I’m currently a freshman at an urban, mid-sized private university, but I haven’t enjoyed my first semester here at all and feel isolated and lonely. I am considering transferring to Amherst College, as I feel that I will thrive in a cozier, more personalized learning environment and transition from the stifling pre-professional environment at my current institution.
As a high school senior, I applied to and was accepted to Amherst, but I turned it down due to my initial distaste for the rural environment and the urging of my parents, who preferred my current school. However, now I feel as I made the wrong choice. Will it be simpler or easier to reapply as a transfer because I was already accepted?
I understand that the reasons I listed above probably won’t be see as adequate for a college as selective as Amherst and that I should give my current university more time but I want to keep my options open for next year. Any advice would be appreciated!
Try to keep your GPA up to increase the chances that the school will view you as a strong candidate. I think most colleges would understand the rationale that you were less sure about what you were looking for in a college during your last year of high school and that your experience in college has made your preferences clearer to you.
Did you get significant merit aid at your current school? Is that why your parents nudged you to go there?
Will your parents be able to afford Williams as transfer students tend not to get as much aid as freshmen?
Amherst meets need for transfers just as it does for freshmen, no difference. If the npc made it affordable then and finances are the same it will still be affordable next year. The issue is getting in, again.
I think it does improve your chances. Some of my kid’s schools made a point to encourage them to consider transferring later if their first choice schools don’t work out. I certainly wouldn’t count on it as your only transfer application, but they liked you once…