Wait a semester or a full year before transferring?

<p>I believe that I can apply to transfer to the school I'm interested in after the first semester of my freshman year, so I would be submitting my application this November. Is it better to wait until second semester and apply for Fall 2011?</p>

<p>Are you going into college expecting to hate the school you’re at? If you do that, you really don’t have any way of making it work there, and should put in your transfer application as soon as possible. If you think you might have a good time at that school, definitely give it some time and really try to go out and meet people, and then decided whether you could make it work for spring semester.</p>

<p>Thanks for your reply. I won’t ever be able to make this school work. Basically, I’m in an engineering school (nearly a vocational school for engineers despite being a top 50 school) and I’m more interested in the liberal arts. On top of that, it’s in a terrible location (for me at least), and I really wanted to go to school in a city.</p>

<p>I’ve met nice people, and I’m sure I’ll make friends while I’m here, but I don’t want to leave for social reasons.</p>

<p>The reason I asked about transferring after the first semester instead of waiting a year and apply as a transfer for Fall 2011 is because I’m concerned that I would just be judged as if I was a freshman applicant and my college record for the first semester wouldn’t matter. I’m probably looking to transfer to NYU Steinhardt, and I’m not sure if I would have been accepted there if I applied out of high school.</p>

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<p>You should wait. </p>

<p>Applying your first year means that schools will only have one semester to judge your college record. No one is going to do this therefore a lot of emphasis will be placed on your HS GPA, standardized scores, recs, ect. Essentially it’s like applying as a HS Senior all over again.</p>

<p>I suggest you wait because if you didn’t believe that you would of have been accepted out of HS then your chances are not going to improve with 1 semester of college credits.</p>

<p>As the other poster said you shouldn’t go to school with the mentality of transferring. I could see if you were in a Community College where you’re expected to transfer but your situation is different.</p>

<p>If after the first semester you want to transfer then by all means go for it. I would really buckle down, make sure you don’t slip up on grades, get involved in a few ECs and ponder the reason for transfering. (You’re going to need a well thought out reason[s] for leaving your current school.)</p>

<p>Take a look at the NYU page to see if there are any prerequisites you have to take or any specific courses that you may need. </p>

<p>[NYU</a> Transfer Applicants](<a href=“How to Apply”>How to Apply)</p>

<p>What I meant was I have no idea if I would have been accepted because I don’t really know how hard it is to get into Steinhardt compared to the rest of the school.</p>

<p>Also, I don’t believe Steinhardt has prerequisites (apparently most transfer applicants don’t even have to submit SAT scores), and even if they did, I’m not sure that my school would offer them.</p>

<p>Well NYU is competitive in itself. </p>

<p>You are right on the SAT scores.</p>

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<p>[Admissions</a> Process for Transfer Students - Undergraduate Transfer Students - NYU Steinhardt](<a href=“http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/undergraduate_transfer/admissions_process]Admissions”>Transfer Students | NYU Steinhardt)</p>

<p>I’m not deterring you from applying I’m just trying to state that it’s quite difficult to get in after a semester.</p>

<p>For some schools you might need LOR’s, which might be hard to get in November of your first year.</p>

<p>I would probably submit my scores because I believe they’re within their range. I’m also wondering if the school I’m transferring from would help my chances. Does someone transferring from decent school (It’s in USNews’ top 50… if that matters) have a better change or some advantage over someone transferring from a Community College?</p>

<p>I suppose I should probably wait and see what happens by October, and take it from there</p>

<p>You can apply after 1 semester and after 1 year if you don’t mind the cash waste.I would do it if i were you.</p>

<p>@somebeast I thought about that, but it seems like if I was rejected for Spring 2011, It could hurt my chances if I apples again for Fall 2011</p>