<p>I'm currently a freshman at a top liberal arts college. I thought I was so lucky for getting into my dream school, until I actually started attending. The academics, although objectively excellent, are the opposite of what I thought they would be. I find the tight-knit campus life and the student culture suffocating, and my mental health significantly worsened after being here. I tried sticking it out -- getting involved in a few interesting extracurriculars, meeting people -- but I honestly cannot see myself here in 2 years. </p>
<p>Many of my friends go to Columbia, and I fell in love with the academics at Columbia, especially the Core. I become so jealous whenever my friends talk about their Lit Hum classes. I think I would really like to go to either Columbia or UChicago, somewhere with a Core curriculum and/or a more "intellectual" atmosphere. Besides, my current school is on the opposite coast from home (Pennsylvania), and I'd really like to go home for Thanksgiving. </p>
<p>I think my high school records are in the range (one of my friends got into Columbia as a John Jay Scholar with the same SAT and GPA as mine). The problem is my terrible first semester GPA, which is a 3.5. I'm going to work very hard this semester and put myself on medication to bring it up, but I think this would kill me in the admissions. </p>
<p>Should I even bother applying this year, or should I apply as a junior with a (hopefully) better GPA?</p>
<p>Columbia is one of the most difficult college to get in for transfer students. However, as what is said on Columbia’s website, a 3.5 GPA is okay…
“We typically admit fewer than 10 percent of the applicants for transfer admission each year. Potential transfers are expected to have a minimum GPA of 3.5 overall; Columbia Engineering candidates are strongly encouraged to have a minimum GPA of 3.5 in their mathematics and science courses.”
By the way, which college are you currently attending?</p>
<p>3.5 in a competitive college is not a horrible GPA. Columbia will also ask for and see your second semester grades. How were your HS test scores? (They will be considered for a sophomore transfer.) First, hang in there at your current school, and you may find you like it better. In other words, if you want to go ahead and begin the transfer process, you don’t have to transfer anywhere if you find you like your school. If you want to apply to transfer, you need to, right now, find a professor from last semester who would write a good recommendation for you. Contact Columbia and see how the classes you’ve taken this year will “translate” into their core. Make sure you keep syllabi from all the classes you’ve taken–you WILL be asked for them. If, after you speak to Columbia, it sounds like it makes more sense to take some more compatible courses and transfer Junior year, then consider that. First and foremost, give yourself permission to like/love your current school.</p>
<p>WINGPA- I’m worried that since my GPA barely meets their minimum that I’m not going to do so well in the process. But as you pointed out, Columbia definitely is an extremely competitive school either way. I think I’ll just go ahead and give it a shot. </p>
<p>TheOneInSchool- I meant to say that I’m from Pennsylvania and that I currently go to school in California. I heard great things about Haverford; if you like the tight-knit community aspect of the liberal arts college experience, you’ll love it there.</p>
<p>SJTH- Thank you for the tips – I’m so glad I did not throw out my syllabi yet. I think I will just go ahead and give it a shot. If I don’t get in this year, I can try again next year. My high school GPA was a 3.9 and SAT was a 2260.</p>
<p>Apply to both Columbia and U.Chicago. I think you are on to something. Disregard the chances. Just apply.</p>
<p>Then apply to some other good, but not great, school or two where you are sure to get in. It sounds like it would be a big mistake to stay where you are. Just find the best, quickest, most reasonable, path out.</p>
<p>Consider the College of William and Mary as one back up to Columbia and Chicago. Not extremely hard to get admitted, and you might like it.</p>
<p>I agree, a 3.5 GPA in college is very respectable… especially if the college is academically demanding.</p>
<p>I’m kind of in the opposite situation: trying to go from a huge school to a smaller school, with a liberal arts school in California being on my list. I miss the tight-knit community like I had in high school, but I also worry that it might be too small/suffocating like you said. And from what you posted earlier, I think that we could very well be talking about the same liberal arts college because there are only a few top LACs in California…</p>
<p>Small schools can indeed be suffocating, and large schools can be overwhelming. I think mid-size schools (4,000 to 10,000 undergraduates) might offer the best balance. Plenty of good ones in that range. The College of William and Mary is one such; as are U.Chicago and Dartmouth.</p>
<p>Some large universities have small “colleges” within the university which are small, thus giving the best of both worlds. An example of this would be the Honors Tutorial College at Ohio University in Athens.</p>
<p>TheEarlyBird, it probably is the same school. You might like it if you liked your high school. I went to a very large, very impersonal high school and find myself missing that experience. </p>
<p>NROTCgrad. thank you for the thoughtful answer. I don’t know much about College of William and Mary; I should perhaps do some research. </p>
<p>I personally believe that the ‘fit’ reason is probably the most legitimate reason for transferring. I think as long as your essays are solid and really convince the school you will be a better fit in a new school, I like your chance (of course, the fact that you are attending a top LAC helps). </p>