there doesn’t seem to be any kind of academic drive. Hopefully I can find schools that are in more of a suburban or urban area and are a bit more academic. My high school list included schools like Brown, Vassar, and Reed (I would’ve loved to go to Reed but family issues prevented that). Match me?
Demographics:
Currently attending: big state school in NE
High School: suburban public with
Demographics: LGBT+ Asian female

Intended Major: Advertising, Marketing, or PR with a Spanish minor. The school I’m at has a Journalism with a PR concentration so I’m enrolled in that.

Stats:
HS GPA: 3.6 UW/4.2W
College GPA: Unknown, but likely ~3.8
HS Rank: 2nd decile
ACT: first try 32, second try 35
APs (9): Euro (5), Lang (5), APUSH (4), Env (4), Lit (5), World (5), Spanish (4), AB Calc (3), Bio (3)

I’m currently taking 19 credits and have 41 credits from AP classwork, and I’ll likely be taking 14-16 in the spring if I don’t decide to transfer before then.

Awards:
National Merit Semifinalist, AP Scholar with Distinction

ECs
(HS):
Worked with my state’s Asian American Commission to assess racism during Covid and update school curriculums
Wrote for a magazine that has ~3000 subscribers
Interned at a PR/Marketing firm for a summer
Started my own podcast, with ~10k listeners
President of Debate Club for 3 years and tripled club membership
Co-captain of Academic Decathlon and brought team to Nationals
Tutored children for free in writing
Worked at a zucchini bread bakery
(college):
Run my own podcast with the local magazine
Did budgeting and legal stuff for local bands and concerts

Unsure about my letters of recommendation, as I haven’t made any deep connections with professors, but my essay has had great reviews from both college coaches and counselors.

I have one sibling currently in college, and my EFC is about 70k a year.

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If your username is reflective of your real name, I would urge you to change it. Here are directions on how to do so: How Do I Change My Username?

I’m sorry that you’re having a hard time at school and don’t feel as though it’s the right fit for you. Are you in the honors college at your school? Have you joined any clubs that interest you? Those can be ways of finding your people and having more intellectually engaging classes.

When you say that your family’s EFC is $70k, is that your budget? Or is it $35k because your parents are paying for two children in college (which I believe is going to be changed in the next year with respect to how the FAFSA treats multiple kids in college and EFCs)? What’s the budget/year?

If you’re set (or curious) about transferring, these are a few schools that you might want to look into. Realize that admission as a transfer student is usually more difficult than admission as a first-year, and merit aid is usually much less generous, too. Make sure to run the Net Price Calculator (NPC) at every school you’re considering applying to.

  • American (D.C.)
  • Bradley (IL)
  • Butler (IN)
  • DePaul (IL)
  • Drake (IA)
  • Drexel (PA ) – this school is heavily focused on co-ops
  • Howard (D.C.) HBCU
  • Loyola Chicago (IL)
  • Marquette (WI)
  • Suffolk (MA)
  • Temple (PA )
  • U. of Nebraska – Lincoln

You may want to run the NPCs at Boston U. & Syracuse as they have good programs in your field, but would probably be out of budget. But it would definitely be worth investigating if you’re interested in either of them.

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The first thing that occurs to me is that it is still September. You are not very far into the school year. The students who focus on partying are likely to either focus more on academics as the year goes by, or be gone by the end of their first year. The former will probably happen for more students than the latter. Courses are also likely to become academically more challenging as you get further into the semester.

Social life can be improved by finding clubs that are interesting to you. If you do not like the first one you try, then try a different one. A large rural public university is going to have quite a wide range of clubs and activities.

I know that this sounds a bit odd, but you really can, for the classes that you like the best, approach the professor and ask for more work. This is likely to allow you to both look a little deeper into areas that you find academically interesting, and also get to know a professor in an area that you like.

If you are at U.Mass Amherst (which to me is the obvious large rural public university in the northeast) then UVM would be somewhat smaller and more urban. Burlington Vermont is quite a nice medium sized city. It would not be cheap (assuming that you are out of state in Vermont) but would be a bit less than $70,000 per year and admissions seems likely. I do not know anything about their journalism or marketing or PR majors.

I think that @AustenNut has a good point that I also am not sure whether you can afford to spend up to $70,000/year or half of that. Of course the larger amount would give more options. UVM would probably not be affordable on a $35,000 per year budget unless you are in-state.

One wild thought that is urban, and a significant change of culture, and academically very strong, and accepting of transfer students would be McGill. It is of course very big.

I would however be tempted to try to find your place at your current school. Of course this can be done in parallel with applying to transfer elsewhere.

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Did you apply to and get accepted at those colleges? Were the net costs affordable for your family?

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  1. [quote=“Maanasa_Dhavala1, post:1, topic:3619668”]
    my essay has had great reviews from both college coaches and counselors.
    [/quote]

Are you a first year?

If so, you have what, 4, 5? weeks under your belt- but you already have an essay that has been reviewed by multiple coaches and counselors? If so, is it fair to say that you planned to leave before you arrived?

I would be surprised if it is UMass Amherst, as it is hard for me to imagine that there is anybody so niche that they can’t find their people there- or at any of the other schools in the consortium. My guess is the NE is not New England but Nebraska.

A couple of points:

  1. if you apply now for spring transfer you will be applying on your HS record, and lots of places don’t take spring transfers.

  2. find out more about the profs in your department / areas of interest- stalk their faculty webpage and/or LinkedIn. Find ones who are doing work that is interesting to you, and go introduce yourself. Whether you transfer now, later or not at all, you will learn more about what there is where you, open the door for a possible LoR, and perhaps gain a mentor in the area you want to pursue.

