Taking a semester off and trying to transfer again...?

Transfer Students
1

<p>Hi everybody,</p>

<p>Some of you may recall my previous transfer experience. I finished up my second year at UMass this past Spring, and had applied to transfer to three schools for Fall ’07 admission: NYU (rejected), Georgetown (rejected), USC (accepted). I got into USC, and was really excited until I found out that I didn’t get into my first choice program due to a technicality in which my “Business Calculus I and II” did not correlate equally with USCs “Business Calculus I.” This ****ed me off because the curriculum was almost identical and intended for the same students at both Universities. According to their records, I would have had to complete the Engineering Calculus at UMass. In hindsight, I have a feeling the same issue may have occurred at NYU and Georgetown. Anyway, USC offered me the chance to transfer into the program, and I was given a big hint that I would be accepted into Marshall with relative ease for Spring 2007, given that I complete their Calculus requirement at USC. Because I have close to 60 credits, I decided this would make little sense because: 1. You need to declare a major around that threshold and I wouldn’t be in the school that I want, and 2. I only really needed to complete their Calculus equivalent class, meaning I would be taking 4-5 other classes that I really don’t need. Pointless, given these classes wouldn’t even be going towards my degree. So, I decided that I would just take the Calculus class at home, save $20,000 in fees, and transfer again in the Spring (I later found out they only do Fall admissions). </p>

<p>Now, applying to only 3 schools was a huge mistake, one I definitely regret. In fact, I totally approached the transfer admission process poorly… handed things in last minute, and generally made a lot of mistakes (maybe I will post an advice thread on what not to do.) For weeks I was distraught with the idea that I wouldn’t be in school next fall. I had already notified the registrar at UMass that I wouldn’t be returning (not that I even considered that a viable option) and I wasn’t enrolled anywhere for Spring ’07. I almost felt ashamed because I hated the stigma that came with being a “college dropout,” and I didn’t want people to think I couldn’t hack it (I had a 3.9). In short, I kind of got caught with my draws down, and was embarrassed. My stance on this has completely changed, by the way. This summer I have experienced “the real world” at my Wall St. internship, and became incredibly disenchanted through the whole experience (this is a really long and complex story). I realized that being somebody else’s ***** maybe isn’t something that I want, and if I did decide to sacrifice being somebody else’s ***** with the promise of financial freedom and overall independence, I didn’t want to rush into it. Reading Timothy Ferriss book “The 4 Hour Work Week” didn’t help. </p>

<p>After being in school for 15 years, I am really excited to finally have some time off to focus on myself and explore other avenues and interests. I’ve decided I will be living abroad for 2 months, on my own expense (seeing as studying abroad won’t be an option if I transfer). With that said, I recognize the need for education, and still want to complete college. Ideally, I would transfer into school for Spring ’08, but I won’t rule out waiting until Fall ’08, either. I still believe that I want to major in Business (Finance, Management, Entrepreneurship, etc. NOT accounting or marketing)… but won’t rule out Economics (and who knows, maybe I’ll completely decide on something else in the next few months). </p>

<p>So, here I am… I really need to begin doing some thorough research on this issue (I did a half-ass job last round, and was punished for it). I want to start making a list of schools in the next week or so, so I can call them and ask about their respective requirements (I may even have to ditch my travel plans if I need to complete a class or two for prerequisite compliance, which would suck, but I’d travel in the Winter then.), don’t want to make the same mistake twice. Since some of you have some sound experience and advice, I came here first…</p>

<hr>

<p>So here are my questions: </p>

<p>What colleges, given my criteria (City, Top 50ish schools, good Business/Econ programs) accept Spring Transfers? Would I be better off sucking it up and going for Fall ’08?</p>

<p>What issues do spring transfers generally have to deal with? I realize that it will be a tough adjustment socially (social circles well established), but I’m not terribly worried about that. </p>

<p>Will I be frowned upon considering that I (kind of) dropped out for a semester (or two)? Will this reflect poorly on me in the admission process? Has anyone been in a similar situation?</p>

<p>I am sure I will have a lot more questions, but this is a start.</p>

<hr>

<p>Here are my stats, for reference sake.</p>

<p>UMass, Commonwealth Honors Program, 58 Credits
3.82 GPA (ALL A’s except for B- in Calc I, and C in Calc II… I know, I know). It wen't down last semester from a 3.91 after that C.
Some pretty good EC’s:
-Wall St. Internship --- doing some pretty intensive stuff.
- Finance Club, Business School Honors Club (with leadership position), Investment Club (leadership position), tutoring, Intramural Sports (I played and refereed). </p>

<ul>
<li> Getting letters of Rec is going to SUCK. I already asked last time around, and feel like a douche doing it again. So this could be a problem. </li>
</ul>

<p>Thanks for the help.</p>

2

<p>From what I hear, it's extremely competitive and very unlikely that most universities accept transfer students for the Spring semester. For most places, you'd probably have better luck applying for the fall, because that's when most business schools accept transfer students. The majority of top business schools don't accept transfers for the spring. </p>

<p>That said, I know Fordham University accepts a good amount of transfer students for the Spring. They have a very respectable business school, you might want to look into that. In fact, I'm pretty sure with your stats, you'd be able to get in.</p>

3

<p>Really?</p>

<p>Wow. I was under the impression that it is equally competitive and they just accept less transfers (but, there are less applicants, of course). </p>

<p>If true, that is unfortunate. I guess my next question is: How poorly would it be looked down upon if I took a full year off? I wouldn't like to do that, but if I can't get in anywhere I would have no choice. Of course, I would be doing productive, meaningful, and interesting things in the meantime.</p>

4

<p>taking a year off won't be frowned upon at all.
i did the same thing after graduating high school.
just do what you've been saying.. "productive, meaningful, and interesting".</p>

<p>you have great stats and i feel you shouldn't have any problem getting into a top school if you spend more time on your applications, essays, etc.</p>

5

<p>^Yes, I agree with you the_aspirant! Plus, it would give you a lot more time to get recommendations from your former professors and request transcripts and such. Just remain productive, your stats are superb.</p>

6

<p>Interesting, but I am still not convinced that it won't be frowned upon. A year is a lot of time off, especially taking it in the middle of a degree... Does anyone else have a similar experience? Do you think this will hurt me?</p>

<p>Also, what schools are open for Spring admission? So far I've only got Emory on my list.</p>

7

<p>Try and avoid long breaks if you can. Most people probably wont feel like going back to school. A year is too long especially if you find an OK job and you're able to pay your rent, feed yourself ,etc. Now if you're really hussling then you'll definitely want to come back ...but be very careful. IMO apply for the spring and see if you get in.</p>

8

<p>Thanks, but motivation and ambition are the least of my concerns. What I'm worried about is whether or not colleges will penalize me for taking a year off?</p>

9

<p>no they wont..at all. So just wait till next year then. That should give you time to work on you application.</p>