Hi, I am a freshman at my current university (Appalachian State) because it was the most affordable school I got into that let me in. I was really depressed my freshman/sophomore years of high school which affected my grades to a large degree but I came back and did great my junior and senior years. Having a bad first half of high school kept me from applying to schools that are more academically focused. I really like the town and campus of Boone but I can’t stand the atmosphere here. Academics here are near the bottom of most students priorities. Most of the people who graduate from here, end up staying instate working management roles at local stores (that’s not a diss on that profession, just not what I want to do) . I have already joined some clubs that I’m interested in and have been wanting to create a literature/arts society because the school is lacking anything in that venue but it has nothing do with football so it might not get traction. The schools that I have been interested in so far are UNC and Vanderbilt. I just wanted to know if you guys had any advice in developing a good 2 year plan?
I can’t edit the original post, but I wanted to add that I think a great liberal arts college would be a good fit too but they seem to have incredibly low transfer rates unfortunately, so if you guys have any advice on that front, it would be appreciated.
What’s your budget? If you want to transfer you need solid grades, but that’s only part of it. Transfers don’t generally get a lot of aid so your options will depend on how much your parents can pay.
What’s your subject area/likely major? What campus of UNC? Are you in-state for UNC?
In the meantime, keep looking at App State for fellow travelers. You are not the only achievement oriented student there 
I am pre law and I am in state for unc.
My parents can pay for anything in state and if I were to go out of state (like Vanderbilt) I would need some aid.
Would anyone else be able to help?