<p>I need advice. I graduated from a well known independent school in Los Angeles in 2006; did well in HS with around a 3.5 at this very competitive HS, with 2100 SAT's. I decided to go to Tufts and, long story short, I completely fell apart, emotionally and academically (my mother had died during sophomore year and I never really dealt with it the way I should have, and being 3000 miles from home probably didn't help). Anyway, I wound up with about a 1.5 gpa for the first semester and then decided to take time off. I've been working and taking courses at the local well-regarded cc (I'm getting A's in my two courses) and plan on doing the same in the fall, but want to transfer to a good school, preferably for the spring semester, but certainly for the fall of 2008.</p>
<p>Anyone have any experience with this sort of thing? How do I go about getting a fresh start somewhere else? Thanks.</p>
<p>Aw, Coco, I am so sorry you had a hard experience at Tufts. I've always thought of our school as a very warm place where you are not prone to feeling alone -- but your situation is delicate and I can understand how being so far away from everything that was familiar to you hurt you academically and psychologically.</p>
<p>Your 1.5 GPA is not going to win you anything, but a letter explaining why you got that 1.5 GPA might. It's also good to know that you've been taking courses at a CC and have been doing well there. </p>
<p>I think your transfer application would be helped by someone at Tufts who knew what you were going through -- was there a professor, academic advisor, or health service person who knew?</p>
<p>Basically, your transfer application has to show that you are not going to be a liability -- i.e. you're not going to do what you did at Tufts. Your personal essay and those of other can help to show that. Your high school record will be strong enough to get you into schools like Tufts, it's just the personal side that has to be brought up to match it.</p>