<p>I know that I haven't even started college yet, but I am contemplating transfer. A minor life changing event happened last year, and I thought that I should finally start putting in some effort into school :) However, this late awakening is not enough to save my GPA so I am pretty sure that come this fall, I am probably heading to one of the less famous LACs or universities.</p>
<p>I had done well in my studies when I can be bothered to put the effort into it and I am pretty confident that I have the academic ability to do well. Since my gpa is bad, I will probably be transferring as a junior.</p>
<p>However, how do you go about being proactive in college, close to professors and eager to seize upon any and all opportunities, when the knowledge that you are going to leave is at the back of your mind?</p>
<p>How do you tell your professors that you want to transfer, and know that your friendship and fellowship is immediately devalued in their eyes because they know that you got close to them simply because you wanted a good recommendation? (Which probably has a grain of truth in it)</p>
<p>Just wondering how other CC transfer board members deals with this kinds of situation.</p>
<p>Summary: College-bound student cooks up some imaginary scenario in her tired mind, worrying before college even starts!</p>
<p>Btw, how do you guys handle the financial aspect of it? There is little/no scholarships for transfer students, I don't qualify for fin aid and I'm not even a U.S citizen or PR, so I will have to bear the full cost. And some schools like UMich are about 50k a year...</p>
<p>wait, you're still in HS, haven't even started college yet, but you're already sure you want to transfer?</p>
<p>enjoy the rest of your senior year, and then you have 2 years of college to go through. for all you know, you may love your college and never want to leave. or you may struggle and realize you can't handle a more competitive environment. You haven't even finished HS yet, but you're already worried about what to say to your future college friends/profs in 2.5 years, who you don't even know yet? Just relax :) and btw, i'm transferring for financial reasons, and most of my friends were very understanding, since i go to an expensive school.</p>
<p>One option would be to start at a community college. Since they only offer two year degrees, everyone who is planning on completing a four year degree will eventually have to transfer. Good community colleges have good transfer placement offices that will help you get into the college/university that is right for you. Most community colleges have coordination agreements with four year colleges and universities. This means that if you take a pre-determined series of courses, and earn a specific GPA in those courses, you are AUTOMATICALLY admitted to that four year college in that particular major field. This means no letters of recommendation, no "why college X" or "why transfer" essays.</p>
<p>Another option is for you to carefully choose your list of colleges/universities so that they are places that you would be happy to finish at if you decide not to transfer, or if your transfer applications fail. Money is a huge issue for international students, and you are correct that there generally is less financial aid available for transfer students. You need to have a long hard talk with whoever it is who will be paying for your studies so that you know how much money will be available.</p>
<p>College officials and professors understand that if the school is not a good academic fit there is no reason to force yourself to stay. The majority of profs, deans, and officials are generally educated and will not hate you for transferring. The more difficult part is dealing with the friends you make and your peers, who are more likely to judge you for transferring since they have probably not developed the maturity and life experience to understand why another person would want to transfer, especially if they love the school they are at.</p>