Transferring More Than Once?

<p>Is it alright if you transfer more than once? I had to transfer to my current school due to finances but I'm not really happy here. Been suffering depression and getting help since my social life has been harsh and reminds me of terrible times in the past. The academics is good but I don't think I could stay here for another 2-3 years....</p>

<p>lol you beat me to making this thread</p>

<p>I’m thinking of transferring again. </p>

<p>I can’t transfer back to my original school. I can tough it out here for the remaining time (though i have loss confidence in many aspects of my current school). or i can try to transfer again as a junior to another school (a school where i have fell in love with; i honestly feel like i belong there more than i belong at my current school.) </p>

<p>Does anyone know any people who have successfully transferred twice in the past??</p>

<p>I didn’t transfer twice, but I got into schools as a transfer (Chicago, Rice, Brown) after having already transferred once (I chose not to leave my school). It’s definitely doable, even at the most competitive schools.</p>

<p>I’d definitely submit an explanation, though.</p>

<p>thanks for the thread.</p>

<p>to flowerhead,
by submitting an explanation, do you mean to talk about the situation in the essays, or to explain using the extra information part of the application?</p>

<p>Diablo:</p>

<p>It could be either. It depends on the prompt.</p>

<p>Personal Preference: If prompted for why I want to transfer, I’d rather dedicate the essay to providing reasons for why I want to attend the school, and not reasons for why I want to leave my current school. I’d use an addendum to state why I am willing to transfer twice.</p>

<p>Nowhere in the application is it appropriate to be derisive about your current school. Some degree of criticism is appropriate (i.e., my school doesn’t offer this program, and I really need something like that). Especially avoid making judgments about peers. Looks bad 9 times out of 10.</p>

<p>I remember when I was reading applications, I came across one that complained about a particular quality in the student body of the school; the committee and I got a good chuckle, since our school (the one the applicant was applying to) is generally known for having those types of students too. It also just seemed to indicate poor taste as far as what to include in an application is concerned.</p>

<p>@flowerhead</p>

<p>how did your university (the admin, deans, professors) feel about your decision to apply to transfer again?</p>

<p>Flowerhead: Are you an admission representative at a school?</p>

<p>I would like to discuss to someone about an admission to BC as a transfer with a mediocre HS GPA.</p>

<p>iTransferred: The deans respected my decision, especially since I said I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, and that I just wanted to keep my options open. I think the fact that I returned next year reaffirmed the truth of my statement.</p>

<p>HopefulEagle86: I was an admissions officer. </p>

<p>Mediocre HS GPAs aren’t the death knell for applicants. There are several ways to work around them (and not any one of them is dispositive; rather, the more you have working in your favor, the easier it is to convince an admissions officer that you can handle the work):

  1. Have excellent standardized test scores.
  2. Have excellent college grades, preferably based on a broad and in depth curriculum.
  3. Show intellectual curiosity: Build relationships with professors, join academic clubs, etc.
  4. Make sure your essays are well written. You do your grades and your scores disservice with a terribly written essay. It’s a shame, most of the time, since the content is usually fine; the mechanics are usually what caused us to wince.
  5. If you’re a non-traditional applicant, and have the above, it might be easier to convince an admissions officer that you can handle the work, since there will be an appreciable difference between HS and your current application.</p>

<p>Basically, think of the HS GPA as setting a burden of proof. If it’s very low, you have a high standard to fulfill in an admissions officer’s eye. Correspondingly, if it’s very high, the standard to fulfill isn’t that stringent.</p>

<p>If a school you want to transfer to recommends/options at least 2 SAT Subject test scores from HS, would it hurt to not send them in? Can I just send my SAT I scores for the admission without the IIs?</p>

<p>People like me, learned a very precious lesson from High School about performing less academically and how it would affect you in reality later on. Im looking foward to attending a state school for about a year, do really well, get involved in ECs, and meet professors. I’d like to Sophomore transfer because if I do not want to transfer in as a Junior – missing out building the social circle is a possibility and missing out the good activities that are taking place on campus.</p>

<p>Hopefuleagle,</p>

<p>I recommend sending in your SAT II scores (I sent mine in, and I didn’t even retake; my scores were in the upper 500s/mid 600s though). My personal take on the SAT II is that, since they’re meant to be predictive of your performance in specific college courses, performing well in those courses rebuts whatever presumption they create. Thus, taking college-level math in place of Math 1C/2C, doing well, and writing an addendum might help.</p>

<p>If you won’t do any of those courses, though, it would behoove you to retake the SAT II as well.</p>

<p>Depending on how weak your high school performance was, a sophomore transfer just might not be enough. Sometimes, a school just might require two years of excellent college level work rather than one. A sophomore transfer with poor HS grades is possible (I was one of them), but most definitely isn’t anywhere near the norm.</p>

<p>Being a junior transfer isn’t all that bad. It isn’t hard to create new relationships: The school usually has specific programs for transfers, and it’s really easy to integrate into student groups; if anything, it was too easy. When I transferred, it was amazing how quickly juniors were sucked into various things. </p>

<p>I chose not to transfer again because I had a group of friends I really liked, strong relationships with my new professors, and a solid reputation in my department. Since I was, at the time, planning to apply to Ph.D programs, I thought the latter two would help. Though I’m now in professional school, they still helped in terms of the mentoring they provided, the otherwise-blocked upper level courses they allowed me to take, and the resources they provided when it came to writing my thesis.</p>

<p>My High School GPA is now an 85.03 (3.0 GPA). When I graduate, I might have the same average or about an 86. I’m probably on the top 50%.
I didn’t have honors or AP in my freshmen, sophomore, or Junior year (hence the year I actually got my grades up [two semesters]).
My class schedule this year is: English 7 (Regulars), Precalculus, AP Psychology, Spanish 7Honors, PartGovt, and Health Education.
My school doesn’t offer Precal honors, do you think if I finish regular Precalculus this year, in May of 09 before graduation… I am able to aim at least something in the 600s?
I crammed sparknotes and barrons 3 days before the U.S History and I did terrible. I realized that students who had honors/AP USH did better than me with an additional skim through their textbooks. =(
Now my SAT I scores could be around 1900-1950 overall if I’m lucky. Will it indicate a possible sophomore transfer to BC if I have a college GPA around 3.75 or 3.8 at a state school?</p>

<p>Oh, and I want to say that some schools take semester transfers.
That means if you enroll in the Spring after the Christmas break, they’re going to see half of the grades from your first term in Sophomore year and everything from freshmen year.</p>