Hi all!
I’m looking to transfer to Sweet Briar for the fall, but after some family events, it left me with a poor grade on my record, and I’m not sure how to explain that now on the new fall 2015 application.
Do you know what kinds of qualifications I’d need? Or if I should explain it to admissions directly myself? It’s kind of a wild story.
What is your GPA and how many units/credits do you have all together? One bad grade or one bad semester is usually not enough to disqualify you from all but the top 10% of colleges and universities. At most but the very elite colleges you can explain what happened to blemish your record and they will take that into account. My own family is given to wild stories so when I am forced to explain something I try to tone it down a bit! Going to a residential college does simplify life for most students, at least at first!
Since you are a transfer student, the sooner you can connect with Sweet Briar the better because the department heads are planning the schedule and it is important that Juniors and Seniors let them know what they need to take next year. What is your planned major?
I looked over at the new admissions website and was surprised to see they don’t have a application for TRANSFERRING students! I suppose the old administration wasn’t that excited about transfer students! Be assured, the NEW admin totally is!
I can see that the New Student App is for Freshman in that they ask for SAT/ACT scores and what high school you attended. I suppose you can file that application with your college info,and ignore the bit about SAT/ACT scores because they are not valid if you have taken more than 12 semester units/credits? Or is it 20? I would go ahead and get my college transcript on the way along with my FAFSA and try calling in the morning to see what other requirements apply to transfers. Their hours are 8:30-5.
The word is the office is quite hectic so be patient if the line is busy, okay? I think the poor dears have to process the re-admittance of each returning student as well as doing their regular admissions jobs.
New Student Applications
http://discover.sbc.edu/newstudentapplication.php
Request Information
http://discover.sbc.edu/requestinfo.php
(434) 381-6142
Not counting my AP classes, I have about twenty three credits from my current school. I contacted Sweet Briar and explained about my transfer, and they had me fill out the form and send everything over.
My current GPA for the semester was a 3.24, but my cumulative GPA is a 2.5 bcause of a family problem. Basically, I failed a class (not one offered at Sweet Briar, I checked). I’ll try to explain why, though. And thank you so much for your help!!
The reason for this is because of my family. Two days before I was supposed to leave for school, my family caught wind of my career choice, pulled me out, and sent me to live with my unstable grandmother and her dying partner. I was there to go to school part time/full if my grandmother allowed it, and take care of her. Eventually, it got so hard on my mental health, that during second semester, I left her house with a friend one night because I couldn’t deal with all the things she was doing (and there were a few). After that, though, she lied to my parents, and they stole a bunch of my savings from me as a punishment. They told me to never come back home as well. I’m filing a case with my college for a dependency override right now because of this.
But because of this one class, I’m worried I can’t transfer over to my dream school.
Thank you again for your help, and I really hope that isn’t too much information!! It’s just so hard to explain!
With APs, I should have thirty one credits, if that helps.
I hope everything made sense, too, Thank you again for your help!!
Oh please! Don’t be silly! My daughter got into Sweet Briar with a 2.47 GPA from HIGH SCHOOL! A 2.5 from college is much better than a 2.47 from high school. My daughter is a brilliant arts student but very average academically. But she wanted a full liberal arts education and Sweet Briar College was happy to give her one. Sweet Briar is a very nurturing place, usually! When people are not trying to close her anyway!
I am glad you are filing for dependency override for the FAFSA, right? My husband had to get one of those. Did you file taxes for 2014? If not, you need to do this ASAP. You will need to get a transcript from the IRS for financial aid and it takes a bit longer if you file late.
What is your career choice, by the way?
My career choice is the diplomatic core in the federal government. I won a State Department scholarship and went abroad, and that was the pushing point for me. I’m studying International Affairs with the goal of being an ambassador one day. My parents were furious. But Sweet Briar has a great focus for International Affairs (region is Eastern Asia, thematic study is global security) and Music Performance. I have my fingers crossed that Sweet Briar will accept me, and I can move forward at an amazing college!
