Should I transfer?

Transfer Students
1

Hey guys,

So I’m a freshman at Franklin & Marshall College and basically I’m pretty unhappy here, with both the academics and the social climate. People are always complaining about how much work they have and how this school is too hard, but actually I feel like my classes might be easier than some of the IB classes I took in high school. Mostly, I feel like I might be getting dumber by being at this school? I know that sounds terrible, but I think it might be true.

Also I actually started college at Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) last year but I left before finishing my first semester for medical reasons, and it was way too big for my liking.

In terms of the social climate at my current school, I find that people tend to be pretty racist and ignorant, which is not what I’m about.

The schools I’m thinking about transferring to are:

Swarthmore College
Vassar
Wellesley
Middlebury
Bowdoin

Do you think it would be a good idea to try to transfer for Fall 2016?

In terms of academics, I think I can keep a 3.8-4.0 GPA until the end of this semester here. My high school didn’t calculate GPA but my grades were in the A-/B+ range which I know is not the best but I was very mentally ill (I was hospitalized my junior year for depression). I don’t know if that’s worth explaining or not.
Here are my standarized test scores:

SAT - 2230

SAT IIs:
Math Level 2 - 760
Literature - 800
Chinese w/ listening - 800

AP Calc AB - 4
IB Visual Arts HL - 6
IB English HL - 5
IB Philosophy - 5

I also took AP Calc BC but didn’t do well on the AP exam even though I did okay in the class.

So, do you guys think it’s worth applying to the schools I mentioned as a transfer student?

2

Sure! Why not?

3

Thanks!

4

You may find what you’re looking for at some of these schools. Both Swarthmore and Middlebury are well-known for the level of work demanded of their students. Swarthmore is pretty liberal, while Middlebury is left-leaning, but more moderate. Good luck.

5

Many IB students find that freshman level courses seem relatively easy. So try to get yourself into some upper level courses next semester. You might be happier there.

6

Agreeing with happymomof1- many students from academically intensive secondary schools find the first year of college easy- to the point of too easy. If you liked everything else about F&M, then the harder courses would come.

The thing is, you are not happy at F&M and you weren’t happy at WUSTL. You need to re-think your decision tree and the variables you are using to choose schools, or you are likely to simply end up in another school that doesn’t suit you- and it seems that you are somebody who really needs a good fit.

That is not being harsh: some people flourish in lots of environments (my D1, for example), while others need a good fit to flourish (my D2, for example). As it happens, D2 found her fit at Vassar- so of course I think it is a wonderful school! but: I know that D1 would NOT be happy at Vassar.

IMO, Vassar (and most LACs) are ‘fit’ schools, and I wonder if you have spent any time at the schools on your list. For example, Bowdoin and Swarthmore are such different environments that I don’t see many students being equally happy at both. Of the ones on your list Wellesley is probably the broadest in terms of range of students that it would suit.