<p>I’m moving to Chattanooga sometime before next August, and I’d like to transfer to a school within a reasonable driving distance from that area (preferably no more than five hours). Right now I’m in the honors program at Georgia Southern, and while I like the honors program there and have had a decently enjoyable semester, I just don’t think GSU is the right school for me. The atmosphere is completely off. I feel like everyone is into football, drinking, and Greek life (or one of the three) except for me. I always envisioned college as having an intellectual atmosphere, as a place where I could completely be myself, and I just don’t feel that way at GSU. Even though I have a smart, nice group of friends, I still feel a bit like an anomaly on campus.
Right now, Emory is at the top of my list since I was accepted there as a freshman, and I’m also considering Vanderbilt, although I’m not sure if I’ll get accepted or if I’d even like the atmosphere there. I’ve heard that Vanderbilt is really conservative (I’m not), although I doubt it can be more conservative than GSU. I’ve also looked briefly at Furman, Davidson, and Suwanee, but I don’t know much about those schools in terms of their writing programs. One of the reasons I actually went to GSU is because they have a writing major, whereas most schools usually just tack creative writing onto their English programs. So I guess what I’m looking for is an academically rigorous school with a good writing program, preferably no football, and good financial aid. Financial aid is the key here; if I don’t get a decent aid package from any of the schools I apply to, I’m probably not going to be transferring.
So…if anyone has any suggestions or tips, I would appreciate it!</p>
<p>What about Rhodes in Memphis?</p>
<p>The references for Writing are Kenyon and Hamilton.
They have good financial aid for freshmen but I don’t know whether they admit many transfers and what financial aid is like for them. You should email them to ask. In addition, hopefully you’re keeping a 4.0 no matter how unpleasant/lazy some other students can be (there’s a reason 80% GSU students never graduate -but the Honors Program is pretty good so at least you have that, your friends, etc).
Check out Ithaca, Knox, Marquette, Ohio Wesleyan, Quinipiac, and St Lawrence.
Unfortunately, none of them are in the Southeast. But perhaps the fact you come from a less-represented state among their applicants will interest them. </p>
<p>BTW, I’m sorry it’s not working out at GSU. :s</p>
<p>Eckerd College in St. Petersburg is about 8 hours away. It is a small LAC with a fantastic writing program. Check out their Writers in Paradise program. They do give aid to transfer students, but I’m not sure how much. Dennis Lehane and Sterling Watson are alum and run the Writers in Paradise program at Eckerd.</p>
<p>Duke seems like an obvious option except they do have football. </p>
<p>There’s also Davidson College, and Washington and Lee.</p>
<p>*So I guess what I’m looking for is an academically rigorous school with a good writing program, preferably no football, and good financial aid. Financial aid is the key here; *</p>
<p>That’s going to be a problem for a transfer. Do NOT cut ties with your current school until you’ve seen the FA pkg at any new school.</p>
<p>I think Vandy and Emory might be the only schools on your list that might give a transfer good aid (if you qualify for it). I doubt Suwanee would give good aid to a transfer student. </p>
<p>Have you run any NPCs? Don’t trust the results UNLESS they ask if you’re a transfer. Otherwise the results will be for incoming frosh…which could be vastly different.</p>
<p>MYOS, while Georgia Southern University does have a pathetic four year grad rate, 50% of students manage to graduate in six years or less, which is about in line with the national average. </p>
<p>M2CK, Sewanee typically gives good aid for freshmen applicants, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it gave good aid for transfers. It also boasts an almost 50% yield rate for transfers, which is pretty impressive given its private LAC status (that may suggest something about its financial aid packages since transfer students tend to be a bit poorer than average, although it may just mean that mostly extremely wealthy students apply).</p>
<p>Here are some possibilities:
-Agnes Scott (also offers cross registration and potential socialization opportunities with Emory students although this is somewhat overhyped)
-Centre College
-Wofford (though it has a football team, its English program is particularly excellent and was featured in the Chronicle of Higher Ed as an example of how schools encourage intellectualism among first years.)