I didn’t know I needed to file a tax refund for it! No one told me! What else do I need to do, if you don’t mind me asking. My current college hasn’t provided me much help with my dependency override.
My father was in the Foreign Service and I was raised in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Burma…basically Southeast Asia! Depending on the president, it isn’t usual to appoint Foreign Service Officers to an Ambassadorship. Those are usually political appointees who were congressmen that lost their seats or really wealthy former industrialists…blah, blah. I haven’t check lately but I think the president that appointed the most career Foreign Service Officers was Carter, with like 37% NOT political appointees. ACTUALLY…here is a more up to date article on the subject!
My father was a China watcher so he had to write a lot of policy papers and stuff for Kissinger when the door to China opened. It is a pretty good career if you can stay sober. My father got to do some amazing stuff and he wasn’t even very high up. Burma just opened up to tourism and my stepmother and some of my sisters went there last year. It was amazing, apparently and one of my sisters said it was weird because she is use to going to foreign places and they are foreign. But she arrives in Burma and it was definitely NOT the US but it didn’t feel foreign. If felt like home.
So, you need to file a tax return for last year and you need to do it right away. I think you can still do it online and that is the best way to do it. DO NOT HAND CARRY IT TO THE IRS. That will add weeks to the process. The tax return you need to file for the FAFSA is the Federal Tax Return. Filing Federal Taxes is free in TaxAct and they will help you with your FAFSA. Here is the link for TaxAct. TurboTax is just too expensive. https://www.taxact.com/taxes-online/free-online-tax.asp
Here is a link about Dependency Overrides and the circumstances warrant one. Read that really carefully so you can document why you need one. http://www.finaid.org/educators/pj/dependencyoverrides.phtml
http://sbc.edu/engineering/community-college-transfer-opportunities
Community College Transfer Opportunities
ARTICULATION AGREEMENT
Sweet Briar has an articulation agreement with the Virginia Community College system. We will accept as many as 60 credits with a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher (calculated from those courses applied to the degree) earned in an associate arts or science degree.
SCHOLARSHIPS
Sweet Briar offers merit-based scholarships funded by the National Science Foundation that can support community college transfer students. These are valued at $10,000/year for four years.
Are you on Facebook? I hang out on the Friends of Sweet Briar College board and I am a major poster there. My initials are KMW but I spell it out on Facebook. Flag me down if you join the board!
Oh my gosh, your dad is my hero!! This is my dream job, and I really hope I can make it come true. I think Sweet Briar is the school to do it, too!!
And thank you for your help with dependency! No one told me any of this!
My only concern is that I went to a public state university last year, in Idaho. I really hope that Sweet Briar will still honor the agreement because of my family circumstances. Do you think I should call and explain it to them? I can’t think of any other thing I can do!!
You are concerned that the Idaho public university credits won’t transfer over? Well, who knows what the Registrar will accept but my daughter didn’t have any trouble getting her (16) California community college credits transferred into SBC and also 15 from her semester in London. Do you have Virginia residency yet? That would be cool because they have some financial for residents. Irregardless you should do fine. I know you are anxious, but you really are okay. When my daughter was accepted, we were both afraid to contact SBC because we thought they made a mistake and if we called, they would realize their error! It was so silly but we both have issues with anxiety.
Admissions Department Phone: 434-381-6142
Financial Aid Department Phone: 434-381-6156
I would try Admissions first and tell them that you need to apply for a Dependency Override from Financial Aid. Even with your failed class, your GPA is clearly fine! I am not sure if Financial Aid is fully staffed yet so be patient.
Have you ordered your transcripts yet? Done your taxes?
I messaged you Marcia Thom Kaley’s email privately but she just got back to me that she needs you to go ahead and fill out the form at …
.
http://discover.sbc.edu/newstudentapplication.php
.
…and explain that you need a Dependency Override for Financial Aid.