  3. you gave your EFC- but what is your budget?

  4. why are you attending this uni that you loathe? was this your ‘safety’? did your parents want you stay close to home? were there health issues (& if so are they fully resolved?) we don’t need (or want, tbh!) the gory details, but it’s hard to recommend specific schools with out knowing more about how you ended up there.

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Is there an Honors program at your school? Typically has the better professors and more motivated students.

@DadTwoGirls is correct. The party crowd will start to fizzle out. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

S21 wasn’t enamored with first year classes but Honors helped and finding clubs and an internship improved his attitude. Always take one or two classes you enjoy even if it doesn’t meet a gen ed requirement. Helps keep you engaged.

S21 is at FSU. The have a well regarded Advertising major. If you got into the Honors program it might work. It would be in budget even if full-pay. That’s going to be the rub. Not a lot of scholarships for transfers. Good luck.

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Interesting how we all read things differently…I was thinking northeast! I was picturing something like U. of Maine, New Hampshire, or Rhode Island. I wouldn’t call Omaha or Lincoln rural, and I don’t know of any other big Nebraska publics.

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Lol - I tried to think of other places also, such as the SUNY’s- but their rural campuses aren’t big.

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I was picturing UCONN.

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I agree that you should give it more time at your current school, I am certain there are non-partiers there as well as students serious about their academics.

It would be helpful to know where you applied last year, and the results of each of those applications.

It sounds like you were accepted to Reed, but couldn’t go due to family circumstances? And you would be able to attend now as a transfer?

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I agree that the partying will die down. Wait until people start getting the results back from tests and realize this isn’t high school and they actually need to spend time studying. Also, there is partying at every school. You think students at Reed don’t party?

Assuming this is a big state school in New England, do you have restrictions on staying close to home? Is that why you couldn’t go to Reed?

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Hi! I was rejected from the Honors College at my school and my budget is around 70k. I did get a guaranteed transfer offer from BU for Fall 23, but I’m unsure of if I’ll take it, Thank you for the list!

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My total budget is 70k. I don’t know if UVM would be a great fit, but according to their net price calculator I would only pay about 43k a year. I’ll also look into McGill, thank you!

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I didn’t get into either Brown or Vassar, but I was accepted to Reed. Ultimately, I didn’t go because of the distance from family, and while we technically could have afforded it, it would have been a stretch.

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You got it - my current school was the last on my list of safeties. I wanted to go to an Ivy and was told by counselors it was possible, but didn’t get in to any. Other schools on my list were Vassar, Williams, and BU, and I also didn’t get into any, although BU offered a guaranteed transfer. My safety schools were St. Anselm, Bennington, and my current school, and I ended up here bc it was the closest to home, as I’ve had some health issues recently and my family wanted me to stay close. Those issues are resolved, and I don’t really have a preference for where the school is as long as it’s a better culture fit.
I don’t intend on transferring in the spring, because I do want to give this school a fair chance, but I also want to start gathering and researching schools that might be better. My budget is 70k

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There is an Honors college but I wasn’t accepted. I am glad to hear that the party crowd will start to fizzle out a bit, as it’s one of the biggest things I don’t like about this school.

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Sorry you find yourself in this position. As I am sure you are aware neither Brown or Vassar support dedicated Pre professional majors such as advertising, marketing or PR. Are you looking for the social culture of a Brown/Vassar or is the priority the preprofessional academic options?

I think there are plenty of OC and collaborative “chill” schools like Brown/Vassar and numerous mid sized business focused schools but few that overlap.

Think for example Sarah Lawrence Vs Fordham. 7.6 miles apart but entirely different checking boxes you seem to prioritize.

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Super helpful reply- thanks.

As @Catcherinthetoast notes there is a disparity between your proposed major(s) and the majority of the unis you applied to originally, so use this moment to think that through a bit.

If you want a more ‘intellectual’ or academically intense school (eg, places such as Reed, Vassar and Brown) that’s one thing. If you know that you want to study advertising, marketing or PR that’s really a different thing. Fair warning: any uni that offers those majors is going to have a strong partying contingent. The thing is, though, even the hardest partying schools have students who are smart, ambitious and academic- you just have to find them. That is easier once you get past all of the messy feelings that go with ending up at your last choice of your safeties.

Your guaranteed transfer to BU sounds like a nice Ace in your pocket. We can help you with suggestions in either camp- but you need to clarify for yourself what you want going forward.

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More so the social culture. I want to go to law school after my Bachelor’s degree, so the exact major is much less important than the culture and fit of the school itself. Marketing/PR is the field I would want to work in if law school doesn’t work out or doesn’t happen directly after school, but those fields are also possible with an English or Journalism degree and practical experience, which I have.

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Ok, so you want an academic atmosphere most of all where students are more intellectually curious than pre-professional in an urban or suburban location. Does it need to stay in the northeast, or are other areas of the country acceptable (west coast is out, as that was the situation with Reed)? Are there any other must-haves or want-to-haves? Any dealbreakers? Are there certain types of experiences you would like to have while in college?

Thanks for clarifying your budget. In your last post you mentioned law school. Would your family consider having any money “saved” from undergrad expenses be allowed to be used toward law school? Or are they intending to help you through law school regardless? Law school is very expensive, and I don’t know how much of a priority it might be to save a bit on the budgetary front (while remaining in an intellectual atmosphere) if law school is a consideration.

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