Transferring from a large state university -- which LAC should I apply to?

College Search & Selection
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<p>Hello everyone! :)</p>

<p>Here is my situation. I'm a sophomore looking to transfer as a junior, and I currently attend a large state university in state. Its STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) curriculum and research programs are very strong and also very competitive! The reasons I'm looking to transfer are very personal and academic. I won't go into the things that I do not like about my university, but suffice it to say that its commuter environment is not conducive to a person who happens to be introverted and shy and wants to be more outgoing. </p>

<p>I'm very interested in having a legitimate college experience that pushes me to grow and motivates me to do my very best, so I am thinking about small liberal arts and women's colleges. Right now, I am motivated by the idea of transferring to an accepting, nurturing environment that may be conducive to my personal growth and that also respects the value of a liberal arts education. I am currently pursuing computer science, which is very competitive in terms of applications and admissions; however, I want to be able to combine CS or technology with another interest of mine, such as art, sociology, or ethnic studies, without having to pursue a double degree. Essentially, I want to use technology to promote social justice and societal change. Learning about, and creating or manipulating, forms of media with respect to culture as well as developing strong writing and oral communication skills are important to me. I love writing too much to give it up completely for problem sets.</p>

<p>Oh, and I have a disability. It's very important to me that the school provides resources and accommodations that are appropriate, but also a culture and students who not only recognize but also celebrate the value of diversity, which does tend to be a buzzword nowadays. For example, mental illness is stigmatized, and I most certainly do not want to experience that sort of stigma. Although my current school is very accessible, I do not believe it is fulfilling my emotional and social needs. If you would like to know my specific disability or current university so that you may be able to offer more specific advice, please message me. It is normally something that I do not like to discuss on the boards or even the Internet in general.</p>

<p>Here's my current list of schools that I may or may not apply to, especially those with top academics that are equivalent to or greater than the quality of my current school's. Please let me know if I should add or remove anything, in regards to my needs.</p>

<p>Wellesley (Applying.)
Smith (Considering.)
Brown (Considering.)
Rochester Institute of Technology (Applying if top choices do not work out.)
Scripps College (Considering. Have heard that it is cliquey. Not sure.)</p>

<p>I do have a backup plan in case my plan to transfer does not work out. I would try to apply to a small major at my current university that fits my interests, even though it's not exactly what I'm seeking and I feel as if I am merely settling for it.</p>

<p>Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much!</p>

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<p>Biggest issue is that doing frosh/soph year at the big university and the junior/senior year at the LAC is that you are more likely to get more of the disadvantages of both types of schools while reaping fewer of the advantages. I.e. you got the big frosh/soph courses of the big university that you evidently did not like, but will get the more limited junior/senior course selection of the LAC.</p>

<p>However, your LAC choices do mitigate this by having cross registration agreements.</p>

<p>Smith does have a relatively convenient cross registration agreement with University of Massachusetts - Amherst, which has a good CS department, so you may find that worth consideration if you are concerned about insufficient offerings in CS. Wellesley has a cross registration agreement with MIT, but is somewhat less convenient to get there. Scripps is next to Harvey Mudd and Pomona; if you attend Scripps and major in CS, you would have to do it as an off-campus major.</p>

3

<p>Oberlin and Union colleges for CS. Why RIT or Rochester, NY? OMG.</p>

<p>Also try Barnard, but it’s in a special situation for an LAC. I’m not certain about a CS major at Barnard and never met one while at Columbia.</p>

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<p>Barnard offers a CS major. Taking courses at Columbia would be very convenient if one needs to do so.</p>

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<p>Mount Holyoke is in the five college consortium with UMASS (and Smith). I think it may be a great option(different vibe than Smith) - not sure how many transfers they take each year. The people I know who attend Mount Holyoke love it.</p>

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<p>Hi everyone! Wow, thank you so much for your responses. I didn’t expect such a turnout so I really appreciate your advice. </p>

<p>Thanks for bringing up the cross-registration – this is definitely something I’d consider. Right now, Smith is lo</p>

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<p>Sorry, I’m on my mobile. Accidentally pressed send. </p>

<p>Right now, Smith is looking good since it seems transfer-friendly so I know it’d provide resources for a transfer (community). Since Scripps is close to Pomona and Pomona also offers a CS major, would it be a good idea to apply to Pomona as well? Harvey Mudd seems like a stretch for me. </p>

<p>RIT is mainly for the variety of specialized technical majors and the rare social environment it offers. Or culture, if you will. I think you’ll have a good guess as to what makes RIT stand out.
Barnard sounds like a fine choice, though I’m concerned about the environment. </p>