-UGA, if you’re still eligible for in-state tuition (I know that UGA is a party school with football, but the student body is so diverse that it should be easy to find people who just don’t care about either of those things. In that regard, it’s a much less homogeneous institution than GSU, and far more intellectual. There’s also an interesting environmental English program that may be worth checking out)</p>
<p>If you were admitted to Oxford as a freshman, you may want to call admissions and see if you can still come for the second semester. One of my friends did that because she hated her first school, and Oxford allowed her to matriculate because she technically wasn’t a transfer (credit hour designation). I have no idea how financial aid would work in that situation since based on the previous institution, I assume she was full pay.</p>
<p>Sewanee has one of the best writing programs in the nation, however it is a little conservative (you dress up to go to class i.e button down shirt, tie, lilly Pulitzer dresses, etc.). A fact of life is that most southern schools will be into Greek life and football even your incredibly academic ones Duke, UVA, UNC, W&M, Vanderbilt, all have strong Greek life and good football. Check out Davidson college or University of Richmond. Also, Furman college, I heard they have a good English dept</p>
<p>The fact that Sewanee says this on its FA site suggests to me that transfers will get treated differently…</p>
<p>70.4% of our full-time students enrolling as first-time undergraduates in 2012 received some form of gift aid.</p>
<p>Par for course for a school of Sewanee’s selectivity. It also met 93% of demonstrated need for enrolled freshmen (much higher than most schools with similar percentages of merit aid awarded), and unless it lied on its ipeds entry, Sewanee makes the school affordable for poorer students. In fact, the year I applied the president publicly condemned merit aid as simply a gift to the rich and vowed to shift aid packages from mostly merit to primarily need based. </p>
<p>The student should apply to Sewanee, and if admitted, see what the school offers her. </p>
<p>OP, if you can maintain a 4.0, keep in mind that Rice, like Vanderbilt and Emory, is one of the more transfer friendly top privates out there. It may be too far away and probably won’t admit you, but it matches most of your criteria.
ETA: Warblersrule, thank you for the correction about Sewanee and Wofford.</p>
<p>That’s interesting that Oxford let someone come in as a sophomore. I was accepted there as a freshman (and I wanted to go there more than main campus just because of the setting), so I wonder if I should look into that. I also don’t know if I’ll be eligible for in-state tuition next year–or Zell Miller–after we move. If GSU ends up charging out of state, that would just be yet another reason to transfer. I’m just throwing this out there as an option (even though they have a football team), but how is university of Tennessee Knoxville? I know they have an honors program, but I don’t know much about the school as a whole.</p>
<p>ecmotherx2–although eckerd would probably be too far away, I think it’s funny that you mentioned that school because I actually went to a camp there when I was in sixth grade and fell in love with the campus. Somehow I was led to believe that it wasn’t a very good school though, so I didn’t bother applying.</p>
<p>No, she went there for her second semester freshman year. She’s on track to graduate with what would have been my class so her past college affiliation (a well regarded Southern school) did not cause graduation delays. I suggest you call up Oxford and see what can be done. Likely admissions will say no, but it doesn’t hurt to try. Keep in mind that binge drinking is fairly common at Oxford, although how it compares to other semi rural LACs, I don’t know.</p>
<p>Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt, Emory, Duke.</p>
<p>Aleyna, below is some info you may find helpful:
One of the great hidden treasures of the St. Petersburg community is the group of working artists - faculty, staff, students and alumni - at Eckerd College. The creative inspiration fostered at Eckerd will be showcased through the third annual “Celebration of the Arts” on Saturday, November 9 in various venues on campus. Starting at 10 a.m., the daylong celebration will highlight disciplines within the College’s Creative Arts Collegium, offering an array of events from gallery shows, fiction and poetry readings, organ and operatic recitals, and a play. Admission is free. Programs and events are subject to change. For more information, visit Eckerd’s public events calendar or call 727-864-7979.</p>
