transferring from "easier" schools.. tiers, ranking, etc.

Transfer Students
1

<p>Hi! :)</p>

<p>So I have plans to transfer as an incoming sophomore to USC & Chapman. But since my hs grades are still weighted heavily (rather than transferring as a junior), I am okay with the idea of rejection and am looking for the right back-ups (current 4 year uni, state flagship)</p>

<p>I wanted to know, will transferring from what seems like a "easier" school ie; State flagship compared to a more selective top-4 (regionally ranked of northeast) hurt me? I'm putting all financial reasoning aside, btw, and focusing only on tier and ranking in this scenario.</p>

<p>I know not all state flagships and CC's are considerably "easy," as it ultimately depends on the instructor of the class, but in general it seems my state schools are less demanding.</p>

<p>What I mean by that is, I am working so hard only to pull off a projected ~3.5 GPA at my current university (which by all means is more selective than my state flagship). My friends back home came out of HS with no APs, no honors, 3.0 or less GPA are managing to get the same GPA as I am, some even higher.</p>

<p>The requirements for my classes require us to exceed expectations on the rubric to get an A while my friends back home tell me getting an A means following the rubric... thus I have been pulling B's off every assignment so far because I only "meet expectations" or barely exceed rather than completely exceed. Also, assignments seem less demanding in the way that I am writing 10-paged papers for all my assignments while they write 2-5 paged papers, etc.</p>

<p>I'm extremely jealous of what my friends tell me because we're taking the same level of classes, basically, but they seem to be getting off much easier.</p>

<p>Would it be dumb of me to presume that if I were rejected for Fall 2012 transfer for my top choices, going back to my state flagship would help my GPA? Would it look bad to transfer like that? Or would it be a good idea because it might help my GPA and perhaps help me get accepted for Fall 2013? Etc.</p>

<p>(PS, sorry if I make barely any sense... I am wired on coffee and my thoughts are just everywhere right now.. yay finals!)</p>

<p>Thanks!! :)</p>

2

<p>First and foremost, your friends’ experiences in different courses at different schools are never going to be completely comparable to yours. You also sound like you did well in high school, where your friends I not. Expectations and good study habits in high school are not the same as they are in college. Your friends may have adapted better than you did. Also, I have to ask: if you are having trouble keeping up at your current school, why do you hink hings would be easier for you at a more demanding one?</p>

3

<p>Does your question refer to my want to transfer to another school - the more demanding? Otherwise, my state flagship (my back-up) is supposedly less demanding than my current one .</p>

<p>Sorry, now that I don’t have my head in, I’ll re-word my original question:
What I wanted to know is would it look bad (hypothetically if I were rejected this round), to leave my current 4-year university to attend my state flagship? </p>

<p>In selectiveness, my current school is much more selective and is regionally ranked in the Northeast whereas my state flagship is not selective at all. And we’re also known for how bad our education is (I mean nationally… lol). With the ‘reputation’ and ‘rankings’ of school, I don’t know if it’d make me look bad to move onto what LOOKS like a less demanding school. </p>

<p>By the way, I’m asking because I may be moving back due to financial reasons but if it really makes the difference then I’d suck it up for one more year and trying again for Fall 2013.</p>

4

<p>Your question is still confusing. Are you attempting to transfer to your state school, raise your GPA, and then apply to USC and Chapman again?</p>

<p>If so, it’s not worth the risk.</p>

5

<p>Your inital post seemed to ask wo questions. No, you should not try to transfer for 1-2 semesters to boost your gpa for a different transfer target. The other, more important issue you have, again, is this: if you are having trouble at a selective school, what makes you think that you wouldn’t have the same problem at your eventual transfer school?</p>

6

<p>@itransferred11: Yes, basically. I’m wondering if it’d look bad if that did happen, because I may or may not be forced to go back due to external reasons. If it did look really bad, I would try my best to stay at my current institution if that is the case.</p>

<p>@mookerson: I didn’t mention that I’m currently studying abroad. Though I am studying through an American school, we are graded on the scale here and are taught by uni profs. I take one American-taught course via internet and I can tell you, the grading system/curriculum/requirements are very different and that in itself has been a difficult adjustment for me.</p>

<p>The only /real/ trouble I have is averaging close to an A due to the amount of assignments we get (1 or 2 per class) and 1 exam. One B really messes with the weight. </p>

<p>I’m not sure if this is very common in college but with the one American class I’ve taken and the syllabi I’ve looked at for my future college classes (in America), and from what my friends have told me, many classes have multiple assignments (which is less harsh on the weight of grades). Correct me if I’m wrong?</p>

<p>I’m hoping my eventual transfers would feel at most as difficult as my time abroad because as the year is nearing an end, I’m finding myself accustomed to it.</p>

7

<p>

The number of assignments and their weight in respect to the overall course grade is going to vary by school, by department, by course, and by professor.</p>

8

<p>Mookerson is correct. Some of my classes are 30% midterm, 70% final. Some have 4 grades all weighted similarly. </p>

<p>In political science classes, from my experience, there are 3 or 4 grades. A midterm, a paper (or 2), and a final. </p>

<p>So, don’t just go by the syllabi that you’re currently looking at as a representation of all classes.</p>

<p>Also, unless you have external reasons for transferring to your local state school, do not do it.</p>