Hello everyone! I recently finished my freshman year and unfortunately it was not the best experience. I attended a medium sized, Catholic college in the New England area. I had a very difficult time making friends(almost everyone I met was there with at least 2 friends from high school and it felt VERY cliquey and I have social anxiety), bad roommate, very homesick first semester, etc. I also was not thrilled with the Catholic education/requirements. The curriculum was very conservative/religious and I am not. I always thought about transferring but I did not know what I wanted and was essentially paralyzed with fear and confusion. I know I should have worked harder to apply to schools but I did not.
Now I fear/dread going back to this school in the fall. The only school I have been interested in is Barnard because I am an English major and would love to go to school in NYC. Obviously it’s too late and I need to go somewhere for the fall semester and get really good grades. SO, I was wondering if any of you had any suggestions of what I should do in regards to fall semester. Should I go back to the school I hated or do I have any other options? Also, if you could suggest schools similar to Barnard?
If you read all of my nonsense, THANK YOU! I appreciate any and all feedback. Again, thanks a lot.
You have the option of applying spring semester, most likely. If that is an option to them I would ask them if they would recommend that you stay at your school or leave and go to a community college for that fall semester. I would also ask them about trying to take a few classes this summer to help your GPA. By only taking a few classes, maybe even ones you expect to struggle with, you will be able to completely focus on that one class and get a good grade. Example would be if you really struggle with calc and it always hurts your GPA. If you take it over the summer you can put all your energy into it and get a much higher grade than you would if you were balancing it with your other classes. I would also suggest that when you talk to Barnard do not say anything bad about your current school. If they ask just say that you did not feel as though the first school was a good fit for you and that Barnard seems like a better fit. Don’t say anything about the people being bad or the professors being not so great. It doesn’t look good if you badmouth your current school. The main person who can tell you what to do would be Barnard itself. Their office is most likely willing to work with you if you ask. Go in and meet with them one day- look nice and be prepared with documents such as grades from your first year, sat scores and high school transcript. Tell them you found them after the fall transfer deadline and you were interested in applying for the spring, however you were hoping to get some insight into if it would benefit you to go to community college or stay at your current college for the last semester. Otherwise you may want to get a college counselor. Many work by the hour and its about 150-250/hr depending on the company and where you live, etc, etc. You most likely wouldn’t need more than two hours but they could help you get some direction, make a plan or find other schools to look at. Best of luck!
After you have visited Barnard, pay a visit to your local community college. Find out where their students are admitted as transfers. Find out which colleges and universities have guaranteed admissions or articulation agreements with that CC. Bring your current transcript, and ask how long it would take for you to complete the requirements for guaranteed admissions elsewhere. Rather than continuing at a place that makes you miserable, you might be better off at the CC even if it is only for a semester or a year.
Wishing you all the best!