I am thinking of transferring. I just finished my first semester of college and I have a 3.9 gpa. the last year of high school I had a 4.0 but overall my gpa was 3.7. So I was wondering if it would be smarter to transfer (enter the new school In fall 2022) or transfer at the end of sophomore year, as a junior? I just don’t want to make a rushed decision in case transferring later would grant me higher chances
Why do you want to transfer? Where are you now, where do you want to transfer to, and what is your major? Do you have any financial constraints?
Generally the longer that you are at your current university, the less important high school grades will be. However, details may vary depending upon what university you are trying to transfer to.
Your reason to want to transfer can also matter. If you want to transfer to Harvard or Stanford because you are looking for prestige, then this is not likely to work. If you want to transfer to your in-state public university because the small university where you are currently does not have your desired major, this is more likely to be successful. Students also sometimes transfer to their in-state public universities to save money, which again is often successful.
We occasionally see posts from students on CC who have transferred, regret their transfer, and want to transfer back to their original university. In general you should have a good reason before you choose to transfer.
But I think that we need more information before we can give accurate advice.
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Thank you for your response! I am not transferring for prestige at all. I am attending a college in NYC that does not really have a campus and a community. I am also dissatisfied with the course offerings since they are limited in the area that I want to go into and I do not feel challenged at the school at all and there are also very limited extracurricular activities (something I was really excited about). I am thinking of transferring to Sarah Lawrence and similar colleges. I am certain that I won’t regret my decision to transfer which is why I am taking this step. I understand the financial aspect which is why I’m refraining from applying to colleges that are not need-blind. I was just interested in terms of creating a well-rounded application for the transfer, would it be better if I stayed another year here and transferred as a junior or if I transferred as a senior.
Other than the effort of applying, there is no harm in applying to transfer for the upcoming September (starting September 2022). If you get in with sufficient aid you can switch, and if you don’t you can stay where you are. Then if you end up staying you could apply again a year later. This is assuming that the deadline for transfer applications has not passed yet.
Your academic advisor at your current university and the admissions at the schools that you are applying to are not going to hold it against you that you tried to transfer and didn’t.
It sounds like you want to apply to colleges and universities that meet full need for transfer students. These are not always need blind for admissions.
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Smaller residential colleges are often concerned with fit. If a small college is your goal, and the community (forming relationships with students and professors) that goes along with it, I think you’ll be more successful transferring in as a sophomore.
You have a great GPA. I’m guessing you’re at a public right now? You could consider Geneseo, which is like the SUNY equivalent of an LAC. I’m concerned that you might have a hard time getting enough FA at a private college.
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I Feel so sorry.I mistakenly thought this was a thread for discussing transfer related issues. Please ignore me。
You should start your own thread. Posters will be more than happy to help you.
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The one school you mentioned, Sarah Lawrence, is need aware, not need blind. They also don’t meet full need. Any need blind colleges that also meet full need for transfers will be reaches.
It’s difficult to advise you re: transfer now or the following year without knowing more details. If you transfer now, your HS record will be more strongly evaluated than it would be next year, after presumably three semesters of strong college grades.
OTOH, many transfers lose credits when they transfer, especially to private schools (sometimes publics too). So, the longer you are at your current college, the more likely it is you will lose credits and won’t be able to graduate in 4 years. Whatever you do, try to get all the schools on your transfer list to do a transcript evaluation so that you know upfront what classes will transfer. Good luck.
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I think you are confused. Need Blind simply means that your financial need is not considered when your admission application is reviewed.
If you need a lot of aid, you are likely looking for a college that guarantees to meet full need for all…I will say…this isn’t as easy to find for transfer students as for incoming freshmen.
How much aid do you need to attend college each year?
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I understand that! I’m not looking for colleges that meet 100% demonstrated need, simply colleges that dont take into account if im applying for aid in the admissions decision
So…does this mean you plan to be full pay where you transfer? If so…just don’t apply for need based financial aid at all. The school will justifiably expect you to pay the full cost of attendance. So at a need aware school…you will have zero dollars in financial need and that is what the admissions office will know…right?
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