<p>Transfer applicants are eligible for renewable merit-based scholarships ranging from $6,000 to $11,000 annually. Scholarships are awarded at the time of admission and are based on the student’s college academic record.</p>
<p>Phi Theta Kappa members are also eligible for a renewable $1,000 scholarship. You should provide proof, such as a letter from your Phi Theta Kappa advisor or other official documentation indicating your membership, in your application.</p>
<p>Transfer students who will be entering Fall Term are also eligible for Eckerd’s Artistic Achievement award. Eckerd College recognizes artistic achievement in Music, Theatre, Visual Arts and Creative Writing. You need to have already been admitted to the College before you apply and all materials must be post marked by February 1st. More information regarding scholarships and aid is available on our website.</p>
<p>Take a look at the Eckerd website. You can always PM me for more info.</p>
<p>Wow, that sounds really great! I don’t know how my parents would feel about the distance, since part of the idea behind transferring was being closer to home, but Eckerd sounds perfect both financially and academically for me. </p>
<p>I was also wondering if anyone has any thoughts on UNC Asheville. I’ve done a lot of research on it, and it sounds like a really great fit for me (although I’m a bit worried about the mountains because I get carsick, but I guess I’m gonna have to get used to that because I’ll be living in them at home, anyways). I think they’re supposed to be good for writing, but I feel like I also need to consider UGA, even though, for whatever reason, I’ve always been adamantly opposed to it (might have something to do with my dad being a GT alumni and avid football fan!). It just seems so huge, and literally everyone I know that goes there is in a sorority or frat. I didn’t even realize they had creative writing classes there on undergrad level, but since I’ve looked into them, they sound pretty great. I actually think that Georgia Southern has them beat on the variety of writing classes, though. But quality beats quantity…Sorry if it seems like I’m asking too many questions! I just really want as much information as possible before I make a decision on a school, or if I even decide to leave at all.</p>
<p>If you look at Asheville, be aware that it would likely give you poor aid as it’s an OOS public, and that it has one if the most comprehensive core requirements of any school in the nation. I don’t know how that would work for transfers, but be warned that transferring to such an institution could mean you spend little time taking electives and more time fulfilling the numerous gen eds. </p>
<p>You know an unrepresentative sample of UGA students as the actual Greek participation rate hovers around 26%. Given that almost no students commute, it seems fair to say that Greek life does not dominate the social scene.</p>
<p>I don’t know how GSU’s core requirements compare with UNCA, but ours are pretty comprehensive. Without any AP credit, I would’ve been required three sciences even though I’m a writing major, and I’m also required to take government, world history, US history, and economics (again, not counting AP credits). After this semester, I’m going to have 29 credit hours of all core classes, so hopefully those will transfer. Granted, 13 of those are AP, but since those come from all 5s and one 3, I think they should transfer fine. I could be wrong, but I’ll definitely look into their requirements. Next semester I’m taking a mix of core and major classes; I don’t know how that will affect the situation, but maybe if they’re touchy about core, that will help. As for aid, their OOS costs are around two thousand dollars more than the full in state costs of GSU. While I have zell miller and a bunch of other scholarships covering that, I don’t think UNCA will be too unmanageable for my family. I have a few renenewaw outside scholarships, and if I can get some more coupled with financial aid, that should hopefully be fine. I am wondering if they give OOS waivers to honors kids there, because my school does that on the sly, sort of–they don’t mention it on their scholarship or financial aid pages anywhere. I wonder if there’s any possible way of working something out if I directly contact their honors director either this semester or early next semester and ask how to get in as a transfer and if there are any scholarships for out of state. It might not work, but I think it’s worth giving a shot.</p>
<p>*renewable</p>
<p>Aleyna, you’re right to look into the in state vs. out of state situation - if your parents live out of state, next year you may be charged the OOS tuition (I don’t think they’d do that for 1906 scholars, but they may). It makes choosing a few other schools all the more important.</p>