I’m a current second semester Freshman at a NESCAC, and I absolutely hate it there. I hate New England, don’t like the sorts of people there, and want to go back down south, maybe to a bigger school with a less snooty vibe. During my first semester, I had a Title IX violation that threatened my safety, and I had to leave campus for 2 weeks. During that time, my attendance grade plummeted, and all my teachers told me they would give me makeup assignments. However, one didn’t. I want to apply to UMiami because I think it’s a good fit for me, but my grades aren’t great right now. If my GPA is above a 3.0 at the end of this semester, and I explain what happened the first semester, would I have a shot? My GPA in HS was a 3.7 and about the same my senior year of HS.
I am sorry you have had this experience at your college.
If you are full pay, you may have a chance, but here are some things to consider if you were accepted:
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on campus housing is nearly non-existent for next year based on the UMiami threads and you may not find out about being accepted until late summer. It would be stressful and expend to find housing off campus with a short window.
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there are a lot of people from New England at UMiami plus many international students who also live in a different financial stratosphere. This may be similar to your current experience.
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living off campus, you will need to make an effort to make connections and friendships.
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If you need merit, transfers rarely trigger merit. Have you run the NPC for UMiami to see what need based aid you may trigger?
Where else did you apply from High School that accepted you? Have any of them reached out? D21 had a few mailings and emails from schools this year where she was accepted previously.
What state are you from? Is the state flagship an option?
Thank you for your reply 
I’m fine with international students and some New Englanders, but I just don’t like New England as a place. I’m from a part of the US that isn’t a state, so state flagship wouldn’t be an option. My family has been considering moving to Miami, so it’s possible on campus housing wouldn’t be an issue. I am not full pay but UM is need blind so that would help, I assume
I did get some mailings from schools I was accepted to last year, but they were all in the Midwest, and I would only want to transfer to a dchool in the south or west coast
Just to clarify, UMiami has gone back and forth a little on their language, but UMiami is currently Need Aware:
“In order to eliminate this gap, like other selective institutions, the University is adopting need-aware admission. Using institutional methodology, financial need will be considered in the application review process for a limited number of applicants to ensure financial aid is awarded to those admitted students with financial need who have the greatest likelihood of academic success. Meeting 100 percent of demonstrated financial need for all admitted students is a priority of the University of Miami along with ensuring graduating students are not burdened by debt.”
Got it.