Transfer out of Wellesley???

<p>I'm currently a freshmen at Wellesley and trying to decide whether or not I should transfer. I feel like Wellesley is ok, but I don't love it or anything. Some of the problems are that I just feel bored most of the time, the students are very cliquey and all only like to hang out with people like them, and the all girls thing is a problem and i think it leads to excessive *****ines on campus. Like I said earlier, it's ok, but I wonder if there could be somewhere better out there.</p>

<p>But if I do transfer, I'd like to transfer someplace of a similar academic caliber, which I'm not sure is possible, given that I'm only expecting around a 3.0 - 3.3 gpa. My high school gpa was also only a 3.33 (but I went to an extremely difficult high school and had lots of great ec's, which is how I got into wellesley in the first place). Also, I haven't gotten to know my professor's well and so getting rec's might be a problem.</p>

<p>So my questions are this: Should I transfer? If so, do I have any chance at getting accepted at other top 15 or so LACs?</p>

<p>You of course have the chance but almost every other school you'll apply for transfer will be worse than Wellesley in terms of ranking and stuff.</p>

<p>Wellesley is #3 and it's one of the best LACs can offer. If you are fine with leaving Wellesley for Claremont McKenna, why not? </p>

<p>But as I said, nothing quite matches Wellesley. I would advise staying in Wellesley.</p>

<p>If transferring is on your mind now, then this is probably the easiest time for you to really consider it. It's very possible that Wellesley will grow on you, but it's also possible that you'll continue to feel "fine" and have a nagging "should I have stayed?" feeling. Put it this way: if next year rolls around and you're no happier, will you regret having not thought more seriously about transferring?</p>

<p>If you have the energy and the resources to explore transferring, then it's probably worth the effort. You can research some other schools, maybe cram in a few visits, etc. and even apply without committing to leave Wellesley. Obviously, this will take plenty of work (and not only on your part), so it's not something to do for kicks, but it makes sense in your case. If you're accepted somewhere that you love, hey, great. And if you're not, nothing gained, nothing lost. </p>

<p>Alternatively, you could stick things out for another year, try to raise your GPA, get to know some professors better (by the way, while at least one rec should come from a Wellesley professor, I think it would be fine to have another from a HS teacher who knows you better), and if you're still not happy with Wellesley, then you could consider transferring after next year. Theoretically, waiting probably makes more sense, but in practice, I think there's a big difference in transferring as a soph vs. a junior (I'm told that it's much harder to find a niche or feel 'at home' as a junior, esp. if you'd like to go abroad. It can also be harder to fulfill a school's requirements, but that depends largely on your planning).</p>

<p>As for the fact that "every other school you'll apply for transfer will be worse than Wellesley in terms of ranking and stuff," I'd encourage you to remember that there's much more to a school than its rankings, so the inferiority of "and stuff" isn't necessarily a fair assumption. Having experienced a Top 5-10 LAC and a Top 30 LAC, I can absolutely assure you that <em>in my experience</em>, the latter provided the more challenging and engaging environment. Of course, things will vary school to school, but don't put too much faith in stats. If you do end up going through the application process again, then it would probably benefit you to focus more on fit than on raw numbers. If ranking is of primary importance, then scsazak is probably right...with a 3.3, it's not like that you'll do any better than where you are (which is hardly shameful...even with a 4.0, there's just not far up the list to move).</p>

<p>When it comes to GPA, yours is not going to do you any favors, but among LAC's, it'll only be one part of the equation. Hey, every school is worth researching. If you do look to transfer, and are willing to move west, I'd encourage you to look into Scripps College (Claremont, CA). The reason I suggest it is because the consortium set-up allows it to offer the benefits of a women's college while basically avoiding the drawbacks. Might be a good compromise/jumping-off point for you.</p>

<p>Best of luck, either in the rest of your time at Wellesley or during the transfer process :)</p>

<p>I have a pal at Penn who transferred from W</p>