DD Wants to Transfer

[Anonymous]

Securing financial aid could be a bigger hurdle than the GPA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Securing financial aid could be a bigger hurdle than the GPA.

We recognize this, which is why we're targeting schools that tend to be generous with aid (which unfortunately usually are very selective for transfers)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My D was miserable at her university. She investigated the transfer process and was overwhelmed with her studies. I had to jump in help a lot with the applications and requesting transcripts etc. Ended up deciding to apply to only one school and the fall back was if she didn't get in she would come home for a semester and take some local classes. She got into the one. Learned that sometimes it is easier to transfer than get admitted as freshman. Also a 3.7 GPA is outstanding, so she should be okay. Good Luck!!

Really? I heard the opposite.

It is hard to get merit aid, but easier to get in.

It is generally much harder to transfer to a top school. The ivies pretty much have no merit aid.

OP, I would recommend including an easier 'big' school like Cornell or a smaller, more nurturing school like Barnard or Wesleyan or Bowdoin. My other suggestion would be to go back to her acceptances from high school and consider contacting some of the schools that she turned down at the time. Those are schools that were already sold on her once. When my kid hated her small LAC, she applied for transfer to the school she had a hard time turning down as a senior-- and, despite a low transfer admissions rate, they accepted her. It's worth a shot.

NP. I think this is the best suggestion I've seen on the thread. She liked the other schools at one time and obviously they liked her. Start there. Don't let her get stuck on the Ivy thing. It is better for her to find a school where she will be happy and safe than it is for her to go to another school where she will be unhappy and not feel safe.

[Anonymous]

Smith was a great environment for me after I was assaulted in high school. I second the suggestion to look at women’s colleges. It gave me a safe place to learn and heal before I went to work then grad school.

[Anonymous]

I know someone who transferred into Mt Holyoke and got a great scholarship.

That is a very safe bubble that allows you to be with other college kids easily (by taking the free bus to Amherst), but also escape it when that is your need.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know someone who transferred into Mt Holyoke and got a great scholarship.

That is a very safe bubble that allows you to be with other college kids easily (by taking the free bus to Amherst), but also escape it when that is your need.[/quote

Agree with this. And the women’s colleges are easy to get into for Ivy caliber kids.

[Anonymous]

Transferring to Stanford or HYP with a 3.7 GPA? You're dreaming, even if full pay.

Northwestern might take her, if you're full pay.

[Anonymous]

Please read the previous posts before writing something useless to this parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My D was miserable at her university. She investigated the transfer process and was overwhelmed with her studies. I had to jump in help a lot with the applications and requesting transcripts etc. Ended up deciding to apply to only one school and the fall back was if she didn't get in she would come home for a semester and take some local classes. She got into the one. Learned that sometimes it is easier to transfer than get admitted as freshman. Also a 3.7 GPA is outstanding, so she should be okay. Good Luck!!

Really? I heard the opposite.

It is hard to get merit aid, but easier to get in.

It is generally much harder to transfer to a top school. The ivies pretty much have no merit aid.

OP, I would recommend including an easier 'big' school like Cornell or a smaller, more nurturing school like Barnard or Wesleyan or Bowdoin. My other suggestion would be to go back to her acceptances from high school and consider contacting some of the schools that she turned down at the time. Those are schools that were already sold on her once. When my kid hated her small LAC, she applied for transfer to the school she had a hard time turning down as a senior-- and, despite a low transfer admissions rate, they accepted her. It's worth a shot.

NP. I think this is the best suggestion I've seen on the thread. She liked the other schools at one time and obviously they liked her. Start there. Don't let her get stuck on the Ivy thing. It is better for her to find a school where she will be happy and safe than it is for her to go to another school where she will be unhappy and not feel safe.

We would do this, but all other schools she got into give much less financial aid than her current school. That would be doubly so for a transfer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know someone who transferred into Mt Holyoke and got a great scholarship.

That is a very safe bubble that allows you to be with other college kids easily (by taking the free bus to Amherst), but also escape it when that is your need.[/quote

Agree with this. And the women’s colleges are easy to get into for Ivy caliber kids.

We would love to have DD at Smith/Mt Holyoke type schools, but when she got into that caliber of schools in high school, the financial aid was weak.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Transferring to Stanford or HYP with a 3.7 GPA? You're dreaming, even if full pay.

Northwestern might take her, if you're full pay.

OP’s kid is already at an Ivy and not full pay

[Anonymous]

OP what state are you in? Would UVa or UMD be affordable?

[Anonymous]

OP, have you asked this also on College Confidential?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP what state are you in? Would UVa or UMD be affordable?

Different state. Her state school gave less financial aid than her current school.

[Anonymous]

You are very likely going to have to make a hard choice between staying put to to keep financial aid or transferring and paying a lot more. They don’t really have any incentive to offer a bunch of aid right now.