<p>First of all, I don't know if this is widely known here, but FSU has a branch in Panama (the country, not the city in Florida) where students can take the liberal arts curriculum and then transfer to the main campus in Tallahassee for the last two years. Credits obtained in the Panama branch have the same validity as credits obtained in Tallahassee. They offer classes in Spring, Summer and Fall semesters. I enrolled in FSU's Panama Canal branch on summer 2009. I would like to transfer to another university but I'm not sure of the moment in which I should do it. </p>
<p>I think that applying for Fall 2010 would be too soon because I would like to diminish the role of that my high school grades play on my admission and I would also like to retake SATs to improve my scores as well as taking SAT Subject Tests because I didn't take them while in HS.
Then there's the option of applying for Spring 2011 but many of the colleges that I wish to apply to don't accept transfer applications for Spring.
So my last option would be applying for Fall 2011. But the problem is that by Spring 2011 I will have completed two years at FSU, and enrolling in the summer semester of that year will disqualify me as a transfer candidate. Could I just not enroll in the summer semester of that year and apply for Fall? How would I notify colleges of this?</p>
<p>I know there's still a long way to go until that moment arrives but I would like to know in what moment I'm going to apply in advance and plan ahead. I would like to know what everyone thinks of each of the options I listed and what are the possibilities with the third option.</p>
<p>you can take a semester off and work or travel instead. that’s what i would most likely end up doing, since if i don’t (lord forbid) get in as a spring transfer i will have way too many credits to be taken seriously.</p>
<p>yes and no. if i get accepted for spring, i’ll have 72 credits completed. most schools only take 60 - 2 years worth of work. if i wait another semester, i’ll have close to 3 years of work completed. so their issue is, why let you come to their school where you know you have to spend at least 2 years when you could just finish one at your original school. a lot of schools are turned off by having a lot of credits, which is annoying because they want to see that you excel in lots of classes. so they can reject you just because they think it’s dumb for you to switch.</p>
<p>Santiago,
How is FSU Panama? My daughter wants to study there for her semester abroad.<br>
I would appreciate if you could give us some insight.</p>
<p>I’ve never been in another college so there’s not much I can compare it with. So far, I’ve had a very good experience and I think the quality of the professors and the classes is very good considering what you pay. If you get to know the professors well, you will be able to choose incredibly interesting classes. Many professors are panamanians or colombians but all of them speak very good English. There are also a number of foreign professors and most of the times their classes are the most interesting ones. In about one or two weeks the university will be moving to a new building in the City of Knowledge, a huge complex with access to soccer and baseball fields, a pool, restaurants and all sort of facilities. I think it can be a very good experience for your daughter because the environment is safe and the student body is very diverse.</p>