I am currently trying to transfer from Harrisburg Area Community College to a 4 year university. I will be ending my first semester there with a 3.8 GPA or higher and six classes completed. During the semester I’ve been working full-time as well as starting my own business.
Last academic year, I spend my freshman year at Bryn Mawr College, and I completely failed. My transcript from Bryn Mawr notes a 1.67 GPA. Last year was incredibly difficult for me though, with a severe, undiagnosed mental illness, an abusive relationship, and multiple people in my family passing away.
Obviously, I have made a lot of improvements. But what colleges can I apply to with all of my baggage from last year? And how can I explain my circumstances in a way that doesn’t get me dismissed by admissions? I want to get into the best school I possibly can. I’m willing to go to school outside of Pennsylvania, but the greater Philadelphia area is preferred because it is close to home.
Thank you in advance for your help. I am so lost in this process.
With grades finally posted for this semester, I now have a 3.83 GPA. Please let me know what you think of my situation. I am considering just applying to Temple and going there. But if getting into a better school is possible, I’d like to try
What’s your cummulative GPA?
What’s the major you want?
Are you in-state for PA?
Would you be interested in returning to BMC? If not, just exactly how high up the scale are you aiming? How much can you afford to pay? There are scads of places in the Philly area - some “better” than Temple. Have a chat with the Transfer Advisor there at HACC, and find out where people with your GPA have been accepted in the Philly area.
My cumulative HACC gpa is 3.83. I left Bryn Mawr with a 1.67 gpa, and I wrote a pretty great common app essay that addresses that in responding to the prompt.
I would absolutely hate returning to BMC. I don’t think I could go back unless I actively schedule all my classes at Penn through the consortium and live off campus.
I don’t quite know where I should be aiming, and that’s mostly why I’ve made this post. My annual household income is around $110k, but I’m putting myself through school, so I need to go somewhere that gives generous financial aid to transfer students. I was paying $16k a year at BMC, and that was doable through private scholarships, private loans, and work study.
I have a friend who mentors high schoolers in the questbridge program, and he keeps telling me to apply to swarthmore because they like community college students. They would be great financially, but I think trying to apply would be a waste because of my grades from last year.
My transfer advisor hasn’t really been helpful. She gave me a paper on Temple and one on Pitt, but I really don’t know what to do beyond that.
If you did not like BMC, why would you think Swarthmore could work for you? It is a very similar type of institution - small, liberal arts, heavy academic pressure, etc.
You mention liking Penn. What about them? Yes your BMC grades aren’t so hot, but if you do like Penn and you have a good HS history plus the recovery time at HACC, maybe Penn could work for you.
Since you are paying your own way, there is nothing wrong with taking time off after completing an associates at HACC. Perhaps a gap year to sort things out could work for you and would allow you to save up a bit of money to give yourself some more options.
I’ve decided not to complete a degree at HACC. The degree program that would have allowed me to graduate the fastest, A.A. in Social Sciences intended for transfer, had too many introductory course requirements and no real development in one field.
If I pursued a degree, I would have to take classes in basic composition despite having had an intensive writing seminar at Bryn Mawr (in which I received a 3.0) and AP English classes. Because of limited funds, I’ve chosen to concentrate on upper level classes that reflect my future plans or will qualify basic gen eds at other universities rather than spend money on skills that I have or don’t need.
I don’t think Swat could work for me, but I have friends there, and the application is free for cc students, so nothing to lose other than time.
I would consider applying to Penn because I really do love the university, but the application fee is too high for me at the moment. Because of my past failures and having that history on my application, I feel like the chances are too low for me to justify spending the money.
Colleges would be more impressed if you completed 2 years at HACC. Admission to a selective college based on one good community college semester is unlikely.
Honestly, I just want to get out of HACC as fast as possible and into a four year college. I miss being on a campus and having friends. I desperately want to go to a good school, but more than anything I just need to be back in Philadelphia with my friends and existing professional network. I’m currently working two jobs and taking 18 credits each semester, and I really just need to be back in a four year college so my bank lets me take out a loan for school, and I can just be a student. That is my priority because I can’t keep this up for another year and a half. And I don’t want to get my bachelor’s later than 2020 because I was originally supposed to graduate in 2019.
Temple, Drexel, West Chester.
Swat is not going to accept you after a 1.67 GPA from BM, no matter what your CC grades look like and what the reasons for the 1.67 are. It just isn’t happening. Don’t waste time or money on it.
@NotSteveBuscemi , transfer thread lurker here. I wish I could give you great advice, but I find myself in a similar situation; working two jobs, 18 credits in a semester, desperately wanting to transfer out of my community college to somewhere up north (Swarthmore, if any chance happens to exist). Feels like we’ve started “adulting” before the most of our colleagues who’ve just started a 4-year college, but remember how that gives you a chance to share your unique experiences on your CommonApp. I say apply to Swarthmore, despite your time at Bryn Mawr.
Understanding the struggle, I truly wish you all the best in this second go of the admissions process. You’ll be in a much better spot at this time next year, believe it 
I’m completely fine with going to Temple, which will end up being financially doable because I would be able to live and share food expenses with my boyfriend. It’s just I never thought I’d end up there. Like one poor academic year and a mental breakdown that lead to hospitalization has invalidated all my prior hard work. I’ve submitted my Common app to TU as of yesterday, just curious if there were any other options I could give myself because the idea of being locked into this one kind of freaks me out. Commitment issues smh
Fingers crossed here for Temple. It really looks to be your best option right now.
If you don’t get in this time, would it make sense for you to just move back to Philly and work full time for a bit? I know you aren’t happy about delaying your college graduation further, but living in Philly might be worth that. If need be, you could finish up an AA at one of the Philly area CCs, then transfer on either to Temple or some other place in the area. A friend of mine who left another selective LAC for mental health reasons finished her AA at a Philly area LAC and then completed her BA at Chestnut Hill.
I have all my materials in at Temple and am eagerly awaiting the decision.
I was wondering if anyone had any transfer college suggestions outside of Philadelphia? I’ve decided to start looking in other cities so I can have some options when it comes to what I can afford, and also being locked in right now really stresses me out. What colleges are good for students looking for second chances?
I’ve been accepted to Drexel and Temple this past week. I’ve also decided to reapply to Bryn Maw just to see what financial aid they give me.