<p>I am currently a freshman at Arizona State University. I am a Minnesota resident, and I came to ASU mainly because of the very large scholarship I received here for being a National Merit Scholar. Now, however, I am considering transferring to the University of Minnesota as I do not feel that this school is a very good fit for me. I was just wondering how much scholarships I would be likely to get while transferring there after my freshman year at ASU? In high school, I graduated first in my class with a 4.00 unweighted and 4.24 weighted GPA, I got a 34 on my ACT, was a National Merit Scholar, president of National Honor Society, and ran cross country. I will most likely finish this semester and this year with a 3.9 GPA, and guaranteed above a 3.8. When I first applied to the U of M, I received about $16,000 in merit scholarships. I realize that this would most likely be much less as a transfer student, but does anyone have an estimate as to how much I could receive? </p>
<p>I think you can get more info from whichever college you are hoping to xfer into. I was looking into it for a friend’s chid and it seems like xfer scholarships may be more tied to the college (eg, CSE, CLA, etc). I know they have some scholarships given (esp by depts) after freshman yr. Just call the Transfer admissions at UMN <a href=“Contact our Transfer Specialists | Office of Admissions”>http://admissions.tc.umn.edu/counselors/directory_trans.html</a> (listed by college). You’ll get the most accurate info there.</p>
<p>If you don’t mind sharing a bit, why don’t you feel like ASU is a good fit for you? Are you in Barrett? I ask b/c my son is considering ASU/Barrett (also UMN CSE), and he seems similar to you stats-wise at least. We haven’t visited there yet so he is just basing interest on what he has read about Barrett and he is also interested in merit $. </p>
<p>Hang in there. Some times just the change in culture and location and living 24/7 w/ people far away from home can be a sort of shock to the system. You can apply for xfer now and see how you feel as the year goes on or at winter break. Good Luck!</p>
<p>Thank you! Yes, I am in Barrett. The whole “shock” thing is definitely true, and think i still need some more time to adjust, but as time goes on I just feel more and more like U of M would be a better fit for me. When I came to Barrett, I loved it - amazing dorms, great dining hall, warm weather, a full tuition scholarship, and a lot of opportunities available for the honors kids. However, being here now, I just feel like I belong more at the U. Don’t get me wrong, ASU and especially Barrett offer a lot of opportunities, there are just a lot of things here that I don’t like. I feel like the “regular” ASU kids here can be vain/shallow and a lot of them are partiers. On the other hand, I’ve found that many of the Barrett kids can be somewhat socially awkward/ not very well rounded. People here (not just at ASU) in general are not as personable, which I really miss (MN nice 
). My classes are also a little bit easier than expected. I think the U of M could offer me a more rigorous education, I feel like I belong there, and i could be closer to my family and friends.</p>
<p>Thanks for sharing your experience w/ Barrett. I think most ppl on here know that what is a great fit for one person isn’t necessarily a good fit for the next - it’s not dissing a school to say it’s not a good fit for you for these reasons. I’ve been sort of concerned about the party reputation of ASU - not that partying doesn’t go on at 99% of colleges. I think maybe it’s that the bar to get into gen’l ASU is much lower than to get into general UMN and the non-honors population is the majority of the student body at both schools. Further, once you get past the first level or 2 of classes in either honors program, you are taking non-honors classes at least for upper div (Eg in your major). While I think the first year away at college far from home can be difficult in itself, as someone who did that myself, I do think that you sort of know who you click w/ and whether it is a good fit too. I kept telling myself that it was just culture shock etc, but I had a nagging feeling it wasn’t just that. If I had it to do over again, I would have xferred after freshman year. But I know other ppl who also didn’t have the happiest freshman yr but were happy they stuck it out (and it didn’t feel like “merely hanging in there” after freshman yr).</p>
<p>What classes are you taking there? I know they make a big deal about that freshman experience seminar and want my son to sit in on that when we visit He is more of a math type, so I don’t know how much of a selling pt that will be for him. He asked to sit in on a math class (which would be non-honors/Barrett), but they seem a bit resistant to this, which I don’t understand. </p>
<p>IT’s sort of ironic that I was pushing my son to at least consider other schools besides the UMN (he has long only had eyes for the UMN) but then as I looked into more schools, I concluded that UMN is the best fit for him. I actually nagged him into at least applying to a couple other schools since the apps weren’t difficult. But around the time I got convinced that UMN was the best school for him on all fronts, he decided he may just be interested in Barrett. We’re going there 3rd wk of Nov for a visit. If you have any recommendations on things to see or places to go that would give a good feel for student life, I would love to hear them. </p>
<p>I know for xferring, getting good grades is very important. So even if things aren’t great there, keep your eye on the ultimate goal of xferring and keep your GPA up. It leaves more options for you whether you decide to xfer or stay.</p>
<p>Yes, I have been struggling with determining whether my unhappiness here has come from not being fully adjusted yet, or because it is not the right school for me. And like you were saying, while I think it is possible to make it work here, I feel that I would always have that nagging feeling that I would fit in better at UMN. I was well aware of the party reputation when I came to ASU and the lower admissions standards for the general students, but I thought that because I would be in Barrett it wouldn’t really affect me. I didn’t quite comprehend at the time that although I would be living in Barrett and taking some honors classes, I would be around the general ASU population for a majority of my time here (basically anytime I’m not in my dorm). It is definitely something to consider. If your son is more of an outgoing party-type, maybe he would like it here. Personally, I’m more of a reserved person and I don’t exactly “click” with a lot of the people here.</p>
<p>I am a biology major, so my classes right now are bio, chem, first year composition, and the Human Event, the freshman seminar you mentioned. My bio and chem classes are non-honors courses with huge lecture halls (about 400 people). It can be kind of frustrating being in labs for these courses, because you are usually with non-honors students, most of whom lack the work ethic that most honors kids have. In general though, the classes have been relatively easy. If your son took many AP/CIS courses in high school (which I’m assuming he has) he should be well prepared. I definitely think it would be beneficial to sit in on the Human Event course, because it gives you a feel of what Barrett is like, but I think sitting in on one of the math courses would be great too if they will let you because it would give you a feel of regular ASU. Also, for your visit, I would recommend spending a lot of time outside of Barrett; I think when I visited I focused a little too much on Barrett and not enough of the overall school. The Memorial Union is probably a good place to go to get a feel of the non-Barrett student life. Either way, good luck to your son in deciding where to go! Both Barrett and U of M are great choices, just keep in mind the student life and overall atmosphere of the school in addition to academics opportunities.</p>
<p>Thanks for sharing your experience. It’s difficult to gauge what it’s really like at a school until one is actually attending, yet it’s a huge decision. It really helps to hear directly from current students.</p>
<p>Getting back to your original question, you may also try calling the Ntl Merit Recruiter at UMN and see what she has to say about your circumstance and merit $. I think she is new to this position this year. Even if you’re a potential xfer, you’re the same good student you were in May 2014, so I would think the UMN would still consider you a student they want to recruit.</p>
<p>Lindsey May
Admissions Counselor
National Merit/Honors Recruitment Coordinator
Direct: 612-625-3839
Toll-Free: 1-800-752-1000
Email: <a href=“mailto:mayxx277@umn.edu”>mayxx277@umn.edu</a></p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>