<p>I know that the year has only just begun so please bear with me as I raise these questions...</p>
<p>How do colleges view a student who may transfer for the spring semester of their freshman year? Do they see it as the student cannot make a solid decision or do they recognize that some colleges simply are not a match for the student and it's no big deal?</p>
<p>When a student transfers, I realize that some credits may or may not transfer as well. If the transfer happens in the freshman year or at the start of the sophomore year, does this generally mean that the student would not graduate in the typical four-year period of time?</p>
<p>One other question (and this is more for my own framework of understanding)...are there any numbers that speak to the percentage of students who indeed do transfer to a different school? I suppose my familiarity (and I am the parent) is with most students who select, are accepted, and attend the entire time and I am searching for some insights to the contrary as a transfer may be a reality. Thanks for any insights.</p>
<p>Many schools will not even consider transfer applications after one semester. Knowing what I do of your son’s focus may be both a positive or a negative. There are schools that may openly welcome his talents. On the flip side, in a portfolio/audition driven process, there may well be fewer slots available for these disciplines, and many do not offer the same level of talent/scholarship money to transfers as they do incoming freshman.</p>
<p>You might be best served contacting the schools where he was originally accepted. They may be more willing to revisit his app as a transfer… </p>
<p>You may well be adding time. Theory is typically non transferable, as may be some applied instruction and ensemble credits.</p>
<p>Without knowing specific details as to why, my guess is we are dealing with buyer’s remorse. The standard advice is to give it time.</p>
<p>But if there are specific artistic issues involved, I would suggest speaking with posters in the discipline.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The CA essay for transfer applicants has to do with why a student wants to transfer, and most colleges have a supplemental question asking transfers why they they want their school. How a school will view a transfer will depend on these essays and how convincing the applicant’s answers to these questions are. A spring fr year transfer is pretty rare and as violadad stated, some colleges don’t permit this. If it’s a question of personal fit, my advice is to give the school a chance and not even think about transferring until at least Christmas break as transfer apps are generally due between Feb and April. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>It really depends on the courses taken, but if the student sticks with pretty basic classes that would fulfill the distributional requirements at most schools, there likely won’t be much of a problem. My D1 transferred as a soph and is graduating on time; and she’s a humanities major taking premed coursework, so that takes many more courses than a straight major would have.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I don’t know of any published numbers, but I’d say that it’s not uncommon. There are CC students, non-traditionals, and kids that switch schools for any number of reasons (eg. lack of academic or social fit, location, major, financial or family considerations, athletes, moving to a more selective college, etc.).</p>