Small, selective LAC --> City University?

Transfer Students
1

<p>Hey all! So, I'm a freshman at Oberlin, and while I'm not entirely miserable here, it's not what I envisioned from my college experience. Transitioning to the rural Midwest from New York has been difficult, and the fact that I'm in the middle of nowhere but there isn't overwhelming campus community or spirit is an issue for me. I love how tolerant and open this place is, but it's a bit disconcerting to be a mainstream liberal Democrat and feel like a fascist all the time. I had kind of a rocky college process last year (I was That Girl Who Got ****ed at my high school), so this really was never the college experience I wanted. I'm making the best of it, but I figure that I only get one undergrad experience, and I'm not sure that this is the right one for me.</p>

<p>That being said, I think I seriously misjudged myself the first time around. I thought I wanted rural and small, but visiting other friends at larger city schools over my fall break (Yale and NYU) made me question this initial assumption. Everyone (including my parents) was really surprised by the rural thing the first time around, so it's not a huge departure in character. So, I'm thinking of these:</p>

<p>Columbia (WL-->rejected last year, legacy)
Brown (Rejected last year)
UPenn-CAS (Never applied)
Georgetown (Never applied)
Barnard maybe? NYU? Tufts?</p>

<p>As far as safeties go, I have a guaranteed transfer to Cornell from last year's process and Northwestern, after not getting off the waitlist, suggested that transferring was easier for waitlisted students. However, I think I want to go back to the Northeast as far as that one is concerned. I'm also going to try to make the best of it here.</p>

<p>College Stats:
Anticipated GPA: Either a 3.92 or 4.0
Oberlin has a 16-credit limit, so I'm only allowed to take four classes.
I'm taking an intro-level geo class, a 200-level economics class, a 200-level history class, and a not-required-but-highly-recommended freshman seminar in English. Oberlin is really small, so I'm not going to write out class names. At mid-term, though, I think I'm doing pretty well, with solid As in two of my classes and something around that in the other two.
Leadership in one club, participation in two others, all of which speak to my general interests (history and politics). I'm also going to apply for a specific student government committee next semester when a position opens up.</p>

<p>High School:
SAT: 2200 (730 CR 720 M 750 W)
ACT: 34
GPA: 4.4 on a 4.5 scale/last person in top 10%
Won a few national writing awards/debate/etc.</p>

<p>Had a pretty prestigious internship the summer between senior year and college, but I'm not going to be too specific just because it's one of those things where I shouldn't be. Also was a research assistant at Columbia the summer before (did the whole Intel circus).</p>

<p>So, chances would be great! Ugh, I never thought I'd be doing this all over again. Thanks guys!</p>

2

<p>what’s your major? also if you don’t want rural, cornell may not be the best place for you, since it’s in the middle of no where also. it’s cool up there because it’s tons of college kids, but if you really want to be in the city you should probably focus on those other schools you were thinking of. if you can keep your grades high, i think you’d have a good shot at all of them.</p>

3

<p>I know someone else with similar freshman experience who did not get out. It did not get better, socially. It actually got worse. And, of course, others who are there and loving it, at an LAC fit is hugely important. If the fit isn’t happening there, I think your impulse is correct.</p>

<p>However, if one of your concerns is the sense of community , you ought to carefully examine what the experience is like specifically for transfer students at prospective schools. Often “community”, such as it is, is forged in the freshman dorms. The city schools my family is familiar with offered comparatively little sense of community in the first place, people just fritter off all over their cities on weekends, on their own. Much less for transfers.
They might just stick you in some building, blocks or even miles from the campus, and then that’s it, you’re on your own, in the city by yourself, for all intents and purposes.</p>

<p>A campus-based university offers the best chance for a good social experience for a transfer student, IMO, in combination with an upgraded pallet of available activities. I think the problem you are encountering is not due mostly to the non-urban location, rather it is the small size and consequent influence of predominant campus culture, which it turns out does not fit you well enough. A larger school with a more diverse student body, located in the exact same spot, would be fine for you, and IMO superior to an urban school from a community standpoint.</p>

<p>There is a CC poster here who lauds his transfer experience to Dartmouth, evidently they make great efforts to integrate their transfer students. But that school may still be small enough such that predominant campus culture is influential, so you’d want to make sure you fit better than currently.</p>

<p>I think you should give some real thought to your Guaranteed Transfer to Cornell, provided you are partial to the program of studies at the college there you are accepted to.(If not, apply to CAS). I know someone else who transferred there and is having a positive experience. They could do more to specifically integrate transfers, but there are sophomore dorms now that might be helpful, and it would be better for you in other respects I think.</p>

<p>But probably there are many university-sized schools, probably not the urban ones so much, actually, that would work out well for you. Due to their larger size and student community, there is plenty to do at the larger campus-centered universities, at least the one I’m most familiar with, and what there is to do is geared to students. It is a college experience at these places, not a city-living experience where the college itself is nearly peripheral. It’s in that environment that a community is more likely to exist. Yet, due to their size, there is plenty to do, much more than you have now,and it is all geared to you.</p>

<p>Just something to think about.</p>

<p>Your grades and stats should obviously help. A penn transfer on CC has opined that Penn is particulary stat-oriented for transfers. But again, you should investigate carefully whether this situation would be best for you, coming in as a transfer.</p>

4

<p>Take a good long look at Cornell. Yes, it is rural, but it isn’t as rural as Oberlin. There is good school spirit, there are a fair number of transfers (especially in the NY State divisions) and the university offers just about anything you could want to study. If you visit, walk past the Ag. Quad and say hi for me.</p>

5

<p>No, I definitely should’ve explained my situation better. My bad. Basically, out of high school, I was iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiincredibly city-oriented. I was basically “supposed” to apply to Columbia early decision for my entire life. And then I fell in love with Dartmouth, and applied there early instead, and clearly didn’t get in. But I based the rest of my list around it, and come March schools like Middlebury and Bowdoin didn’t work out either. But the thing is, I would be fine with having a LOT of community OR I’m completely fine going off into the city and doing my own thing. I can’t even tell you how much I cried about missing New York City the first two-three weeks of school here. The main problem I have with Oberlin is that it has NEITHER of these things–yes, there is a proximity to Cleveland, but nobody ever really GOES. Ideally, I’d love to go to Brown because it has a lot of both and I know transfers who have adapted really well there, but I dobut that’ll work out.</p>

<p>Anyway, thanks everyone! And I definitely am taking a look at Cornell, I know it’s not quite what I (think) I want but I’ve never visited, the guaranteed transfer is a great thing to have, and I’m definitely going to take a trip up there at some point this year.</p>