<p>I am currently a freshy at Penn state, UP, and I am thinking of transferring.</p>
<p>My grades are decent, (A's/B's) and I think I'll end up with around a 3.5 this semester.
I know my grades arent too bad but I think my living environment has negatively affected my GPA.
I have 5 roommates and my room is basically a mini frat.(Drugs,Alchohol,Loud Music, Fights)
Getting a good night's sleep or some reading is pretty much non existant.
Do you think higher end schools will give me some leeway due to the conditions I have to live in?
While I am at it, would anyone suggest to me what kind of schools I could get into as a sophmore/junior transfer?</p>
<p>White-Hispanic mix
From Florida (Miami)
Single Mother/Divorced Parents
Father was a Drunk
Other things
First Generation in college
Raised relatively underprivileged, Just recently my mom has been able to increase her income in able to live a nice life and provide me with the chance to go to college and have a chance to succeed.</p>
<p>Hs GPA- 3.0(All AP/Honors)
1320 SAT (M/V)
Current GPA- 3.5-3.6
Business Major(Management/Finance)
Courses:
Compsci 203- A- (The teacher had no idea what she was doing and basically confused the whole class, I was lucky)
Math 110- B
Relig Studies - B
Astro 001- A
Psu Seminar- A
16 credit hours</p>
<p>Next semester I am taking 18 credit hours.</p>
<p>Ec: So far- Philosophy Club, Fly Fishing Club.
Next semester- Philosophy Club, Fly Fishing Club, Signed up for a lot of community service, Penn State Investment Association.</p>
<p>Any Suggestions? I am not sure what to do...</p>
<p>It really depends on what you want from a school. Do you like large or do you want to try a smaller environment? Are you still interested in business? Are there financial constraints? Is the social fit wrong or is it the academic fit - or is it both? Right now, it seems like your perception of your school is impacted by your less than ideal living conditions. It's fine to research other schools but don't give up on your current one yet. Will you be moving on to better conditions next year? That might help a lot.<br>
Higher end schools (like UMich, NYU or UVA) will probably want to see a higher GPA and more EC involvement. You might have a shot at less selective schools like Dickinson (also in PA) or Syracuse (NY).</p>
<p>I would hope the housing is better next year... I should be able to raise my gpa next semester with less experimental classes.. My religious studies class was a last second thing that i wanted to try out and i didnt learn anythign new and the tests were BS, the average being in the high 60's-low 70's on each one and no curve whatso ever.. I do think I just got dealt a bad hand when it came to teachers this semester.</p>
<p>I dont really mind a big campus, this place is great and all, but they basically let in more students than the school has room for and it's getting out of hand. I am even getting ANOTHER room mate next semester and we dont have room as it is...</p>
<p>Wow - too bad about the living situation. They definately accepted too many kids last year. The formulas for how many acceptees would enroll were based on previous years and were wrong. I would hope they learn a lesson and accept less over the next couple of years. In the meantime, maybe you could contact the housing office and find out if there is any way you can get a change. Go there in person and explain your situation - it can't hurt to try.<br>
Regarding teachers, go to ratemyprofessors.com before you register to check out teacher ratings. Not all teachers are rated but you can find info on some.<br>
Classes that you think are easy can be a surprise. My son's friend took a film class, thinking it would be a nice "cake" class to balance his engineering load. He had to drop it because he was getting a low C!<br>
You might want to see if you can stick it out for another year, and if you still are having a hard time- it's time to look into transfers. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice!</p>