I agree. It would be plenty big for me. But I liked Davidson, very small and quaint and lovely. It’s just about trying to find the best fit for my kid.
Makes sense. He’s always been an outlier! Thank you if you have experience about a student making a change, I’d like to hear about it.
You also have to be realistic about transfers to top schools. Stanford was used as an example. They accepted 57 transfers from 3,141 applicants. I am willing to bet that a fair number of the 57 were athletes that transferred.
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Thank you for the feedback. he likes the professors at Tufts and the city. I wonder what the social scene is like there, and what the academic rigor is compared to Tufts? Thanks for any insight.
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This is so great to hear. I’ve had the concern that as a new sophomore he could get lost. I really appreciate this info. Northwestern was on his radar. Thank you!
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I do not, but the folks who posted after me are right … WashU def has a Pell/financial aid profile that is similar to that of Tufts.
Excellent point. He’s not an athlete so that’s not in his favor.
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Please forgive my ignorance but I’m unfamiliar with the common data set. It sounds like it could be useful.
Stanford has historically focused on non-traditional students for its transfer intake. (i.e. the student of this thread is probably not among Stanford’s priority target demographics for transfer students)
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It’s information relating to admissions and financial aid among other things that schools fill out each year. You can google common data set for any school. Here are a few examples. Section D deals with transfers.
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I have no personal experience regrading USC but @lkg4answers can answer some of you concerns.
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I sent you a private message. It’s the green envelope in the upper right corner.
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I bet if you polled kids the Monday after T-giving a very high percentage of them would express an interest in transferring.
I think the best reasons for transferring are academic (maybe not the best reasons, but certainly the ones that are most compelling for anyone reading a transfer application).
For anything else? I’d say give it time. Being a good sport for three months and putting yourself out there socially- with little to show for it- doesn’t mean that what your son is looking for isn’t there, it just means he’s looking for it in the wrong places.
If the level of affluence and privilege are a turn-off for him, has he explored volunteer opportunities in the Medford, Cambridge, Somerville schools? If he finds his classmates tone deaf to the needs of other people, has he found the kids who run the coat drives for the unhoused, the students who volunteer as translators at the medical center or any of the other hospitals in Boston, the students who are volunteering to accompany people to housing court to prevent an unlawful eviction?
Tufts has all those kids. There is no guarantee that a privileged rich kid won’t be sitting next to your son at a planning meeting for the “Reducing our carbon footprint, one foam cup at a time” initiative at the dining hall-- but if your son identifies a couple of causes he cares about, he’s much more likely to meet his kindred spirits there.
Is he interested in getting certified for a job with EMS? I know several kids who did that at Tufts. It pays well; it gets you out of the campus bubble and into the community; there is a ton of esprit de corps with the other college kids. Or taking the training course to become a docent at one of the museums in Boston? Or tutoring ESL at any of the dozen organizations in Boston that are resettling refugees right now?? There are still Ukrainian, Afghan and Central American families being moved to MA and their needs are huge (beginning with the language. How do you sign a lease if you don’t understand what you are signing?)
Hugs to him. When I wanted to transfer way back when, someone I admired told me 'Wherever you go, there you are" and that advice has served me well. And by February of freshman year I had found my peeps…
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Unless your son is specifically seeking a large school, he seems — to the extent that you have described him — like a potential fit for Carleton.
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I would recommend Georgetown. It combines great city he enjoys, larger student body, and great opportunities to explore careers in journalism or law both academically and through internships; and kids are grounded and caring/socially and politically minded as a whole. My D22 is absolutely loving it. She chose between an LAC usually referenced as Tufts’ main peer and Georgetown and feels lucky she picked Georgetown. DC is just a very special place for kids like your son (and my daughter).
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That’s not the primary concern. But doesn’t WashU offer some merit based aid?
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I don’t think he should transfer. There are 6,000 undergrads at Tufts who are undoubtedly bright and engaged. There are likely hundreds if not thousands of kids there that he can connect with. I agree with the poster’s suggestion to find some specific interests and put some energy there. I am so sure that he’ll feel differently next semester.
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Very interested in Georgetown, But he didn’t study at all for standardized tests and didn’t Score that well. I think the fact that Georgetown requires SAT or ACT would make his otherwise very strong application a lot less impressive. Thank you for the suggestion.
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Agreed but because Tufts is need aware, maybe it’s moreso rich kids ??
I see brought up earlier.
I would figure out what he wants - city and mid size ? Larger? Smaller ? Weather ? What else. You mentioned TO - so that will impact at many.
Does it have to be elite ?
You mentioned merit aid. You’ll want to look at each school’s merit policies for transfer. Wont be the same as first year in many cases.
Awww. Thank you for taking the time for sharing this. All of these activities sound promising. I so hope that he finds his peeps by February! I really appreciate the suggestions and the boost!
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