Wake Forest Transfer Spring 2018--Chance Me?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Wake Forest University
1

I’m not trying to brag, but I was an amazing high school student. I was involved in so many things and I was third in my class. I was the president and founder of so many clubs and did 200+ hours of community service. I had an impressive art portfolio. I won so many awards. So many that I couldn’t fit all in my resume. I would go into depth on everything I was involved in and every award I received, but I don’t want to make my post long. My SAT was a 1990 and I only took it once. I’m more than positive that if I had applied to Wake as a high school senior that I would have gotten in.

I ended up attending Syracuse University because I was accepted into their prestigious architecture program. Throughout my attendance at Syracuse I was involved in a lot of clubs/activities. I wrote for the Daily Orange, I was involved in Habitat for Humanity, was a screenwriter for Ottonomous Productions, and was a member of MESH, which is a literacy program for middle school students in the Syracuse community.

I left around late October first semester, taking a leave of absence because of financial reasons. At home my parents were in trouble, and I needed to help out. Architecture required me to constantly buy materials too, not really helping the financial situation. I was also not the most passionate about it so I decided to change my major.

When I came back spring semester, everything started off great. But that quickly changed around the end of February that semester. To put it simply, I was sexually assaulted. At first I didn’t really understand what happened and I started blaming myself and I fell into a deep depression. I tried to report it but when I went to someone about what happened, they were not helpful at all; they accentuated the idea that it was my fault. I did terribly that semester. I made 2 A’s and 2 F’s and withdrew from a class.

I’ve always been passionate about my own education, so I adamantly wanted to return for the next semester. Turns out that was a terrible idea. The person that assaulted me lived in the same building as me. I would see him all the time and he even would say hi to me like he did nothing wrong. I fell back to depression and even developed insomnia. I again tried reporting the assault. But they were extremely slow in the process and the school was currently under fire over other sexual assaults that they had ignored. I basically said “forget this” and I decided to leave the school for good. I had to withdraw from all 6 of my classes.

I’m currently in community college and I have a 4.0 GPA. I was thinking of staying for just one more semester and applying to Wake for the Spring 2018. But I’m so scared that I’ll be rejected because of my transcript at Syracuse. Should I stay one more semester and apply for the fall so that my community college classes show more than my Syracuse transcript? Basically, should I do one year or a year and a half at the community college? My other concern is that I’m afraid that not all my credits at the community college will transfer to Wake, so should I spend my time and money on classes that may not even transfer? I don’t know.

Is Wake Forest a far reach? I want to be successful but I also want to be realistic. I really hate the idea of an unfortunate happening out of my control would totally define my future success. I’ve worked so so so hard all my life so that I would graduate from a good university. But also, to reiterate, should I do a year or a year and a half at the community college? Would that give me a better chance in getting admitted?

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I’d really appreciate an opinion

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Unfortunately, I can’t comment with any confidence about your chances of acceptance at Wake or other schools. I’m not familiar enough with transfer admissions and obviously only have the broad outlines of your academic career.

I do know that in general schools tend to be willing to accept good students who’ve hit academic bumps in the road. They understand that the transition to college can be challenging, and that many different difficulties can derail the process. I once had a student who admittedly partied her way out of a top public university. She took some time off and was accepted at a slightly more highly ranked state flagship. She was a terrific student who worked hard and did very well, close to a 4.0.

You can return to a good school–and there are very many, not just the most prestigious ones. I advise you identify a range of schools that would be a good fit for you. Try to arrange interviews so you can have a face-to-face meeting with a rep to tell your story. That will be important. Focus on what you’ve learned your previous college experience and how you’ve grown and are doing well. Highlight that you are capable of outstanding academic achievement and are again achieving it. Like all students, they’ll want to learn what contributions you can make to their community.

I do want to emphasize that there are many, many good schools. I’ve visited probably 60 schools, and there’s not one where I would not be happy for my kids to attend. I liked some better than others, and thought some would be better fits. But there were none where I did not feel like they would get a good education.

Congratulations on your current strong grades. That’s terrific. I hope you continue to move forward in such a positive way. Good luck!

4

Thank you for replying! I was thinking of speaking with someone in admissions personally about my situation. I do have other colleges on my list, but Wake is the only one that offers spring admission. I really wanted to stay closer to home (I live in NC), it has a Sociology major and a Creative Writing minor, and it is a much smaller school which gives it a homely feeling, so that’s why Wake is on the top of my list.

What do you think of me applying for the spring of next year? Would it be better for me to apply for the fall of 2018 instead? This is my first semester at the community college. The plan is that next semester I would apply to Wake in November, so they would only see one semester completed and the classes I would be taking next semester (not completed yet). Should I have 2 semesters completed by the time I apply? Would that look better? What do you think?

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Unfortunately, I’m not able to answer your specific questions about Wake, or other schools. I’m not very familiar with the specifics of transfer admissions, and it seems like the admissions landscape is somewhat in flux today. So some historical data might not be all that reliable. You can see on CC that many, many students are having difficulty knowing where they may or may not be accepted.

I was helping one of my kids while they were considering transferring this past fall (ultimately they decided to take some time off). Their grades were similar to yours at Syracuse. I know many schools have minimum GPA requirements. However, I’m not sure how they account for CC grades, as in your case. So I can’t speak to that very well.

I do get a sense that schools are willing to offer opportunities to promising students who have had difficulties and challenges the first time around. I think sitting down with them for a positive conversation can be very helpful, if not necessary. Schools generally want confidence that students have grown from their difficulties, and perhaps get to see that they will be able to bring different perspectives to their communities. I would strongly emphasize that being positive and focusing on growth are really important.

I think Wake is fantastic. I think other schools are as well. Now, admittedly, I have a much broader definition of a “good” school than most. I know faculty members at schools ranked in the middle of the pack among national/state universities and LACs. They are all incredibly bright, dedicated, and hard working. They care very much about their students. You can find amazing people at Wake and elsewhere.

My child considering transfer is at a highly ranked (similar to Wake) national university in an urban environment. One school they were considering was an outdoorsy school in NC, because they’ve found he loves nature and hiking. Though it is not as highly ranked as their current school, or Wake, I would be fully confident they would receive an excellent education there, if they worked hard and committed themselves to taking advantage of opportunities and learning from all the amazing people around them. And I do think that nature can be great for the soul, and great for helping with the real stress of contemporary life. I even think that our detachment from nature is a big part of some of what ails our society today.

So, be proud of how you’re doing. Look at Wake and elsewhere. Try to create opportunities to tell schools your story in a positive, forward-looking way. There are second chances, and many young people are able take advantage of them and succeed wonderfully. Good luck!

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Alright, I appreciate it!

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I would try not to focus too much on one school. Even in the best of circumstances, students get denied from schools they are qualified for. While Wake may feel like the end all be all for you right now, you can be successful and happy at many, many different schools. I think your SAT is low for Wake and since you only took it once, I’m guessing some studying/courses will bring that up. I would be hesitant to jump right back into the college scene after your horrible experience. Perhaps a little more time at community college might be better for you, not just on the academic side, but to stay at home and have some more time to regroup after your horrible experience. I don’t see any college not understanding lower grades with that situation, but admissions are so unpredictable. One other comment is you seem to do so many extracurriculars. It sometimes looks better if you have a very strong involvement in one activity as opposed to having so many disconnected interests. I’m sure you are going to fantastic whereever you end up. Tough life experiences make you stronger in the long term and have a better sense of self.

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Also remember that wake is test optional so they focus on gpa and ecs heavily.