Transferring Twice?? Want to go to UNC

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
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Hello, so I originally went to Syracuse University where I attended for about a year and then decided to leave and go home due to personal and medical reasons. While at home in NC, I went to a community college for a semester where I decided towards the end of that semester that I would not return to Syracuse. It was May at the time which meant that in order to apply and possibly attend UNC I would have to wait a year, a year at the community college. I wanted to be challenged, and staying at the community college would not give that to me. The only college close to home that was decent and had rolling admissions at the time was Appalachian State University. So I applied there for this fall this summer and was accepted after 2 days of being accepted. I was super excited at first, but then financial aid came.

It wasn’t that great. Syracuse covered 90-95% of my tuition and fees and it costs like 60k to go there, and App State only helped cover about half, leaving me to get a loan to cover the other half. That’s con #1. Con #2: I feel like the community is not very diverse…at Syracuse I was exposed to so many cultures just from the first day! Being a sociology major, with a dream of working in the UN or another international NGO, I think it’s extremely important for me to meet people from other cultures; App state just seems white washed. Con #3: You have to have a car to go anywhere. I’m fine taking the buses, but it’s the constant cars everywhere that just takes away from the natural beauty of Boone. I also have to live in an apartment that’s far away from campus.

Anyway, I was thinking of maybe transferring again to UNC-CH. I heard it has a wonderful sociology program and its close to home enough to accommodate my needs. I feel like UNC-CH has the qualities that I’m looking for. But how would this look for grad school? If I transferred again? I’m wanting to go to a good school like UC Berkeley, University of Michigan or Columbia for grad school. This list isn’t solid yet, but as you can see I’m aiming high. The reason is that I also want to do a PHD, and if in any case I change my mind about NGO’s, I would love to be a professor. But to be a professor now a days you have to go to a pretty good school.

So what do you guys think? Would transferring again be a good or bad idea? Do graduate schools care?

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sorry for some of the typos…kind of rushed typing this
applied there for the fall this past summer
*was accepted 2 days after applying

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So you got accepted? I am a fall 2018 hopeful and did not know you could apply during summer. I’d love to hear you elaborate on it :slight_smile:

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I think you need to do some soul searching. Why did you apply to App? What changed that you no longer feel that it is acceptable. It has only been a couple of weeks. Have you given App a chance. Comparing it to Syracuse is pointless unless you have the option to return to Syracuse.

My thoughts:

Con 1: What matters is can you afford APP? Will UNC-CH be more affordble? What Syracuse gave you is water under the bridge unless you plan to go back.

Con 2: Valid point but how does it compare to UNC-CH? I suspect that UNC-CH will be more diverse but will the difference make a large impact on your experence?

Con 3: Honestly, it is just three short years of your life. After this, move to a city or the boonies or wherever that makes you happy. If you end up at CH, you will also likely live off campus and taking a bus every day.

I would focus on your end goals. What schools gets you where you want to go. What school has the best program for what you want. What school gives the best education for what you want. UNC-CH has the better name but grad schools will be focusing on the strength of the prgram you were in, your coursework, your GPA and GRE scores. You might want to talk to your advisor and career center about these issue. Ask where do App students end up going ti grad school?

I don’t really know but I suspect that transferring and doing you last two years at CH won’t be an issue in terms of grad school but your advisors/career center should be able to give you a better answer.