What should I do about transferring

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Basically i was in college for a semester (honors program at a tier 1 school where I had a $10K merit scholarship). I did not like my college so I left the school, took a year off and I am at a state school. I have four classes from my first college (first year seminar, literature, quantitative reasoning, intro chinese). The school ran on trimesters, so I am not sure how much those four courses count. (I stayed in school that year, however I had incompletes the rest of the year because I hated the school so much and did not attend classes. I was also facing many obstacles personally. --Deathly ill mother, and a slew of other things I will not talk about)</p>

<p>Once I got home, I knew I had to do something about my life. Before my downfall my freshman year I had very high hopes, and I was planning on getting a 4.0 and going to Yale for grad school. I was also offered many prestigious internships</p>

<p>I wanted to get back in the motions. I was not going to be lazy forever.</p>

<p>So I enrolled myself as a "special student" at my state school. That just means I was taking classes for credit but not for a degree at the school.</p>

<p>Over the summer I took expository writing (got the highest grade in the class of a 97), and a 200 level anthropology course which i got a 96. The fall I took calculus 1, a 300 advanced level french class, intro macro, intro micro.</p>

<p>I really slacked a lot in calculus, and although i found it easy, i ended up failing because I did not do the homework. I will retake that in the summer. The micro course i was signed up in for the fall, was online but offered by the school. However, i found out that online courses are not counted for transfer credit at most colleges, so I did not complete the course. Instead, I am taking the intro to micro class that is in the classroom and not online.</p>

<p>This spring I am taking intro to micro, a 200 level poly sci elective, a political philosophy class, and I am taking a 150 level history class on world civ.</p>

<p>I am taking that history class as a gen ed, however, I feel like maybe I should drop it and take a higher level course? Will it look bad if I keep the 150 level course?</p>

<p>I havent been involved in extracurriculars because i have had to work to support my education. (I work on average 15-20 hours a week)</p>

<p>However, i was heavily involved in extracurriculars in high school (I was club president and on a national leadership committee for 3 years). I was nationally recognized for my work, and I did a hell of a lot in high school and freshman year of college with it. I was also a cellist in a few orchestras for over ten years.</p>

<p>In high school my ACT score was a 29.</p>

<p>I am a URM (black). However I do not know how much this would work in my favor, since I grew up in one of the wealthiest towns.</p>

<p>I want to transfer to another school, because the school i am at now has very little course offerings. (They have like 5 courses per subject offered in a semester). Plus I am living at home and I need independence.</p>

<p>It is difficult because I am a student that when I put in effort, I outshine the class by a mile. However, if I slack, clearly I do not do so well (which can be seen in my calculus grade)</p>

<p>Basically my gpa at this state school is about a 2.55 so far counting those two fs.</p>

<p>I calculated that after this semester if I do well I can bring my gpa up to a 3.5.</p>

<p>Should I wait until november to apply as a transfer student? (I am planning on taking more classes this summer to strengthen my app)</p>

<p>Or should I apply this march?</p>

<p>I feel very negatively about applying now. I do not look so good on paper. Essays and recs are superb, as well as a graded paper i will send along. </p>

<p>However, how can I make them oversee my mistakes?</p>

<p>Would an interview help?</p>

<p>What places could I apply to?</p>

<p>I really want georgetown, wharton, nyu. However that seems impossible now.</p>

<p>I am interested in finance, mainly because I have a great talent for it. I also like poly sci.</p>

<p>What should i do? I am stressing out like crazy.</p>

2

<p>There is a lot here to digest. I’m interested in what it was about the tier 1 school that turned you off and whether or not the same turnoffs can be found at other tier 1s like georgetown, wharton, and nyu. I ask because many tier 1 schools are difficult to transfer into and I’m wondering if there are schools that better fit your present needs than these.</p>

3

<p>The tier 1 school was too far from home and had very little sense of community. There were quite a few personal issues too but i will not go there.</p>

<p>Its tough because I can do the work, however my grades have not been perfect obviously.</p>

<p>Even if i do spectacular this spring semester, i am not sure how much difference that would be</p>

4

<p>Successful people focus on what they can do and not what they might have done. If you do everything you can right now, you can never ask more of yourself later. If everything you can is not enough, so be it. Do everything you can every day from now on.</p>

<p>So are georgetown, wharton, and nyu all near home? are you able to afford each one of them? are the issues that you won’t go into no longer an issue and/or do they not exist at these schools?</p>

5

<p>They are closer than my previous school was. I also resolved that previous issue i had before (I got through it). I am not sure yet whether I need financial aid, but i most likely will not get much aid considering my family’s income and assets. If I need to take out loans i will.</p>

6

<p>Transferring is a lot of work, first of all.</p>

<p>I know you’re focused on prestige, but that might cause you more trouble than it’s worth when it comes to transferring. Prestigious schools don’t need transfers; few students leave them from one year to the next AND there’s a ton of competition for those few vacant seats. You probably will have to kiss that 10K scholarship goodbye, and that might mean going to one of your state schools. So be prepared for that. </p>

