Where should/could i transfer?

Transfer Students
1

Hi, I’m a freshman at Fordham University. I have 24 credits (9 AP) and a 3.8 GPA. I have excellent ECs, a 2000 SAT score, mediocre High School grades (roughly 89 average), and will have very good recommendations. Besides being generally unhappy at Fordham, they also don’t offer my intended major (international relations). Although they offer International Studies, and international political economy, I would like to focus more on National Security. So, toughing it out and staying at Fordham isn’t an option unless I change my major.

I want to transfer to a school that is a) Academically prestigious (particularly in international relations) b) has big D1 sports teams in football and/or basketball (I would like to have that college fan experience or even work as an assistant with a team) and C) is a school that I have a real chance of being accepted into given my stats.

Any suggestions of schools are very much appreciated. Also, if any tips for me are very much welcome. Thanks

2

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this and prestigious probably will be an issue.

How much will your parents pay each year?

3

You don’t really need to transfer academically, quite frankly. First of all, Fordham is an excellent school. It’s in the top 100 national universities; on a grand scale, it’s pretty prestigious in its own right (just not like an elite university).

Second of all, international studies is close enough to international relations for your purposes. Undergrad is a time to get breadth of study, not depth; you don’t need to focus on something so specific in undergrad. That’s far too narrow - and besides, before you concentrate on that you need to know the foundational basics of international studies, like comparative politics, economic policy, and culture. Most of your major classes are going to be core classes and breadth requirements anyway, and at most you are going to get to take 2-3 electives in a specialty area within your major.

There are already a couple of classes that would encompass national security in the course listing, including International Communication, Analysis of International Politics, Conflict Resolution, UN Peace Operations, Introduction to Peace & Justice, U.S. Foreign Policy, Anthropology of Political Violence, etc. Economics is a huge part of national security these days and there are many classes on that. Health and environmental concerns are also key to national security (see developing nations where health crises or environmental disputes can create conflict) and you’ve got access to classes like Environment & Human Survival, Epidemics and Development Policy, Intro to Environmental Studies, and Hazards, Disasters and Human Experience.

Think foundations. Think “If I wanted to study national security as a graduate student, what would I already need to know/understand in order to do that?”

Why are you unhappy at Fordham? Is it something that is likely to be solved by moving universities? You’ve been there only two months - maybe two and a half at best.

Big Division I sports teams tend to be found at large public flagship universities. Do you come from a state with a big flagship with D1 sports? Otherwise, unless your family is wealthy enough to cover the full cost of attendance, those might be cost-prohibitive for you. (If your family is wealthy, then you have many options to choose from.)

Here are some prestigious privates with Division 1 sports and/or big sports cultures and some version of an international studies/relations major:

-Georgetown, of course - probably the best place you could go for this, if you could transfer into SFS.
-Boston College
-Lehigh
-Duke
-USC
-Tulane (Int’l studies concentration within their political science major)
-Wake Forest (no major, but an international studies minor)

4

Fordham - do you live in Rose Hill or Lincoln Center, - and are you at the right one for you?

If you have a good situation with affordability with Fordham, what was great about it that hasn’t been realized by you?

Do you have an opportunity to study abroad?

Do something different within Fordham before you throw the baby out with the bathwater.

You decided to go to Fordham w/o big division sports - is the grass greener now and you are worried about what you are missing?

What are your parents saying? Will they support financially a change in schools?

Do not make a major move now, and certainly you are spending time thinking about distractions instead of finding all the good things at Fordham that will be great for you as an UG. You are too early in the process, and as you mature as a student and in your studies, you may see clearly if you need to go further with a graduate program of study. At that point, look around, but not before you clearly are ‘on track’ at Fordham.