Disappointing choices so DC planning to transfer

[Anonymous]

Why not wait a year and reapply?

[Anonymous]

She may not want to transfer after she starts, gets acclimated, and makes friends.

I had a guaranteed transfer to Cornell back in the olden days, and even though the school I was attending was lower ranked and I was not ecstatic there (happy enough, fine), I just couldn't leave. I didn't want the disruption and starting over. But, I have always had a "bloom where you're planted" mentality so YMMV.

She may make great friends, get a wonderful boyfriend or girlfriend, join a club that's amazing, have cool experiences, that make her want to stay. Encourage her to be open to it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would she apply anywhere she knows she’d want to transfer from?? How is she in this position?

Last year I would have agreed with this. This admissions cycle was more than unpredictable. It left her with options but not ones that made her excited to enroll. Looking for any way to troubleshoot this to help my kid whose going through it.

While this year was certainly more unpredictable, it is not that uncommon for students to be disappointed in their admission results, not be thrilled about enrolling, and consider the possibility of transfer before they've even begun.

In my opinion (last year having two kids end up at their safeties - where they are now thriving), the goal here is not about setting up for future transfer, but for settling in with one of the schools she's been accepted to. I get the sense that you, the parent, feel the same way.

If possible, I would revisit the two or three she is deciding between. Have her get on their social media, e.g. their instagram and FB groups for 2026, and any other relevant forums. Caveat, it's not that I think social media class pages are a great representation of these kids as individuals (teens having an outsized concern for appearances). But, I think it may help a student see all these human faces who ARE making the choice to attend these schools.

Once she gets there, I would encourage her to dig into activities. (If she's still hoping to transfer at that point, remind her that highly selective schools may want to see that the transfer student was involved on campus.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is that realistic? Lots of places don’t accept transfers before junior year.

I feel like we have had this conversation before, most colleges actually do accept transfers after freshman year. In fact every single kid I know who has transferred, did it after freshman year. Not sure where you're getting this information?

Michigan makes them wait two years and it’s a popular school in the DMV. Maybe that gets around or that’s who wants to transfer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is that realistic? Lots of places don’t accept transfers before junior year.

I feel like we have had this conversation before, most colleges actually do accept transfers after freshman year. In fact every single kid I know who has transferred, did it after freshman year. Not sure where you're getting this information?

+1 I know quite a few kids who transferred to, gasp, a Top 25 school after freshman year. It is a thing.

The OP's daughter has a sound plan. She applied to a school as a safety and it turns out that was a good choice to have in place as a backup. Now she will use her safety school to help her get to her goal school. Sounds like the OP's daughter is a very smart girl.

Not every path to success is a straight line. The OP's daughter has figured that out. Go, girl, go!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's what I have already been considering my current junior: applying to a PG year at a good boarding school while also applying to colleges. If they are unhappy with the college options (or verly likely have none), spend another year maturing and have presumably strong senior year grades to add to the application the following year. Kid had a rough freshman year but strong grades since and we know for the schools they want, the freshman grades are going to hold them back. They have been "rejected" by admissions offices during the sports recruiting process already, so we know this and are hoping a fourth year of grades will suppress the freshman ones. Is this a thing? Do people use PG years for this?

For recruitable athletes, yes, it's a thing. For everyone else, not so much. You should also research which colleges put weight on freshman grades, though. Some don't even consider them and most don't pay them much heed.

Your overall GPA matters in that sense your freshman year GPA matter.
But, your upward GPA trajectory matters more.

[Anonymous]

My daughter was in this predicament due to lack of courses she would need. She thought it all through, re-grouped and chose another school due to all of the negatives people posted above. It’s one thing if you end up transferring; it is a whole other thing to go in it knowing you are going to transfer.

[Anonymous]

I transferred in the middle of my sophomore year for financial reasons. I was a first-generation student and didn’t understand until then how much I was racking up in loans (thankfully it hadn’t been that much by that point). I had to leave the decent LAC I was attending on scholarship, as the scholarship wasn’t cutting it. My situation was a little weird in that I had no demonstrated financial need on paper.

But anyway, my most palatable option financially was a regional state school. I enrolled there and couldn’t believe it. The kids were lazy as f*k. The state school was considered academically similar to my previous school in various metrics but in reality they were night and day. The antics in classes and in the dorms were comparable to my middle school. I graduated, but in hindsight I may have been better off taking time off until I was closer to 24 and applying somewhere better.

My point? Investigate transferring very carefully.

[Anonymous]

I transferred twice. It was totally fine. Granted this was a long time ago but all these same concerns could have applied then too. If your kid handles change well, is independent, and is excited about the transfer, I think it’s a good thing and wish her luck!

