<p>Currently I am at an ivy league school and playing a varsity sport. I realized early in the year, however, that not only was the school not feeling like the right fit for me but that I am also extremly burnt out athletically. I'm not struggling academically but I'm lacking the motivation that I normally have when it comes to my studies. The same goes for when it comes to practice, all I want to do is have a life outside of my team but team events and practices consume every second that I'm not studying. I feel extremly guilty about tranferring because growing up it was always my dream to attend an ivy league school and my mom sacrificed a lot by getting me into a private highschool and I know she would be upset if I transferred. On top of this is the fact that soccer has been my whole life and I still love playing for fun but I'm tired of the huge time comitment of a D1 sport and I'm really not having any fun at all playing where I'm at. The private highschool I attended was out of my home state, and is only 20 short miles from the college I currently attend, so I have not lived at home in over four years and I would really like to return to the area where all my friends and family are for the remainder of my college career. I know had I not been so stressed this semester I could've gotten better grades but right now it looks like I'll have mostly B's with a possible C. I am hoping to transfer to either Duke or Wake Forest. If anyone knows if it will be possible for me to make this transfer with these grades it would help me so much and if anyone has any input on whether they think I should or shouldn't transfer given my situation that would be great too. Thanks!</p>
<p>Get out the RedShirt and take a year off.</p>
<p>thanks for the quick reply!
I've considered that but i took an extra year of highschool and I really dont want to do an extra year of college too</p>
<p>Taking a year off of college isn't adding a year of school.........I don't get what you're saying. Personally I would just drop the sport. On the other hand you sound homesick. Just my read on your post.</p>
<p>yea id definatley like to atleast be back in the area where i grew up...its been awhile since ive been able to spend a lot of time there and i never really loved the area where my highschool or college is...i only went for the athletics and academics and the college's name...i jus dont know if its worth giving up an ivy diploma for a duke or wake forest one will it really make that big of a difference in the long run?</p>
<p>soccergal...you're only going to do college once (unless you're planning grad studies or med school), that being said, go to your Mom and thank her abundantly for all the sacrifices she made and tell her you want to make the most of your college experience and that you think you would be happier at another school. Does your Ivy have an inter-college transfer program (similar to a semester abroad) so that you could just "try out" Duke or Wake Forest? </p>
<p>I don't see how staying at a school and in a situation that is driving you to distraction is going to be of ANY benefit to you in the long haul. You should make the change when the year is up. I have no idea whether you're current grades will make the cut. You should call D and WF and talk to someone in admissions about that. Good luck!</p>
<p>oaksmom...thanks so much for your input! i've never heard of the inter-college tranfer program but i'll definatley look into it</p>
<p>Look at it this way. You could have an IVY seal on that diploma, but because you were so depressed and unenthused about your studies you failed to impress professors, get internships, develop connections. What good is that Ivy diploma actually going to do for you then? If you are at a school you love to be at, you are more likely to throw yourself into the whole scene, academically, socially and possibly athletically...anyways, that enthusiasm will only spill over into all that you are doing...classes, internships, jobs, the soccer field. Follow your heart....follow your gut.</p>
<p>thanks so much and i agree totally....the problem now is convincing my mom she is adamant that i should stay at my school simply because its any ivy league school which i can understand given the fact that very few people in our family have even been to college at all. she is also convinced that i will forever regret my decision to not play a sport in college...i hope that whatever decision i make she will come to understand in the end...also im going to start getting in touch with admissions people at wake forest and duke but if anyone who reads this happens to know what kind of grades and test scores are needed to transfer into wake forest or duke that would be helpful too</p>
<p>3.7 as a college GPA is generally the "magic number" in terms of transfer admissions. The average college GPA for most competitive schools tends to fall right around 3.7. A 3.5 is getting into the ballpark, but obviously puts you below the average. You have to check with the schools, but often there is a cutoff GPA (usually a 3.0 or so) that you need to have to even be considered.</p>
<p>SATs don't play nearly the same role as in first-year admissions, but as a freshman, they matter more than if you're applying as a sophmore. The average transfer SAT tends to be a bit below the average freshman accepted student's SAT, so you'll want to be in the middle range to be competitive.</p>
<p>Take a look at the sticky thread at the top of this forum, it has 2006 (2 years ago) transfer rates for different schools. Duke was then about 8% and WF about 40%. Go to their websites and find out what their admission rates, average GPA and 25:75 range for SAT scores are for freshmen. That should help give you some idea of whether or not you're in the ballpark for a transfer. </p>
<p>I agree with horsegirl, you need to work hard on your GPA this semester and get it up as much as possible by the mid-semester report to be a viable applicant.</p>
<p>Why don't you drop your sport and see how it goes? D1 sports are horribly time consuming, and maybe it's just time to do something else[ like enjoy the college you're at] for a change. Then, if you stiil want to transfer, hopefully you will have brought your GPA up so you will be competative at Duke.</p>
<p>^^I second that idea.</p>
<p>Dropping the sport will let you allocate enough time to academics while giving you more than enough free time to explore whatever you find interesting.</p>
