<p>How soon in the freshman year may a student begin the transfer process? Actually I would appreciate any advice for my son related to transfers. Websites or your posts will be greatly appreciated, we have no clue.</p>
<p>depends on college</p>
<p>go to the college's website and look for transfer application info</p>
<p>We might be able to help you, but first we'll need more information. What state are you in? Which colleges are you interested in? What major?</p>
<p><a href="http://www3.davidson.edu/cms/x6447.xml%5B/url%5D">http://www3.davidson.edu/cms/x6447.xml</a></p>
<p>Thanks for the help.</p>
<p>meadowcroft, if you are asking "how soon in the freshman year" can a student begin the transfer process, I am guessing that your D or S is not even in college yet. Would that be correct?</p>
<p>Because current college freshmen who wish to transfer to a new school next fall are largely through with the application process and awaiting decisions. Many deadlines are sometime in March, some earlier some later. </p>
<p>If this is the case (your student is a senior in hs) and the reason for thinking about transfer is unhappiness at the college(s) s/he has been accepted to, that raises several issues:
1. Is it a good thing to go off to a college with a plan to transfer already in your head? Usually not.
2. If an applicant was unsuccessful at a given school for freshman acceptance, will their chances be better as a transfer applicant? Hard to predict. Depends on the school.
3. Would it be better for him to take a gap year? Do something enriching? A portion of what he does during such a year (and only a portion) might enhance his application if he tries for admission a year later. But remember that it's only a portion because college apps are due in the fall and so he has only the few months between hs and fall to put activities on the app.
4. It is only one anecdote and one case, but if you search andi's threads about her son's disapppointing freshman app results, you will learn that after his gap year his application results were as follows: applied to several schools he had not applied to for freshman year and accepted to all (some with top scholarhips and some very highly selective); applied to two of his top choice schools from freshman app - not accepted to either (ie no better luck the second time around). Message here is not to get too attached to a given school and realize that your chances may or may not be any better. You are essentially the same applicant, so if it wasn't a match, it may still not be a match.
5. If you want to reapply to the same school, try to find a way to determine whether your application itself can be improved. Were the recommendations weak? Were your essays weak? Where did you fit stats wise in relation to the applicant pool?</p>
<p>Apologies if this is off base, since it's just a guess. In any event, I do have quite a bit of experience in the transfer app process. Feel free to post more detailed questions, or PM me if I can help you navigate it.</p>
<p>Best of luck.</p>
<p>I didn't even begin to consider transferring until winter break, so I didn't start the process until I got back to school.</p>
<p>You have addressed many of our concerns and I thank you for that! I will take you up on the offer to PM, after my son studies your comments. Many thanks.</p>
<p>Hi meadowcroft, another thought. If I were you, I would encourage my son to go off to the school he's selected with absolutely no thoughts of transfer in his head. Realize that there are many, many schools which can fit a student well. And this may be one for him.</p>
<p>He should not consciously think of transfer at all through the entire first term. He should choose courses he hopes will engage him; he should do his very best (because if he does try to transfer, this will matter a lot, and he should do his best anyway ;) );he should join clubs; pursue his sport etc. as if this had been his top choice school.</p>
<p>Then, when January comes, if he is simply not happy with the school as a match for him, he will have plenty of time for transfer applications. They are usually due in March, as mentioned above. That will give him plenty of time to handle them and seek the prof recommendations he will need.</p>