So I am currently a freshman at Georgetown University, and I am looking to transfer for a couple of reasons:
I am originally from Maine, and I really do miss the opportunities to be outside. I have enjoyed living in a city for a change, but Georgetown’s campus does not have a lot of green space and is never quiet (mainly due to the airplane traffic). Additionally, I’m usually off campus climbing, hiking, etc most weekends, but the opportunities to do so around DC are limited. For instance, I’m on the climbing team and we have to commute two hours just to get to the nearest climbing gym.
This kind of goes with the first reason, but the students at Georgetown are very driven and pre-professional. There’s nothing wrong with that in and of itself, but I’d prefer a school with a more laid back and intellectual student body.
Naturally, because Georgetown is in DC, students often go out into the city. Because of this, the sense of community isn’t very strong on campus, and I’d prefer somewhere with a tighter sense of community among both students and faculty.
So what colleges do you think would be best?
I don’t have much of a preference for size, although I think the transition to a smaller school would be easier for a transfer. In terms of location, one of the reasons I came to Georgetown was to explore somewhere different from home, and I still would like to do so. I’d be particularly interested going out west, but there are also so many good schools back east as well. I am also planning on majoring in Computer science (and philosophy/history if I have space).
In terms of admissions, my GPA is a 3.74, and I’d prefer to go to a college which is of a similar academic quality as Georgetown.
Finally, all of the admissions deadlines for next fall have already come and gone, which means that the earliest I could matriculate somewhere is next spring or more likely the fall of 2017. I’m worried that if I transferred after my sophomore year I wouldn’t have enough time to spend at my future university. Would it be worth it to take a leave of absence and apply next spring?
Since Dartmouth doesn’t have a spring transfer option, do you think it would be better for me to try and apply to enroll as a junior or take a leave of absence and apply to enroll as a sophomore?
Not sure which have Spring vs Fall transfer options but here are some outdoorsy schools to look at:
Dartmouth as mentioned above, the 3 Maine LACs - Bates, Bowdoin & Colby, William, Middlebury, Colorado College, Whitman, UVermont, St. Lawrence, Hamilton
I agree with the persons who suggested Amherst, Williams, Middlebury, Bowdoin.
Given your description, I am not as convinced about Dartmouth being a good fit. In our visits, it seemed just as “preprofessional” as Georgetown, perhaps even more. Very heavy “bros heading to Wall Street” vibe there. Very smart bros, but bros nonetheless.
Middlebury sounds pretty good. Also, check out Whitman’s climbing wall and Outdoor Program, very cool. Colorado College is in the Rockies, amazing outdoor opportunities.
Quest U in Canada is a possibility . . . . UBC in Vancouver maybe? In the US check out Sewannee-- it has a 13,000 acre campus in the mountains. Santa cruz is in the Redwoods and gorgeous. UC Davis has access (by car but pretty accessible) to the glorious California mountains. Bike trails.
I second the recommendation of Sewanee. It’s a breathtakingly beautiful campus with mountains, a lake, water falls, and an abundance of hiking trails set atop the Cumberland Plateau in the TN mountains. The Sewanee Outing Program is very active. Sewanee is a small LAC with a tight knit community and great professors. I think it would be easy to find a home there as a transfer student.
I’d also check out Middlebury and Colorado College as others have suggested.
@choirsandstages - I don’t see why OP wouldn’t consider Sewanee. No, it doesn’t have the prestige of Georgetown, but not everyone is concerned with prestige. It’s a well regarded school that provides an excellent liberal arts education. It has produced 26 Rhodes Scholars and countless Fulbright scholarship recipients. Its student body is bright and engaged. And the school is similarly ranked with several others mentioned up thread. With its rural location in the South, it’s not for everyone. However, based on OP’s desire to find a better fit for him than Georgetown, and his expressed interest in a quiet place with great outdoor opportunities, I think Sewanee is well worth considering.
There are lots of schools outside the top 20 National Universities that provide an excellent education. And many of these are small LACs.