<p>You love soccer so don't drop it completely, play on the club team. I'm sure your school has a club team or intramural team. Take some time off from the varsity level soccer and see how it goes, but you shouldn't have to give up the sport you love</p>
<p>one of the things i shouldve mentioned before is that part of the appeal to transferring to NC is that i know i would be able to continue to play soccer semi-competitively but without the huge time comitment because a group of my close friends play on a club team together that i would be able to join if i went to Wake or Duke....i guess the biggest part right now is getting my mom to understand my reasoning for tranferring and for me to be sure that its the right decision for me in the long run....i know i would never have gotten into the school i'm at right now without soccer so i feel guilty walking away from an opportunity so many people would do anything to have...my mom is convinced that not only will i regret my decision to leave but it will negatively effect the rest of my life (namely her plan which is to have me graduate from harvard and return to NC to go to grad school at Duke)...part of me feels like im only at my college because its what someone else wanted for me and if i'm ever going to break away from this plan that's been set up for me i need to do it now while i have the motivation/guts....another part of me worries that i will regret leaving and always have the feeling that i quit on something and let a lot of people down</p>
<p>Coming from a 24 year-old who in retrospect placed way too much emphasis on having the perfect "college experience"...stick it out where you are. I'm telling you, you have no idea how fast 4 years will go by. Just stick it out, continue to bust your a**, and before you know it you'll have an ivy league degree and all the options in the world. Anyone would kill for that.</p>
<p>Also, I think you should really think about quitting soccer. I know what you mean about just getting burnt out w/ regards to sports. I went through the same thing w/ lacrosse in h.s...after a while you just get tired of the ridiculous schedule and would like to have a normal social life. At least see what your life would be like without soccer at your current school; I'm sure it would be a drastically different experience.</p>
<p>Soccergal- You are the one who got into Harvard [ if they's where you are]
NOT your mom. But as others have said-try making one change at a time -quit the soccer team that is taking up so much of your time and see how you like your school after you have the time to discover it. Then, if you decide you still want to, transfer elswhere. But don't throw out throw out the good with the bad in a overzealous need to wrestle control of you life from your mom. One step at a time.</p>
<p>If you dont plan on playing soccer professionally (for a living)...there is no point in draining yourself for something that stops after college....like others have said, join the club team, you would have a much better academic/sport/life balance ...</p>
<p>Additionally, your gpa will not be competitive enough to transfer to Duke or Wake Forest...I would stick it out at the ivy...join the club team and have fun...In the end, the decisions YOU make affect YOUR life not your parents/coach/ or whoever you feel like your letting down</p>
<p>thanks so much for all the responses!!!...ive talked to some people here at my school and they said i might have a shot at getting into Wake so i've been thinking about putting in an application there to see if i can even get in because i know Duke is pretty much out of the question unless i bring up my grades and decide to transfer my junior year....at the same time i want to give my current school a shot without soccer so i'm going to see how the remainder of this year goes without it and make my decision based on whether i even get into Wake and how my experience here improves without soccer....i guess my question right now is if i have to notify my current school that i'm putting in a transfer application and if i do get accepted to Wake how early will i have to let them know whether or not i will come because i would really like to atleast make it through early May before having to make a final decision and i don't want to take up a spot and then decide i don't want to go there because that would be unfair to other people who are applying....another thing that is bothering me is that i can't decide if my reasons for wanting to transfer (outside of the issues with my mom and soccer) are valid because i love the few friends i do have outside of soccer here but i cant shake the feeling that i really don't like the area that i'm in (big city and i grew up in very rural NC) and i've already stuck it out for four years of highschool here and now i constantly catch myself thinking "omg i can't imagine/get through four more years of this place" (no offense to people who love the city i use to think it was the place for me ive just learned over the past four years that im definatley a small town girl) i know that's a bad attitude to have and i try to force myself to think about all the positive things about the place but i always end up wishing i was elsewhere even though i know as someone posted earlier that four years will go by so fast....i know that if i do go back the friends i have at home have seperate lives now that everyone is at college (most of my friends are two years ahead of me @ school) and life isn't going to be exactly like what i imagine its going to be and coming in and meeting new peole as a sophmore will be a challenge but after this past spring (i finished highschool early and spent my senior spring working for my family in NC...the experience definatley has had effect on my desire to stay in the north because initially i was worried that nothing at home would be the same and that i wouldn't have a life and i would regret not having my senior spring but it ended up being one of the greatest experiences of my life and it proved to me how much i want to return to NC) i feel like i can confidently return to the area i love, still have my old friends and be able to make new ones at Wake</p>
<p>I wouldn't rule out Duke esp. transferring from Harvard. Wake, UNC, and places like that sound like an excellent fit. Best of luck</p>