<p>I'm a current Freshman at Oxford College of Emory. I have a 3.75 GPA, I'm a Women's Studies SI, I'm involved in theater, Revision (feminist club), and volunteering programs. I currently have all As for my Spring semester (but I dropped Physics II and got a W). I have no idea what I want my major to be and was thinking about spending the next year doing CityYear or Americorps to pay of my loans before applying to transfer. The courses I took are as follows:</p>
<p>-Math 111 (Calc 1); A-
-Psych 100; A
-Women's Studies 100; A
-Physics 142 (Intro to Physics w/lab); B+
-Math 112 (Calc 2); A
-Psych 205; A
-Philosophy 382 (Phil of Gender and Race); A</p>
<p>Emory is too "Wall Street-esque" for me. It's too pre-professional and is downsizing its arts and hummanities programs. I think I want to do psychological research on social conditioning and perhaps be a professor or researcher. I was hoping to transfer to a better liberal arts college or maybe an Ivey League...but getting aid is pertinent to me as my family doesn't have a lot of resources. I'm seriously getting depressed at my school and have put a lot of thought into it. Could anyone help direct me to a good, top-notch school with a more humanitarian sort of feel that could provide good aid and also provide good opportunities to excel in the humanities (like Pscyh, Philosophy, or Sociology)? Would it hurt me or help me to take a year off to do a government sponsored community service project like Americorps/City Year?</p>
<p>Are you a female? You should consider a women’s college, such as Smith. They have a pretty good transfer acceptance rate. For schools with a humanitarian feel, maybe look at Washington Monthly’s rankings. Also, check out Dickinson College. It may not be ranked too highly on US News, but it is really an incredible school. You may find what you’re looking for there. Keep your chin up!</p>
<p>Taking a year off isn’t a problem, and perhaps it will give you more to talk about in your essays as far as your future direction.</p>
<p>Be aware that need based FA can be limited for transfer applicants, you need to look at the college websites for FA policies. And merit scholarships are fewer and generally for lower amounts as a transfer; see the Resources sticky thread for a thread with merit aid.</p>
<p>While it’s unfortunate that Emory is cutting back its arts programs to the point where it should just get rid of its claim to be a Liberal Arts Institution, you may be overestimating the preprofessionalism of the student body. IMO after freshman year many students change course and decide to pursue something in philosophy, English, sociology, etc even if they started out as premed, prelaw, or prebusiness. Additionally, there are more opportunities to do one on one research with professors once you get to Emory’s Main campus. A semester off may be better than outright transferring. There are a fair number of sophomores and upperclassmen at both Oxford and the Atlanta campus who took some time off to travel, work, volunteer, etc. From what I’ve seen they tend to be much more satisfied with the school than before they left. </p>