I have recently made the decision to apply to transfer to another school in the fall of 2018. I am a current freshman entering the 2nd semester. One of the, but not the only reason for this decision was because during the first couple weeks of the semester i was the victim of a violent sexual assault. The event really messed me up, and in turn impacted my grades. I went from a 3.9 at the end of my senior year to just barely a 3.1 at the end of this past semester.
With all of that said I believe I’m on the appstore. I’ve been seeking counseling ever since the event and I’ve gotten a lot better, I’ve still been able to enjoy extra curriculars and hold down two campus jobs. I’m very confident than I’ll have a better semester than the last, but the fact is, I need to leave.
My question is: what is the consensus around including this bit of information in a transfer application? I plan on putting it in the “additional information” portion as not an excuse for my underperformance, but as an explanation for what was going on, and providing some context for whomerver may be reading my application.
Do you think this is a good idea? Is there any way that this can actually hurt my chances?
I also plan on including mid-semester reports with (hopefully) much better grades to show improvement.
That’s one of the things I’m afraid of, I’m really not looking for sympathy. I’m just afraid that if I don’t mention anything about what was going on that it’ll seem like I was slacking off for a whole semester or that I couldn’t handle the courses I took
I would absolutely mention it. It’s a totally legitimate reason for needing a change of scenery, and it would certainly help to put your grades in context. I wouldn’t explicitly use it as an excuse for sub par grades; I would trust the reader to make the connection. I also wouldn’t minimize it as a reason for wanting to transfer by burying it in the additional information section. It happened, it was traumatic, and it’s an honest reason you want to transfer. I don’t think you have anything to lose by putting it out there. If any school would hold it against you, that’s probably not a place you would want to be anyway. Good luck!!
First let me say I’m sorry you are having to go through this. I think that this question might be better answered if asked in the “ask the dean” forum on CC. Unless a parent or student on here has gone through this type of situation I think it would be hard to know. Also, have you tried talking to someone at your current school in the counseling or admissions office to see if they have any suggestions on how to handle this? They may have had other cases where a student needed to transfer due to a traumatic event and may even be able to speak to the other school on your behalf. I would think this is like PTSD and the more you go back to the place of trauma the harder it may be to treat. Best of luck.
@bundleonerves From what I’ve read here, I feel that you should disclose the sexual assault in the transfer application. In doing so, you should include what you’ve already said here about getting better, participating in extracurricular activities, holding down jobs, etc. Above all, you should emphasize that you have sought counseling.
If you reported the incident to the appropriate authorities at your current college, you should include this, too. And if you did, and if you feel that the incident was handled as well as possible by these school authorities, you should also say so. (If you DON’T think it was handled well, you can explain this if you wish but don’t turn your statement into an indictment of your current college. That won’t help your transfer odds.)
I also think that your got excellent advice from @Boilermom who suggested that you ask a counselor or transfer officer at your current school for advice on how to proceed. Although it’s unusual for a student to contact an admission official to ask how to leave, the transfer counselor might nonetheless be able to offer some helpful thoughts on how s/he would react to an applicant in a similar situation.
Best wishes to you as you take your next steps. And also keep in mind that, even if your college GPA so far is below your high school GPA, that isn’t uncommon for a first-semester freshman. So don’t be so hard on yourself about your grades. Given what you’ve been through, you did quite well.
Thank you all for the informative and incredibly helpful advice. These kinds of things are never cut-and-dry, I know, but I feel so much better about my circumstances now, and I think I know the best way of going about things from here. I am still open to any more advice that anyone would like to add of course, but thank you to everyone above me.