<p>I have a rather unusual question regarding the transfer process.</p>
<p>Currently I attend a medium to large sized university and am considering transferring to a smaller one. But, to do so, I would need to receive some form of aid from the smaller college. However, my question is, if I go through the process of applying to transfer (including getting recs from a prof and the dean of students), but ultimately decide not to, either because I did not receive enough aid or any other reason, would that have a significant impact on my attendance of the university I am at now?</p>
<p>Also, on a totally unrelated note, if I were to apply for transfer from the university, would the fact that i have never even met the dean of students and would probably not be able to get a good rec from him/her hurt my chances? Or would it be possible to offset missing this rec (well, maybe not missing, but not having a good one) by getting one or two extra recs from ecs or employers that we've been involved with for a long time or think would be willing to give us a good recommendation?</p>
<p>(1) nobody knows the dean of students for their respective college. Nobody. Ok maybe someone does but it's a REAL RARITY. What most people do is make a quick appointment with their dean, explain how they've enjoyed their time at x university, but would like to apply to such and such transfer schools because of y,z, and p reasons. </p>
<p>(2) No, of course meeting the dean to fill out dean report's doesn't affect your attendance or anything at all with your current university.</p>
<p>(3) Good luck to all as we start (or finish up) those transfer apps!</p>
<p>Thanks for the info regarding the first question.</p>
<p>But I'm not sure I explained my second concern properly.</p>
<p>Currently, I'm considering transferring. However, if I stayed at the university I am attending, I do not believe I would have any trouble staying all four years, but I feel that I would not truly enjoy my experience. But, if, after applying, transferring is not an option or not possible and I remained at my current school, would the fact that I had applied to transfer have any potential negative effects?</p>
<p>Universities want you to succeed. If you fail, then you could simply say "I decided I wanted to stay", even if you get rejected. Frankly, few people will even know, and even less will care, if you stay or go. Don't let this fear prevent you from applying.</p>
<p>Side question: what is a dean's report? Do all schools require it?</p>
<p>Sorry, shoebox, I honestly can't tell you whether all schools require it. I only know that the school I'm considering applying to requires you to get the dean of students of your current school to fill out some form regarding the application.</p>
<p>there's no real way to win in this situaition. Your University certainly won't penalize you or not regard you as highly if you decide to stay, but you may have issues coping with your decision (whatever it is). Think about your reasons for transferring - are they mostly academic, or do they perhaps relate to social life, activities & extracurricular opportunities, etc? No matter what you do, you'll probably always wonder a bit what it would have been like if you had chosen differently.</p>
<p>I myself got into my top choice as a transfer when I was a freshman last year, and decided to stay because I had such a good time where I am now - though I wanted more academically. I also didn't get enough financial aid at the school I wanted to transfer to. Now I'm applying again, to several schools. It's been great here - the best fun of my life, and I definitely don't regret coming, but I feel OK with letting it come to an end for the sake of my education and love of learning.</p>
<p>All I can say is, go for it and give yourself the opportunity! You'll regret it more if you don't give it a shot.</p>
<p>Thank you sub_atomic. I had this same conversation with my best friend, who pretty much told me "Do what makes you happy". I realize that either way, I will have regrets, and if I apply for transfer and get an sufficient financial aid offer, I know it will come down to a question of prestige and pushing myself versus not necessarily getting as high a calibre of an education but being able to enjoy my remaining three years of college.</p>
<p>And I am not transferring for any of those reasons per se. I wrote it out in another post ("Doubts"), and it proved rather long, so here is the link:</p>
<p>transferring because you generally want to be happy and enjoy college is probably one of the greatest reasons, full stop. For me it's backwards, in that I am generally very happy here lifestyle-wise, and socially. I know full well that I won't ever find the same atmosphere anywhere else, but I am also extremely academically frustrated. I miss being challenged, and I need variety, so I'm leaving.</p>
<p>I would say that if you're constantly bothered by the nagging feeling that you'd be better off elsewhere, it's an indicator that you probably would be. It might be helpful to look ahead to after college (though who can, really - I'm a terrible planner!). Try to figure out if your current plan of action will help you get where you want to be! good luck!</p>
<p>Well, that's another side of the problem. Currently, I am a Mathematics major, considering dualing with Chemistry. However, my experience here has given me the feeling that my current university is especially focused on the engineering students (of which there are many), and from what I've heard (first hand from current students), it sounds like the Chemistry program at the school I'm considering transferring to is rather good.</p>
<p>Also, would the reasons I listed be considered "good" for a "why do you want to come here" personal statement?</p>
<p>I'd try to nail down a few specifics - weaknesses in the program you're doing now, other classes and options at this new school that you want to pursue, etc. It helps to have a clear point of interest, but yeah, talking about how the focus of your school doesn't match your needs is a good point to make as well. I waffled a lot the first time I applied to schools (out of high school), talking too abstractedly, I think, about the ideals and philosophy of the school and how I thought I'd fit well there, etc. When I applied to transfer, I talked about that too, but I really emphasized specific departments and programs that I wanted to do that I couldn't get here, and the approach worked :)</p>
<p>Well, for me, I recognize that my current school will probably have better facilities than the other school, without any question. So that aspect would not help. However, from speaking with my friend, she seems to have around 25-40 people in her classes (including first year chemistry), while from the looks of it, my Chem II class will have closer to 100-130 in lectures and 60+ in labs (haven't had class yet, but that's what it looked like at registration time)! Applying here, though, I was given the impression that only a few of the classes were exceptionally large, yet every one of my classes has had 35-40 or more students, and most of the important ones in my major have had over 100 in lectures, which is really not the kind of setting I wanted when originally applying for college.</p>
<p>right, class size and the amount of individual attention you want is also a good thing to mention - one thing you should do, which it sounds like you're already doing, is contact current students like your friend and find out exactly what the class sizes are like, and what the teaching format is (I dislike strictly lecture classes as well.. snore). think about what kinds of teaching methods you like/learn best with, and make sure you apply to schools that have them.</p>
<p>Well, sadly, I don't exactly mind lecture formats that much, but I was planning on having a good number of talks with my friend (assuming she doesn't mind, although since she seems to be in favor of me transferring, I doubt she would) regarding her opinions on the school and seeing whether I would truly enjoy it or not. However, there were a couple of details that I wanted to get out of the way/find out before going through the whole process, and still need to deal with one.</p>