So right now, I’m a freshman at a small liberal arts college and I’m not really sure if it’s the right place for me. I know I’m a freshman, and I intend to stick it out for the rest of the year, but I’m thinking about transferring for a number of reasons. I really am not a fan of the small size, both academically and socially, and it just doesn’t feel like the humanities and social sciences get anywhere near as much attention as the STEM departments, which most students are studying(I’m a history major, might add a minor in education). I’m not really being challenged a lot here either, and I would much rather be on shakier ground GPA-wise and know I was learning than my current situation, where I do well without having to challenge myself or expend much effort. It costs a lot of money to go here and I’m not sure it’s necessarily worth it.
All of this to say that I’m thinking about trying to transfer back in state (I live in Virginia), preferably to W&M or UVA, but I’m not sure if I’d actually be able to get in. Right now, I have a 4.0 at college, and if I can make it through finals season unscathed, it’ll probably stay at least around a 3.7. I’m relatively involved on campus- I’m in the orchestra, a couple of clubs here and there, and I volunteer with children in the surrounding area. In high school, I had a 4.05w and a 34 ACT, and kind of middling extracurriculars, but I don’t really know how much that’s weighed for transfer admissions. What are my chances for being able to transfer to either of those schools? I was also looking at the education policy programs at northwestern and Vanderbilt, but I figured those would definitely be reaches no matter what.
@happymomof1 I didn’t apply to UVA or W&M last year because I was looking mostly to top-ish small liberal arts colleges and didn’t fare so well. My final choice was between the school I currently go to and brandeis, and the rest of my acceptances were safeties.
Transfer admissions is not as predictable as freshman admissions. If you like these places, go ahead and apply and see what happens.
Are you interested in teacher certification or something else in education? If you are focused on certification, then where you study and do your student teaching is where you will probably land your first job. There may be more options for you in VA than just UVA and W&M. Don’t be afraid of transferring “down” if the program you move to is the one that is the best fit for your goals.
It sounds like you have good reasons to transfer, but make the most of this year and definitely continue to focus on getting good grades. You have good stats, here are some specifics for each school:
I would also think that as a Virginia resident the odds of transfer admission are higher than the averages. You will have to provide good reasons for transferring and why college X fits you and your goals better than your current school. Good luck.
The numbers and percentages are actually in the Common Data Sets. UVA was about 40% in the one below. The thing I wonder about with UVA and W&M is the number of these that are taken by guaranteed admission agreements with community colleges. In general, though, I think transfer admission is easier. I think USNews etc. is just looking at first time admissions data, so that takes some of the pressure off admissions from a stat standpoint.
Yeah the numbers seem high, but I know most of the admits are VA CC transfers (esp nova) and some transfer students at VA colleges- will being a VA resident actually help me here if I don’t fit into one of those two categories?
Also, not entirely sure if teacher certification is in my future, which is why I was looking into some of the more policy-oriented programs at northwestern and Vanderbilt.Not sure if I’ll apply, though.
I think being a VA resident will help. There is pressure to maintain a certain percentage of in-state students. Due to the guaranteed CC admissions (if a certain GPA is maintained), I’m not sure how meaningful the transfer admission percentages are. I would still maintain that transfer is easier than normal admissions.