<p>I’ll definitely have to look into Mt. Holyoke. Again, thanks everyone for your suggestions.</p>

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<p>I know Lafayette College takes in at least some transfers and offers a CS major as well as excellent offerings in liberal arts courses.</p>

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<p>If you’re looking for a stronger community, I wouldn’t recommend going to a LAC where a CS major is only made possible by taking the bus every day to another school. </p>

<p>Case Western Reserve may be a possibility. The overwhelming majority of students live on campus and it has a number of interesting artistic options which you might be able to incorporate into a CS degree program. </p>

<p>Here are some other possibilities:
-Bucknell
-Macalaster
-Santa Clara University (may not have the community feel that the smaller LACs do)</p>

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<p>^^^^There ARE LACs which offer computer science as a major. Some examples are Bucknell (which you noted), Lafayette, Union & Trinity as well as ones already noted by the OP. I’m sure there are more. Hopefully the OP can find a school to fit all her needs.</p>

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<p>I never said there weren’t LACs which offer CS. I pointed out that it seems ridiculous that the OP would transfer to a small school just so she could have the privilege of riding the bus to Big State U every day as might be the case at Smith and Mount Holyoke. The OP wants a stronger sense of community, but how can that develop if she spends most of her time miles away from the rest of her classmates?</p>

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<p>How does RIT fit in with the other choices? How can Smith and RIT be in the same sentence? I don’t get it. Have you been to RIT? It has over 13,000 students…</p>

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<p>Both Smith and Mount Holyoke have their own computer science departments. I think UCB was just suggesting that if OP wanted to take a wider range (e.g. some graduate-level classes or in a more obscure area) she could go to UMass. Besides, cross-registering for classes doesn’t necessarily take away from community - I went to college in a large city where there were tons of other universities to cross-register at; many students took classes and did research on other campuses in the city but were back on campus around 5 or 6 pm to join the social life. And these were campuses that had less tight-knit/formal relationships than the Five Colleges.</p>

<p>And the campuses of the Claremont Colleges are coterminous. Google Map Scripps and then zoom out a bit; it’s like one big college campus. And at Barnard it’s as simple as crossing Broadway; Barnard women are part of the larger Columbia community in addition to having their own unique community at Barnard.</p>

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<p>Juillet, I should have looked more carefully at the course offerings of Smith and Mount Holyoke. I do wonder if the appropriate number of courses are offered at the appropriate times for the OP so she doesn’t have to regularly take the shuttle to a school with better CS opportunities. </p>

<p>I’m also familiar with the program you’re describing and wonder if your college’s proximity to other area schools helped to decrease the hassle of cross registration. I looked into the program and had three people from Emory, all of whom participated in ARCHE, warn me about the loss of community, hassles of cross registration in terms of scheduling, and difficulties of travel despite a regularly scheduled shuttle. I specifically left out Scripps and Barnard since they’re they’re functionally on the same campus as the other colleges in the consortium.</p>

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<p>Please look into Grinnell. Celebrating diversity, promoting social change: these are essentially its mission and the student body embraces these values! Strong CS department.</p>

<p>Here are two Grinnell programs that may be of interest in demonstrating these values:</p>

<p>[Grinnell</a> Prize | Grinnell College](<a href=“http://www.grinnell.edu/grinnellprize]Grinnell”>Social Innovator in Residence | Grinnell College) - the winners interact with students on campus through symposia and classroom visits, and then offer opportunities for internships.</p>

<p>[Grinnell</a> Science Project | Grinnell College](<a href=“http://www.grinnell.edu/academics/divisions/science/gsp]Grinnell”>http://www.grinnell.edu/academics/divisions/science/gsp)</p>

<p>here’s the link to its CS dept: [Computer</a> Science Department | Grinnell College](<a href=“http://www.grinnell.edu/academics/areas/computer-science]Computer”>Computer Science | Grinnell College)</p>

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<p>Thank you all for your responses so far! I think Grinnell would be an excellent choice; only thing I am concerned about is its location. I will ask its admissions specific questions to judge whether it would be a great fit for me. I’m interested in the diversity of its student body, and how each student interacts with one another. </p>

<p>Excellent responses regarding the hurdles of cross-registration in terms of transportation. Scripps would be a better choice due to its proximity to a couple of CS programs. I will ask the admissions about the cross-registration issues. </p>

<p>RIT may be big, but most definitely not as big as my current university. I already know some people there so the process may be smoother, and I would have an easier time getting accommodations I need. I do want to point out, however, that I wouldn’t want to live somewhere in the Midwest where accessibility and accommodations are more difficult to come by.</p>