Transferring for social reasons?

Transfer Students
1

Hey guys, I’m a first semester sophomore in college, and I’m unhappy at my current school. I’m doing pretty well academically; I’m double majoring in statistics and computer science, and the classes at my school are challenging and interesting. I have a ~3.85 GPA, and I’m on track to write a paper for the image analysis research I’m doing with a professor; I’m not necessarily all that interested in the project but it is one of the only computer graphics opportunities my school offers. The professors here are great too. They are interpersonal and interested in my success. One professor even gave me the phone number of a Disney executive because I expressed interest in working for Disney!

Although the academics of my school are good, I’m pretty unhappy socially; I don’t fit in with the student body. My primary grief is the absence of the LGBT scene (I’m gay btw). The LGBT center is relatively new as it was erected nearly five years ago. It organizes a lot of events, however, they are not well attended. Usually, only about 10 to 15 people go to the events. Most of the LGBT people I know aren’t satisfied either. I’m not necessarily looking for a larger dating pool, but rather, I’m looking for a more vibrant LGBT community. Last weekend, I went to UVA to visit my gay high school friend and he loves it there, and honestly, I’m jealous of the large friend group he has. UVA has a rather large LGBT scene, so it truly seems that the grass is greener elsewhere. My school’s student body is pretty homogenous both academically and culturally – I hate to stereotype, but most students are wealthy, white kids studying business or some type of engineering. I only know of about six humanities majors out of all of the students I have met here. Although I’m majoring in STEM, I usually find the space in my schedule to take philosophy and art classes because they interest me. Most students I take humanities courses with don’t care about the material and are only taking the classes to get out of graduation requirements; surprisingly, even students pursuing minors in these classes don’t care about the material. They are taking upper-level classes because they wanted a minor in a subject like philosophy. However, wherever I end up next year, I don’t expect this to change.

When I was applying to college senior year of high school, I was mostly looking at small schools because my high school was small. Now I believe I would enjoy it better at a larger school, not only because the LGBT size will be larger statistically, but also because there will be more people with more varied interests; also I’ll be able to pursue sailing, a sport my school doesn’t offer! Not that it matters much, but in high school I was on the sailing team for my local lake and I miss sailing. At a different school, I believe I’ll be able to make friends through this interest. I ended up going to my school because of my Mom’s influence – she is a legacy and loved it when she attended. However, I’m having doubts about staying here for another two years as I’m not enjoying myself. I’m also finding it hard to justify paying >$70k tuition for a place I’m not happy at. Thankfully, finances are not a problem for me.

Is it ok to transfer for social reasons rather than academic reasons? My academic reasons for transferring are to take more computer graphics classes – my school only has two classes – and to do research more aligned with what I’m interested in.

I’m still uncertain whether I should transfer as it is a lot of work, and especially since I may not be happier if I ended up transferring to a new school. If I were to transfer, what schools should I be looking at? I was looking at Brown because they have a vibrant LGBT scene. Providence, RI is a much larger city than where I am at, and Brown is a larger school than where I am at by about 4,000 students. Also, I like the idea of concentrations and the fact that students only enroll in classes that they are interested in. Additionally, they have a fantastic computer graphics program. However, I can’t just bet on one school to transfer to if I do decide to apply to transfer especially since Brown has such a low acceptance rate. What other schools should I be looking at? I think I’ll probably send an application to UVA and USC too – warmer weather is a nice plus! Here is a quick synopsis of my stats: 34 superscore ACT, 3.73 UW high school GPA, 780 SAT II Math II, 790 SAT II Chemistry, 5’s and 4’s on various AP exams (do test scores even matter for transfers?). Also, I’ll be interning at a big bank this summer as an LGBT diversity liaison to the executives of the company. I’ve also been involved in the LGBT club, with LGBT activism on campus, and various roles in computer-related clubs too.

Thanks for taking the time to read my post, I appreciate it.

2

I will just point out that if you were to transfer for your last two years that is only 4 semesters. When everything is essentially going so well, is it really worth upsetting the apple cart for 4 semesters?

It sounds to me like a masters degree is in your future. Would it make sense to select a school for grad school that has a more vibrant LGBT community and opportunities to sail?

3

Double majoring in CS & statistics should lead to graet job opportunities. You are doing very well academically & professionally at your current school. Tough to give that up.

Nevertheless, you are socially unhappy at a school with an enrollment of about 2,700 students.

As a full pay student, you have the luxury of applying to any college or university which is of interest to you. Consider applying to several schools as a transfer applicant to alleviate your current concerns & to create options.

There is no easy, clear-cut answer in your situation–especially since you are doing so well at your current school academically, professionally & with respect to meaningful relationships with your professors.

The downside to submitting transfer apps is that you will need recommendations from your current profs which may hurt those relationships & their enthusiasm for helping your career.

If you feel as though you are suffocating in your current environment, then best to transfer.

In answer to your question, transferring for social reasons is a valid reason for transferring; but, it appears that your reasons extend beyond social concerns as you want more classes in a certain academic area.

4

Stats-wise, if you apply to transfer as a junior, your most important stats will be your college courses and grades. With three semesters of college work available for your target colleges to review, your high school record and test scores will be much less relevant (or not considered by some target colleges). AP scores may be relevant if the target college accepts them as substitution for frosh level courses (using the target college’s AP credit chart, not your current college’s AP credit chart) that it expects to see applicants for your major to have completed.

Be aware that computer science is a more competitive major at many colleges.