As an incredibly unhappy Bates Student, I applied out as a Transfer Student to Amherst College and Trinity College. After having been rejected from Amherst with a 2.7 GPA at Bates, I was disappointed, but nonetheless, I was not surprised. I was however accepted at Trinity College (33% Acceptance Rate).
I have a major conflict of interest with a current trustee member at Bates College and am worried that this will be a hinderance to my academic career. My previous academic career was haunted by the paranoia and lack of acceptance I felt due to this conflict of interest.
My girlfriend goes to Trinity. Things have been a little turbulent with her recently and I am worried that if we broke up I’d feel like an idiot for having transferred and I will see her around campus 24/7. I also realize Trinity is a less selective college.
Lastly, I just do not feel accepted at Bates and this could be due to this conflict of interest. I do not have many friends there and for my first two years, I really did not reach out.
I took a semester off this past fall and I am ready for a fresh start. Trinity is being incredibly kind for extending their deadline for me, but I just do not know what to do. The conflict of interest I have at Bates is significant.
Trinity is extending the deadline for me to reply to thier offer of admission and I just do not know what to do.
Would better grades at Trinity (a less selective college) be better off for me in the long run than having somewhat better grades at Bates?
I would appreciate any and all advice, insights or considerations.
You have a conflict with a trustee? At most schools I am familiar with, trustees are not on campus very frequently and have little or nothing to do with the students. I’m not sure how this trustee is having such an impact on your experience at Bates.
Did you specifically select Trinity because of the gf? If she was out of the picture, would you have applied to transfer there?
–Conflict with a trustee impacting your academic career? As far as I understand it, trustees help guide the college’s direction but are not involved in academics on a day to day basis.
–“My previous academic career was haunted by the paranoia and lack of acceptance I felt due to this conflict of interest.” Where was your previous academic career (were you somewhere before Bates)? Are you sure this is just not you being paranoid? Have you sought out counseling?
–Trinity is a fine school, but why did you only apply to one LAC that seems out of reach given your GPA (Amherst) and one school where your girlfriend with a turbulent history attends?
Nothing makes sense. Who advised you to apply to Amherst with your GPA? How does conflict with a trustee impact your interpersonal relationships with other students at Bates or your grades? Trinity is well regarded and you will do fine graduating from there, but it sounds like your gf may end the relationship and it doesn’t seem healthy to be on the same small campus with her everyday. If a trustee who is never around affects you, just imagine how stressful it will be sharing a campus with an ex. You might need to get some counseling and look at other schools.
I’m also confused by this post. I know a number of Bates trustees well and i can’t imagine any of them trying to sandbag a student, or even how they would go about it if they wanted to. The only direct contact trustees have with students other than their own kids or their kids’ good friends would be through a trustee’s committee, where faculty, admin, trustees and students are working on an issue together. Being on a trustee’s committee does not affect one’s grades or academic status.
If a trustee were to try to speak with a faculty member or member of the administration about a student in a negative way it would not be well received. In other words it would go worse for the trustee than for the student.
Can you explain what you mean by “conflict of interest”?
You won’t suffer any ill effects from going to Trinity - it’s an excellent school.
I think the answer to #2 lies in whether you applied to Trinity because you like it yourself or whether you applied largely because your girlfriend is there. If you like Trinity for itself and would go even if your girlfriend wasn’t there - let’s say you didn’t break up, but she transferred somewhere else. Would you be happy at Trinity without her? Would you have wanted to go there if she didn’t?
I agree in that I am very confused about what the conflict means with a trustee. Most trustees are off campus most of the time, but there are a few that aren’t - usually Boards of Trustees have 1-2 faculty trustees and sometimes 1-2 student trustees. I don’t think you’ll get a good assessment unless you can be a little more straightforward about this “conflict of interest.” Can you discuss this with the trustee? Can you talk to someone else at the college - some administrator, like a dean? Any conflict of interest you have with a grown adult trustee is likely due to inappropriateness on the part of the trustee.
The friends issue you may be able to solve by getting active. Start reaching out now. Join some clubs; talk to people in your classes or on your hall.
Trinity and Bates are the same tier. Not the top liberal arts colleges. Actually I would have more hop for Trinity as they have a much larger endowment.