Transferring, but considering the possibility of staying?

Transfer Students
1

I go to a small relatively unknown university. I am applying as a transfer student to very competitive schools, and I have to consider the possibility that I will get rejected to all of them.

Although I am planning to transfer, I’ve spent much time making my college transfer application list and have seen that there are only a few colleges I would be happy to attend instead of my current college. However, there are still benefits to my current university: very low tuition, small class size, great professors, etc. Despite lack of opportunity and engaging student organizations, I can still make much with where I am in terms of career-advancement (college life / experience in general not so much).

I am unsatisfied with my current school, but would also be ok if I was rejected to all of the schools I will be applying to and end up completing my bachelors at my current college. I just have to work harder and spend more time making my own opportunities rather than finding them very easily at other universities.

So, I want some advice on whether it is a good idea to even be ‘ok’ with the possibility of staying because
1.) it weakens my argument to transfer
2.) may affect my current scholarships (I am afraid to ask at the moment as they might pull them just for telling them that I am considering leaving)
3.) Most importantly to me, my professors may change their view of me (they really like me, they want the best for me, and they understand me transferring, but I don’t know if they will still think highly of me if I stay after saying I will be leaving, especially if they are both alumni from the university)

Should I expand my list so that no matter what, I have opportunity to leave the university, or stick with my current list and have the possibility of staying?

Any advice, opinions, experience helps. I am really on the edge on this. Thanks.

2

It is good that you are OK with staying, just as it was a good idea to have safety schools when you originally applied to college! Don’t worry about that. Remember, you aren’t trying to get out at all costs, rather you are hoping to move on to at place that you believe would be better matches for you. If your target list happened to be only one college or university, that would be OK.

Why on earth do you think that applying for transfer could make you lose your scholarship?

Your professors know your reasons for applying for transfer, but they also know 1) that transfer applications are often rejected, and 2) that students often change their minds and stay even after a transfer application is accepted. So don’t worry about your professor’s losing their current good opinion of you.

3

Hey, I was in a pretty similar situation this year. Ultimately, I grew to like my previous college so I ended up only applying to the colleges I was really interested in, despite the fact that I could’ve gotten rejected at all of them (instead of applying to colleges I knew that I’d get into just for the sake of transferring).

I really don’t think it would affect your scholarships and your professors’ opinions of you (if anything, they’d be happy that you’d be staying another year). Also, transfer applications are a huge pain and I really couldn’t bring myself to do the ones for colleges I was only semi-interested in. It would’ve just been a huge waste of time honestly.