I know there are a lot of downsides to transferring on Spring semester: people already have their friend groups, financial aid will probably be smaller, move-in in the middle of winter, work at the college go to students that have been there longer, intro classes have already began etc etc
BUT I still want to transfer this spring (even though I know more transfer students are accepted during the fall) because I just need to move on with my life, away from here.
Anyways, my questions are:
Besides my high school resume, what can I do during the semester to show colleges I am ready?
What’s the best way to approach a CC professor to get close to him/her in just a few months? (since I will need a reference letter)
And do you have any tips for transferring after only one semester? (maybe something that might help with the downsides I mentioned above)
1, 2, and 3 can be answered pretty easily: You probably aren’t going to get into any school that has competitive admissions–and that is even if you were competitive to begin with.
I have no idea what CC you are talking about, what state, or where you plan to transfer to. If you are talking about a CA CC, the only way you could do it in one year is if you have a lot of AP credits that can be applied. Usually, you need to go to summer school right out of high school as well, so you can have some courses with letter grades to add to the fall in-progress courses when you apply in November (usually to a UC or a CSU). However, you need to go a year minimum, with 30 completed CCC units, and the UCs only accept fall transfers.
The more popular UCs and CSUs accept only fall applications and accept only Jr level transfers. Last I checked, UCM took spring applicants but, wanted 60 units. A few CSUs (Humboldt, and Monterrey for example) may consider lower division and off cycle transfers. Search around a bit but, i think you’ll find your options are pretty limited.
My community college is in Florida, and I found some colleges I like that accept transfers on spring semester.
My list of colleges I will apply to is quite long, just because I know it will be hard to get in. They include Rutgers, Purdue, Brandeis, Temple, Penn State, etc. I know there are some that will be VERY hard to get accepted to, but I wouldn’t forgive myself for not trying. And I’m the process of finding colleges with a big transfer rate to add to the list.
Since the colleges on my list do accept spring transfers with only one semester, do you have any tips on how to show colleges I am worth accepting? I’m a great student, with good test scores, so getting good grades won’t be an issue. I’m also a first generation, and have a few other hooks.
My main issues are: other than grades, what can one do during a semester at a CC to improve their application? And how to get a reference letter after only knowing your professor for a few weeks?
One semester at CC won’t do much at all to improve your application. You will be accepted or rejected based on your high school records because you won’t have any CC grades to report yet. All those CC grades will do for you is cause an admission to be rescinded if you wipe out at the end of that first semester.
Also, by enrolling at the CC you will most likely be required to apply as a transfer, rather than as a freshman, which means that your financial aid offers will be worse than if you were a regular freshman applicant.
Your better option would be to take a gap semester or gap year, not enroll anywhere at all, and apply using only your HS record. If your HS record is not good enough for the places you want to target, then you need to plan to spend at least one full year (preferably two) at the CC and pull your grades up so that you have decent transfer options.
I completely understand what you are saying, and taking a gap semester and then apply as a freshman for spring was my original plan.
But the problem is that, even though I was a great student during high school, I had to take a GED because of family issues. Those family issues involved me taking a lot longer in high school (I’m 20 now), so I just needed to move on and take my GED so I could move on with my life.
Other than that, I have varsity sports, awards in both yearbook and MUN, a leadership position on yearbook, founded a charitable project, A’s on a semester abroad science program, good test scores. So I won’t have any high school grades to show other than my GED, but I will have all the rest.
I tried taking college courses this summer, but I’m working two jobs and taking two language classes online… that’s why I thought taking CC classes during fall would be a good way of showing colleges I’m serious about my education, since my high school record includes a GED.
I could do a year of CC and then transfer, but I truly want to do it this spring (for the sake of my mental health). So other than this path, would it be easier to: 1) enroll at a CC and apply for spring (I wouldn’t have my CC grades but at least I could get a reference from a professor and transfer credits so I won’t be behind schedule after transferring); or 2) take online classes that finish before the deadlines to apply this spring (I wouldn’t have references, but I would have grades and would apply as a freshman).
Why didn’t you apply directly to the universities with just your GED? Once you step out of the regular HS track, and complete a GED, you are essentially in a separate category of student. Contact your target universities, and find out more about how they handle applicants with GEDs.
Because I won’t have enough money to pay for college this semester, as I am currently helping with my parents’ bills. And I only took my GED a few days ago, so most of the colleges I wanted to apply to were no longer accepting applications.
Then take a gap year. Work. Help your parents with their bills. Find out about applying to the places where you would really like to study. Wait on the college credits until you know for certain that you won’t be able to get into any of those places unless you apply as a transfer. The chance of decent financial aid is so much better if you can be a freshman rather than a transfer that the time waiting is probably worth it.
I actually just have to help them out this semester because they had health issues, but I’ll have enough money for the following semesters - but I completely understand what you’re saying about the financial aid, as it’s a big part of getting in.
The problem is that I am already 20. I was already forced to take ‘gap years’ during high school, which is one of the reasons I took a GED.
Most of the places I really want to study in accept spring transfers, so that’s also not a problem.
But maybe I should just apply as a freshman this spring? The only problem is that I would be behind schedule (since I wouldn’t be able to transfer any credits) compared to my peers.
I could even take online classes from places like edX that would give my grades before spring application deadlines, so I can boost my application.
The biggest problem with applying as a transfer is that the financial aid will probably not be as good as if you apply as a freshman. That is something that you really need to investigate before you take any college credit courses anywhere. Ask specifically about aid for transfers and about the number of college credits that make you into a transfer student - in some cases even one credit will make you a transfer, in other cases so long as you don’t have a full year of credit yet you are still a freshman. Given that your parents seem to be in financial trouble right now, the money issue is something that you need to learn more about. Check out the Financial Aid Forum for more ideas too.
If your target universities admit freshmen in the second semester, then you won’t be the only person starting then. What might matter is if your major has a lot of classes that have to be taken in a certain sequence, and that sequence will be messed up by starting a semester late. If that is the situation, the courses at the community college probably won’t match up either, so you’d be better off starting Fall 2016.