<p>Hi, I need alot of advice and help and I'm hoping I can get it here.</p>
<p>I am currently a freshman at Miami (OH) University and I started school a few weeks ago. I never had a great feel for the place and I already know that I want to upgrade to a better school ASAP. Here are some of my high school stats:</p>
<p>GPA: 4.566
Rank: 3 out of 176
ACT: 32
SAT: 1340
I took 5 AP Classes and also took 2 English Comp classes at Akron University through the Post Secondary Enrollment Option at my school.</p>
<p>My current major is History/Philosophy and I plan on entering law school after college. I do not like the college town/greek-based lifestyle at MU and want to transfer as soon as I can. When would be the best time to transfer? I have been told that transferring after one semester would be a bad idea but I want to know why. Would it be best to finish the year and enter a new institution as a sophomore? I feel like I would be wasting half a year though at a place I don't want to be, but I do want to be accepted into a better university so if I have to wait, I will. Also, what institutions do you think I would have a good chance of getting into? I was looking into Boston University, NYU, or a school of that sort located in an urban area. Please help, I feel lost and I need some advice on all of this. Thanks.</p>
<p>Also, what other colleges would I have a good chance of getting into? Are there other suggestions you might have besides NYU or BU? and what do you think of those two?</p>
<p>I really don't know when it's best to apply though. I'm thinking after the first year for the fall of 2006 because it might look bad for a freshman to transfer after one semester into the spring of 2006, right?</p>
<p>I would think with your stats that you might be able to transfer after one semester, especially since schools generally have more room in January than in the Fall. You might want to call the perspective schools that you're interested in and talk to someone that handles transfer admissions and see what they recommend. You would need to express your reasons for making the change, and go from there. Just make sure that you get the name of the person(s) you talk to - that's really important to make a connection especially since those two schools, in particular, are huge and can be somewhat of a bureaucracy. I know for NYU - people are saying that many applicants had 1400+ SAT's, but I know for a fact that they took students who have at least a 1300 from very competive high schools,and when I say competitive, I mean the top public schools in the country, so you should be in the range. Also, both your ACT and your GPA are pretty high. As far as BU is concerned, your stats should be in their range as well. Another school that you might want to consider is GWU, which is also in an urban environment. You might even consider an Ivy such as UPenn as a possibility. Good luck with everything.</p>
<p>is there a reason it would be better to wait out the full year? Just so I have some grades in college? or would it just be better to go this spring? I also didn't know that schools have more openings in Jan than the fall, why is that?</p>
<p>It's really your preference as to whether or not you want to wait out the full year. Of course, it wouldn't hurt to have a full year's worth of courses, providing the grades are up to par. On the other hand, if you think that you have a legitimate reason for wanting to make the change in the spring, and it's feasible, then that could work, too. That's something that could be discussed with the individual school. Perhaps speaking with the transfer admissions counselor or even the dean would be helpful. Schools tend to have more openings in the spring for a variety of reasons some of which are because of students transferring, dropping out, participating in study abroad programs, taking spring semester at another school, taking a semester off, etc.</p>
<p>In your situation (someone already at a 4 year), the universities you apply to will no doubt be interested in why you want to leave your current school. In fact, from what I've seen it's an important consideration in the admissions process. Naturally, the longer you are at your current school, the more credible your reason for wanting to leave will seem. You should do everything possible to show that your decision to transfer is well thought-out and that you have sound reasoning for it. This may be hard to show if you've only been there for one semester. I'd recommend waiting out the full year.</p>
<p>There are students who transfer after only one semester, and are able to do well with the transition. It might be easier to get adjusted to the new school at that time, when freshman are still looking to network and make friends. That's not to say that it's not possible to meet people in the second or third year, because one can always do that, but the student would still be getting in on the freshman experience in January. In some cases, the first college that a student attends is not the best fit -that's not to say that someone has to transfer after one semester, but it's certainly feasible and has been done many times before. People transfer in and out of schools all the time. Also, if a transfer applicant has not previously applied to that particular school before, there isn't a requirement that the applicant wait for a year in order to apply.</p>
<p>Just to clarify - if a transfer applicant had previously applied to a particular school and was not accepted, there might be a requirement that the student needs to wait one year before applying as a transfer student.</p>
<p>Sorry for the confusion. I mean if the student originally applied as a freshman and wasn't accepted at that time then there could be a requirement of waiting for one year before applying as a transfer student.</p>
<p>Thanks for the help. You both make really good points. I think I'm going to talk to some advisors around here, but does anyone else have any advice or answers to my questions?</p>