<p>I have been rejected from my dream school, RISD recently, presumably because of my grades. I have taken every honors/AP classes I was capable of not failing in to end up with occasional As and Bs, and C's in math...but this year for calculus honors I ended up with a D. My overall unweighted GPA was 3.0, in RISD scale.</p>
<p>I was accepted to SVA, SAIC, and RIT for film/animation and graphic design with scholarships. I plan on going to SAIC for the connections and opportunities, but I was wondering if it's worth it if I plan to transfer anyway. I have thought of, like people in previous posts, attending a community college, perk up my grades and reapply as a transfer to RISD, but I feel like it's a long shot.</p>
<p>Should I just be happy with SAIC and raise my GPA then reapply as a transfer or try to pursue my wish in getting into RISD as a transfer from a community college?</p>
<p>Merit scholarships are significantly less abundant and generally for less money for transfers compared to fr applicants. This is because schools use merit to attract fr students. </p>
<p>FA varies with the school, some treat transfers and fr the same, others give less FA to transfers.</p>
<p>That makes a lot of sense considering Risd is known for not giving out money to applicants…and since my EFC is 00000, are my chances of getting enough FA highered compared to those with a higher EFC?</p>
<p>RISD is really stingy with money. My EFC was 14k, and they only gave me Stafford loans and 2.5k work study. The COA is 60k, so they expect me to pay 53k a year to attend - that’s more than the starting cost of some of my tier 1 schools.
Transferring is worth a shot if you really want to go. If you work really hard, you might be able to get a lot of scholarships, even as a transfer. Keep in mind that if you want to transfer from SAIC, you have to ask your instructor for unofficial grades, so your GPA doesn’t get screwed up when you go. Also, because you would have missed RISD’s foundation year, you have to do their summer program, which is foundation year condensed into 2 weeks. This program is not free.
What major do you want to go into?</p>
<p>Have your guidance counselor give RISD a call to find out about the rejection. It might not be the grades after all.</p>
<p>With an EFC of 0, it is unlikely that you can afford RISD. Period. Can you even afford those other schools that admitted you? Sit down with your parents and your financial aid packages, and get honest about where the money will come from.</p>
<p>Into a design program you’ll likely have a lot of problems with credits transferring from a community college. Also, I agree with above posters that you’ll likely get little-to-no financial aid. </p>
<p>Go to whichever school is the right fit for you that you’ve been accepted into and if you want, apply after fresh or soph year just to see what you’re financial aid would be if you got in. But don’t make decisions now (i.e. community college) assuming RISD will be an option for you.</p>