[Anonymous]

Why not take a gap year instead? Defer and get some life experience? My daughter is doing great in high school but plans on taking a year to be an Aupair overseas.

Not everyone takes the same path.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is that realistic? Lots of places don’t accept transfers before junior year.

I feel like we have had this conversation before, most colleges actually do accept transfers after freshman year. In fact every single kid I know who has transferred, did it after freshman year. Not sure where you're getting this information?

+1 I know quite a few kids who transferred to, gasp, a Top 25 school after freshman year. It is a thing.

The OP's daughter has a sound plan. She applied to a school as a safety and it turns out that was a good choice to have in place as a backup. Now she will use her safety school to help her get to her goal school. Sounds like the OP's daughter is a very smart girl.

Not every path to success is a straight line. The OP's daughter has figured that out. Go, girl, go!

I also think that going to a school and earning outstanding grades, participating in campus activities, and showing what you bring to the table, is a much better alternative to hanging out at home taking a gap year. People who do stuff and who show their stuff are going to be in a much better position of getting chosen than the couch potatoes hanging around waiting for the show to start imo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is that realistic? Lots of places don’t accept transfers before junior year.

I feel like we have had this conversation before, most colleges actually do accept transfers after freshman year. In fact every single kid I know who has transferred, did it after freshman year. Not sure where you're getting this information?

+1 I know quite a few kids who transferred to, gasp, a Top 25 school after freshman year. It is a thing.

The OP's daughter has a sound plan. She applied to a school as a safety and it turns out that was a good choice to have in place as a backup. Now she will use her safety school to help her get to her goal school. Sounds like the OP's daughter is a very smart girl.

Not every path to success is a straight line. The OP's daughter has figured that out. Go, girl, go!

I also think that going to a school and earning outstanding grades, participating in campus activities, and showing what you bring to the table, is a much better alternative to hanging out at home taking a gap year. People who do stuff and who show their stuff are going to be in a much better position of getting chosen than the couch potatoes hanging around waiting for the show to start imo.

Don’t think you understand a gap you. Most people who take them don’t sit around at home being couch potatoes. They do internships, volunteer work, travel, and some even take some classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is that realistic? Lots of places don’t accept transfers before junior year.

I feel like we have had this conversation before, most colleges actually do accept transfers after freshman year. In fact every single kid I know who has transferred, did it after freshman year. Not sure where you're getting this information?

+1 I know quite a few kids who transferred to, gasp, a Top 25 school after freshman year. It is a thing.

The OP's daughter has a sound plan. She applied to a school as a safety and it turns out that was a good choice to have in place as a backup. Now she will use her safety school to help her get to her goal school. Sounds like the OP's daughter is a very smart girl.

Not every path to success is a straight line. The OP's daughter has figured that out. Go, girl, go!

I also think that going to a school and earning outstanding grades, participating in campus activities, and showing what you bring to the table, is a much better alternative to hanging out at home taking a gap year. People who do stuff and who show their stuff are going to be in a much better position of getting chosen than the couch potatoes hanging around waiting for the show to start imo.

Don’t think you understand a gap you. Most people who take them don’t sit around at home being couch potatoes. They do internships, volunteer work, travel, and some even take some classes.

**Year** not you

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's what I have already been considering my current junior: applying to a PG year at a good boarding school while also applying to colleges. If they are unhappy with the college options (or verly likely have none), spend another year maturing and have presumably strong senior year grades to add to the application the following year. Kid had a rough freshman year but strong grades since and we know for the schools they want, the freshman grades are going to hold them back. They have been "rejected" by admissions offices during the sports recruiting process already, so we know this and are hoping a fourth year of grades will suppress the freshman ones. Is this a thing? Do people use PG years for this?

For recruitable athletes, yes, it's a thing. For everyone else, not so much. You should also research which colleges put weight on freshman grades, though. Some don't even consider them and most don't pay them much heed.

Your overall GPA matters in that sense your freshman year GPA matter.
But, your upward GPA trajectory matters more.

It really depends on the school. The UCs don't include freshman grades when they calculate GPAs. McGill and other top Canadian schools don't look at them at all, either. The most selective U.S. privates aren't formulaic about grades, and they care a lot more about how you do as a junior (and even as a sophomore) than as a freshman. The "trajectory" language is common, but isn't quite right--what's actually true (at highly selective schools) is that your junior year grades are the most important by a good margin.

[Anonymous]

UVA takes a few first year transfers but they usually were near misses for the first round but demonstrated they really want to be at UVA and have already proven themselves (first term) at another institution.