Hi,
My freshman son is studying at an Ivy. However, he was diagnosed with OCD his first semester and he has been struggling. He had to reduce his credit load to be able to save his semester. He thinks he will have decent grades but for only 9 credits as he had to drop 4. He has 10 other credits from AP and summer college courses. He desperately wants to transfer and I would also like him to move to a city where there is family support and where he an find better medical care than in a rural town.
The ideal move would be Southern California as we have family, but I understand UCs will not accept transfers with less than 60 credits. Next options are either Boston, Austin, or NY. Can anyone offer advice as to what is the best thing to do to increase chances of transferring to a descent school.
He is thinking of taking a courses during the winter session to make up for the one he dropped (it will be online with his school), but he is dreading the idea of having to come back for a second semester in the spring. Also, we are struggling with what to put on his transfer applications for why he wants to transfer essay.
There are more universities, than just the UC’s, in Southern California.
There are private universities in San Diego, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara counties.
Have you looked for new local therapist? Perhaps inquire about colleges that would be a good fit. OCD & Anxiety Program of Southern California | International OCD Foundation
What does your son want to study ?
Any career goals ?
He is currently taking business / economics with plans to get into law school.
Do you think that your son would do well at Colorado College in Colorado Springs since students take just one course per each 3.5 week term ?
Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles might be of interest as well as Occidental College if limiting your search to schools in Southern California. University of San Diego is another school to consider.
The Ivy League schools, and other highly ranked schools, are definitely not a good fit for every strong student. It also is hard to fully determine fit, or to fully determine how a student will react to any particular environment, until they get there. Transferring out of an Ivy League school seems to me like something that would certainly be a good idea for some students, and would probably be a good idea for more students than actually do so.
I am wondering about a few things. One is what sort of school would be a good fit for your son. Would a smaller school such as liberal arts college be a better fit or would a larger school be better? Would somewhere that was a bit less overtly competitive be a better fit? The other thing that I wonder about is budget: Do you have any restrictions?
Reading “Ivy League” and “rural town” makes me think of Dartmouth College. This in turn makes me think that the highest ranked LACs might not be much of a difference.
If he had 10 credits from AP plus summer courses, plus 9 more from this semester, then he is still ahead of schedule. I would not worry about taking a course over the winter session unless he wants to.
Figuring out what would be a good fit sounds to me like it is the first priority.
In SoCal no one has mentioned USC or Chapman yet.
In Boston…BC, Babson, BU, NEU could work.
In NY (not sure only the city or not): NYU (especially if full pay), Fordham. In NYS, not NYC, Colgate (similar in many ways to Dartmouth though), Syracuse.
He should focus on getting healthy first and foremost, and if that means taking time off of college that is ok. If it’s in the budget, perhaps consult with a private college counselor who is experienced in transfer admissions. Good luck.
Hi and thank you for your reply. Talking to him it he says that the workload and pace were never really an issue. What he complained about the most is that he was never able to fit in. He made zero friends (he takes friendship very seriously) and consequently spent three months without having any real conversations with anyone.
His begging complaint is that he wants a closer nit community. The kids in his sweet are in different colleges and he does not find anything in common with them. He is unable to socialize for socializing, but he is starting to work on it with they help of a therapist.
He is under the impression that if he goes to an area where he knows people that he will be able to manage better. Right or wrong, until he finds his feet, we are looking to support him.
He has a full scholarship now, that he will end up losing. But for me this is not a factor, we can manage as long as the new college is a better fit.
A somewhat common path for California resident students dissatisfied with their four year college that they attended as frosh is to return home to do sophomore year at a community college in preparation for transfer to a UC or CSU.
If he is not a California resident, investigate how usable that path is with the community colleges and state universities in the state of residency, or if the state universities admit sophomore level transfers.
See if Pomona College or Claremont McKenna are good fits. Because he’s transferring from an Ivy he’s likely a very strong student. The Claremont Consortium of schools (including the two already mentioned as well as Pitzer, Harvey Mudd and Scripps (all women)) are fantastic. And though each school is small they collectively are all located together making it a pretty decent size college environment. Students in the Consortium can take classes on all 5 campuses and it allows for a broad mix of people and experiences. Not to mention that the entire campus and its layout are gorgeous. I’m editing to add that such a transfer likely can not happen for this spring (I’m not sure if that is what you’re asking) as many if not most schools do not allow spring transfers but for next year these schools could be a great option.
Since the workload is not the issue- maybe transferring so quickly is not a great idea. Keep in mind, coming in as a transfer is not the easiest way to make friends either.
Did he join any clubs that interest him? I always find that’s a great way to make friends with common interests. I’m a sophomore now and definitely made more friends towards the end of freshman year. Most of my friends are in the same clubs/activities as me.
Does he like sports, working out, music? That’s another great way to meet people.
How about Pre-law society? Mock trial?
I wouldn’t give up all that $$$ and Ivy so quickly. I would give it until the end of the year and exhaust all possibilities. He could be homesick and thinking about HS friends etc.
Thank you. Yes I agree with most of what you said. He is homesick and keeps on complaining about not having any of his friends around him.
He now has almost a 6 weeks break. He will take this time to figure out if he is ready to give it another chance, hopefully he will. Maybe he will also apply to few schools to keep his options open. But mostly, I think will try to encourage him to join a club if he goes back. Tried to do that but it never went far…
I don’t understand this…Ivy League schools only provide need based aid. Wouldn’t he get similar need based aid at other schools, as long as they meet full need? And because he’s a strong student, he may be able to get merit aid at some schools, provided they offer that.
It’s even more difficult to make friends with covid and masking. I think if he pursued his interest through clubs or activities friends will come along. That’s pretty much how I made mine. Good luck to him - he’s obviously very bright. Ps I had nothing in common with my roommate in freshman year - that is very common!
He has a private sector scholarship (I.e. corporate) not need based.
The outside scholarship cannot be taken to a different college if he transfers to a different college?