Advice from Former Transfers

pretzelbreaker
Tue, 01 Jul 2008 19:16:46 +0000

Don’t sweat it if you can’t afford to go visit for what seems like a “mandatory” interview. Schools understand money issues and that, as a transfer student, keeping your grades up at your current school is a priority. You don’t need to skip class or extracurricular commitments to jet off to multiple schools. I couldn’t afford to visit any of the eight LACs I applied to until after I was accepted – and I got into seven of the eight. Even though their websites made it seem like in-person interviews were a big deal, what they were really looking for was genuine interest and a good grasp of why I wanted to go to that school. For example, the school I chose to attend (Sarah Lawrence) has a very unique educational system, and they needed to know that I understood it, which can be expressed without a visit. Instead of visiting in person, I did as many phone interviews as possible, contacted professors, and emailed the admissions office with any questions I had. After I was accepted, I visited my top three, and then made my decision. Good luck!