This might seem a little ridiculous but...

Transfer Students
1

<p>I'm considering transferring twice.</p>

<p>Here's my situation-</p>

<p>I am currently a sophomore at Claremont McKenna College. Although I enjoy nearly everything at CMC there is one thing that bothers me- a lack of an Asian studies major. Although I can theoretically major off-campus with an Asian studies major at Pomona, I feel that this would almost defeat the purpose of me being at a heavily Econ/Gov/IR school like CMC. I am considering transferring to Pomona College for a variety of reasons</p>

<p>1) It actually has the major (East Asian studies) that I would like to pursue. I'm slowly starting to see a trend in which my classes have something to do with this major. The Chinese foreign policy class for my IR major, the Asian Traditions course for my history major, and a bunch of others have come to make me realize that I should stop lying to myself and major in what I like. I feel like this would be much easier if I was actually at the school where it was offered.</p>

<p>2)The transition would be almost effortless; I transferred last year from NYU and have slowly been getting acclimated to the environment. However, I feel like I spend a disproportionate amount of time at Pomona with Pomona students (due to the proximity of the college as well as being able to cross-enroll in classes). Simply put, I wouldn't have anything to lose socially were I to transfer. Furthermore, I am taking more than half of my classes at Pomona anyways; Pomona professors would be writing my letters of recommendation.</p>

<p>With that said, I have a couple of considerations that prevent this from being a no brainer decision...</p>

<p>1) How bad would transferring twice look? Most people don't know about Pomona college, let alone its proximity to Claremont. I am planning on either applying to law school or get into journalism after graduation; would this hinder my aspirations?</p>

<p>2) Would I have a chance at getting in? This would actually be the third time I've applied to Pomona, sadly enough. Would it be worth a shot?</p>

<p>My stats:</p>

<p>GPA
NYU 3.71
CMC 3.75(Pomona classes included)</p>

<p>2 very good letters of recommendation by Pomona professors</p>

<p>Extracurrics-</p>

<p>NYU-
Asian Cultural Union
International Relations Club
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
CMC-
Part time job as a telemarketer</p>

<p>Any thoughts? Am I wasting my time with this?</p>

<p>Thanks for the time guys.</p>

2

<p>I think you're wasting your time.. You can dual enroll and already hang out with Pomona people, so why go through the effort?</p>

3

<p>Is there any limit to the classes you can take at Pomona? That would be the only reason I can see. Grad schools and employers will not care what the major is if you have the relevant courses and skill sets. And applying to a college that you've been rejected from twice is dubious. The adcom is not likely to believe they made the same mistake twice.</p>

4

<p>I'm not clear on whether you were accepted or rejected the previous two times you applied to Pomona.</p>

<p>I'm not sure that folks who know CMC wouldn't know Pomona. Neither are household words and both are strong. So I'm not sure how much of a factor that is.</p>

<p>If you like CMC and don't want the hassle of a transfer, I'm not sure why you can't continue with your current major at CMC, taking whatever classes you'd like at Pomona.</p>

<p>You can fashion your resume however you want.</p>

<p>For example.</p>

<p>Education</p>

<p>Claremont McKenna College, BA 2011.
Major: International Relations with a concentration on East Asian Studies
GPA: 3.xx
Relevant coursework: Chinese Foreign Policy, Asian Traditions, Japanese (4 years)....</p>

5

<p>IMO transferring twice is a non-issue for the job search. I expect it would be a non-issue for grad school applications as well, but have no first hand experience with that.</p>

<p>My S attended 3 colleges/universities. It was through no "fault" of his, as he was at Tulane for Katrina (school 1), Bates for his Katrina term (school 2) and eventually JHU (school 3), because Tulane eliminated his major.</p>

<p>He graduates this May; had a successful job search - two offers, has selected one and is happy. The "issue" of 3 schools never came up. His resume shows the one school - JHU, his GPA, his major and selected relevant courses for the job hunt.</p>

<p>The other schools don't really show up, except for notation of award he had at one of them. But, when asked for transcripts he of course supplies all 3. No one ever even asked him why the three schools - which I had thought would make an interesting story during interviews. But it didn't even come up.</p>

<p>One of his job possibilities involved a lot of background checking - profs and classmates at each school. Still was a non-issue.</p>

6

<p>thanks for the responses</p>

<p>hmom5: While there is a limit to the amount of classes I can take there (75%), I actually think that is relatively generous. </p>

<p>My main concern is getting into the classes. Earlier this semester I encountered some trouble enrolling in my Chinese class simply because CMC kids are not allowed to waitlist for Pomona courses. Only after extensive correspondence with both various deans from both schools and my teacher was I allowed to audit the class and eventually enroll. I think the only reason that even worked was because I needed the class in order to graduate. I feel that this might come up as a potential burden in the future given that as an East Asian studies major nearly all of my classes will be at Pomona.</p>

<p>Andale and hmom5: </p>

<p>It is indeed true that I was rejected from there twice. However I feel that my chances might be a little better this time around. Here's why</p>

<p>High school application- mediocre
Initial transfer application- not as mediocre because it factored in grades at NYU
Current application- better because my GPA has risen at a "harder" school.</p>

<p>I guess the only case I could make would be that I am more or less a quasi-Pomona student already. Granted I do not live there, but I already take more than half of my classes there and my letters of recommendation will be from professors there. I don't know what else I can do.</p>

<p>I don't consider myself an expert and I may in fact be completely off in my assessment, but for some reason I have the intuition to at least consider a transfer application.</p>

7

<p>I don't see any harm at all in trying for the formal transfer to Pomona.</p>

<p>In case that doesn't work out, I'd suggest keeping your eyes open for ways to accomplish your academic goals at CMC. Can you have a Self-Directed Major - or whatever they might call it at CMC?</p>

8

<p>Andale:</p>

<p>I do like CMC. However I would much rather major in East Asian Studies than International Relations (even with an emphasis on East Asia). International Relations was just a tentative choice that I picked because it would allow me to take the most amount of courses at Pomona.</p>

9

<p>Andale,</p>

<p>That's a good idea, someone actually recommended that I consider that earlier. Unfortunately with that I wouldn't have access to an advisor that would be able to help me design it because all of my classes would be off-campus. However, it is a good suggestion and if transferring and trying to pursue an off-campus major just doesn't work I would probably end up doing that. Thanks</p>

10

<p>I would say do it, if you like Pomona that much you should just transfer there. With that being said though, as someone stated earlier it is kind of weird you are already enrolled in classes there and hanging out with Pomona students, unless you hate Claremont that much no point in transferring really. With a 3.71 from NYU i dont see how they could reject you a 3rd time, that would be extreme malarky.</p>