Thinking of transferring a second time?

Transfer Students
1

Okay, so this is only my first semester a The New School, Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts, and what attracted me most was the flexible curriculum and creative community, as well as a really great financial aid package. But as much as I really waned to fall in love with the school (I did in the first week), I have seriously second-guessed my decision. I was supposed to take this semester off to re-apply to more schools because the first round of my transfer applications, my then-university delayed my transcript because of a verification process, so I missed several deadlines including NYU, which has the Media, Culture, and Communication program which is far more established and has numerous more notable alumni and faculty than the Culture and Media major at Lang, but my parents were strongly against me taking a semester off from school, even though I told them I was not sure what I wanted.

What I also do not like is that the students are expected to design their own studies, which is great but is seriously confusing, as I feel like my classes do not blend in together at all, and there is an overwhelming dominance that Parsons has across all the schools. I am taking a course at Parsons for Graphic Design and seriously love it, but I honestly feel like I have no clear career path or direction, and it would be seriously too much time and money by now to do a Dual Degree (a BA/BFA) through Parsons and Lang. They do however have the new Journalism + Design program at The New School which recruited a lot of media professionals, so maybe that would be a better option. I just honestly wish i had more of a structure and curriculum like if I had gone to NYU. I know NYU gives really bad aid but I have a good feeling I may get in, and will cross fingers at a good merit scholarship?

Although I have access to some NYU resources such as the library, I still feel a tad as if it’s like this ever-present voice looming in the background, and it certainly does not help that I have several friends who go as well as my significant other, who all seem to have not everything together but trust in their respective programs, what with NYU being an older institution and a top college. Should I try transferring a second time? How bad would it look to employers? And do I have to put in all my institutions in my resume?

2

Its possible transferring a second time although it is pretty rare. I don’t think it looks bad for employers, as long as you graduate and get a good GPA. No you would not need to put all your institutions on your resume only the one where you received your degree. Although for grad school you might need to list them all (but it own’t really matter).

But what is more important than that is the financial aid. NYU aid is HORRIBLE. And the cost is crazy! Around $70k+ a year and that is not counting living expenses. Also don’t expect to get a good merit scholarship for a transfer, freshman applicants have bad financial offers, transfers are even worse.

3

It won’t look bad to employers so don’t worry about it. Its normal for people to transfer after the very first semester. I agree with last post about NYU aid.

4

Do any of you think I’d have a better chance getting better aid from say, Columbia University? I managed a 3.7 GPA, and Columbia is of course Columbia, and has an impeccable communication program as well.

5

Well, perhaps getting aid might be easier but the more important step before that is getting accepted.

Columbia accepts about 3-5% maybe a little more but compared to NYU it is extremely more competitive. A 3.7 certainly isnt a bad score but without any noteworthy achievements its going to be hard to get into Columbia.

Also, aid is going to be worse for transfers than freshman applicants. I’d imagine you would need to pay at least $20-30k a year. Of course this is all speculation on my part

6

Did you apply to NYU?