<p>Below is a list of transfer schools with high acceptance rates. Look them over and see if any fit your criteria. Then tell me what state you’re in so I know not to wander too far from home.</p>

<p>[Obama’s</a> Lessons for Transfer Students - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/articles/2009/01/16/obamas-lessons-for-transfer-students]Obama’s”>http://www.usnews.com/education/articles/2009/01/16/obamas-lessons-for-transfer-students)</p>

7

<p>Im not exactly focused on prestige. I just kno what kind of student I am and what I am capable of doing.</p>

8

<p>I hate to be the negative person here but with a 29 ACT, some Fs and a slew of incompletes I very much doubt you’ll get in to the three schools you list. The way I read your post is you are a college “dabbler”, just taking whatever seems interesting, and if you don’t find it interesting you drop it/ignore it. How is this kind of student appealing to a highly selective school? I think you need to figure out what you really want to do/major in. Then see if you can excel at the local level, prepping to attend a great school for a graduate degree.</p>

9

<p>I totally understand. However is there any way that I could have a chance if i wait til november to apply and take six classes this summer?</p>

<p>I am not simply taking what ever seems interesting. I am taking my gen eds right now. I dropped the online course, because it was not transferrable to other schools, so instead i ak taking the actual in class course this semester.</p>

<p>Should I retake a standardized test? Or not since I am 20.</p>

10

<p>You should contact the admissions office at those schools to see if they will accept an SAT score taken while you are in college. My understanding is that will vary.</p>

11

<p>Should i try to get an interview too? How can i give myself a chance here?</p>

12

<p>Are you still classified as a special student, or have you been admitted as a regular student at your current university? If you aren’t a regular student yet, your first step would be to pay a visit to the transfer admissions office, and find out if you qualify for admissions into the regular program. That will give you a general sense of your admissibility at other institutions. While there, you should also find out if there is a limit on the number of classes you can take while classified as a special student. Some institutions will cut you off, others won’t.</p>

<p>Right now you have a reach list. Where are your matches and safeties? Fill out that part of your transfer application list too. Since your long range goal is a graduate program, remember that you can get there from just about any undergrad institution on the planet provided that you do manage to graduate with excellent grades, GRE scores, and letters of recommendation. You have more options than you think you do.</p>

13

<p>Because you have so many what-ifs and a weak resume, I would say “no,” don’t apply to these tier 1 schools in March. Finish the semester; see what your GPA is and how many credit hours you have. Over the summer, when AOs have a little more time, reach out to the transfer AO at each of these three schools and, since you have confidence in your skills in interpersonal persuasion, try to get one of these people to tell you what they think about the possibility of your transferring to their school. The ones that say you’re not a candidate you will want to pump for info about where they think you might transfer successfully. If none of them recommends transferring to one of their schools, you will know you need to spread the net widely and you will have heard it from the horses’ mouths–authenticity we at CC really cannot give you. Why wait til summer to do this? why not do this now?–because of the weaknesses of your resume and all the what-ifs. You look right now like someone who’s not ready for prime time and who’s trying to force a situation. </p>

<p>Focus on your studies. Get your GPA up. Dream about possible admission in the spring. Learn more about the schools where you would be a fit if top 3 say no. You’ve carved out a bed here and it’s traveling with you whether you like it or not.</p>

14

<p>@happymomof1, yeah i am still a special student. I am pretty sure i could be admitted if I wanted to. I spoke with the admissions counselor at this state school last summer and told her what my gpa was in high school, and she said “well considering you had that gpa at one of the state’s top high school’s you should have no problem”</p>

<p>I definitely agree with waiting to apply to these schools. It is just that most schools do not accept spring transfers. Nyu does…but not the others on my list.</p>

<p>Do you think they could put more weight on my mid-term report, and could they look at my summer class grades i will be taking this summer?</p>

<p>Also i do not want graduate school. I used to before i got into this mess, but right now all i want is a bachelor’s degree.</p>

15

<p>Op,

  1. Schools (and jobs) don’t really accept students based on what they “could do” but based on what the “have done.” Because how do they (or you, for that matter) know whether you plan on working hard or slacking once you enroll in their school?
  2. Wait until you get your GPA up to transfer. You would not get accepted to NYU, Georgetown, or Wharton with 2.5 GPA and 29 ACT. Also the acceptance rates for transfer students is lower than the acceptance rates for freshmen. And the pool of transfer applicants are stronger than the pool of frosh applicants.
  3. Usually merit money is only awarded to freshman applicants. So you will only qualify for financial aid (need) money.
  4. Yes, being African American will help even if you are from a wealthy suburb. But being AA can’t get a 2.5 GPA 29 ACT student into those 3 colleges that you mentioned.
  5. If you have mistakes, it will be more likely overlooked if you continue a strong upward trajectory.
  6. If you think your gpa will be 3.5 after this summer, then wait until then to apply.</p>
16

<p>You didn’t like your original school because it lacked a sense of community…so NYU is on your list because it has a strong sense of community…?</p>