The other concern on transfer is - what credits will be accepted. As you look at a major in business or art, the answer may be different. As you are budget constrained, it might matter if you can’t be done in four years.
Btw the schools I listed above have photog and business, not art as you noted photog but the current has it in visual arts.
To me and I know little about it but a school like South Dakota - not too big, not rah rah, cheap, has photog and business - if you live in Nebraska, not far - might be worth a look. Some Greek life.
I’m using “art” to cover photography. It’s Visual Art with an emphasis in photography. It’s not quite the same as a degree in photography which I understand is “better”, but maybe it doesn’t make all that much of a difference. IDK.
She got a single room and moved into it at the semester break. She has three suitemates, all with their own rooms. She likes them a lot better; they’re friendly and quiet. She also has a full kitchen. We had to use her medical diagnosis to get the room.
I was hoping and praying that the room change would help and it has, but only a little. We saw her today and she is not herself. I hoped the art class would help; I’ve been encouraging her to talk to the photography professors and get to know the department. Well the first day of class the professor said that photography is not real art because all you do is push a button.
She feels out of synch with a lot of kids. I have suggested everything—clubs, taking photographs for their social media if she could get on, therapy, coaching, external gym memberships…
She is stuck, fearful, unhappy, and caught up in self-doubt. It is heart wrenching. It has basically been bad since the first day she got there in August.
We have told her we think it’s better if she can find her place at her current school. It’s a lovely campus, she has accommodations…we may be hit with a $25K increase in tuition next year though, which is also a factor.
ETA: and no photography jobs aren’t a slam dunk but then again, even Comp Sci grads are struggling right now.
$25k there or elsewhere ? There are schools for less?
If struggling that much, perhaps my thought of cc might be a good idea. Live at home.
Perhaps she’s overdoing without realizing the negativity. I can’t imagine someone saying photog is just pushing a button as there’s so much set up etc.
You saw her today. Why ? Have you moved there ? Is she homesick ? If she spiraled, maybe pull her out ?
We saw her because 1) she had stuff still at our house from Christmas that we couldn’t fit in her car 2 weeks ago and 2) we had weekend plans a few hours away so we were able to coordinate bringing her stuff with our trip.
I’m sorry she’s had such a rough time. You thought through her options so carefully, and it seemed like a good choice. I do think it’s a school whose external image doesn’t always match the reality of the experience, but still, I wouldn’t have anticipated such a bumpy ride for her.
I’m curious as to how narrow her interest in photography is, as opposed to broader things that can include some photography, like graphic design. When I think of art/design plus business (and a touch of STEM), the field that comes to mind is packaging science. It’s very interdisciplinary and project-based, and grads are in demand for well-paying jobs. There aren’t a lot of programs, and many of them would be over budget, but one example would be U of Wisconsin Stout, about an hour east of Minneapolis. At the Midwest reciprocity rate, it only costs about 25K/year. It’s relatively small - around 6K undergrads - and D3 athletics, so not overly rah-rah. Here’s the packaging program: https://www.uwstout.edu/programs/bs-packaging There’s a photography & video minor (possibly combinable with packaging or business), a studio art BFA that can be photography-focused, and a business administration major. There’s a packaging minor too. About half of students live on campus, so there are off-campus options but it’s not a commuter school to the point of not having campus life.
If the packaging angle doesn’t appeal, other UW branch campuses may work too, like Milwaukee and Eau Claire.
Western Michigan could be worth a look too. It’s similar in size to her current school, but quite a different vibe, I’d expect. Kalamazoo is a nice student city, and WMU is quite artsy but also has a business school.
Michigan doesn’t participate in midwest reciprocity, though, so it would be around 41K/year.
Truman State? Missouri’s public honors college - quite affordable (about 33K/year with MSEP discount), under 4000 students, not rah-rah (D2), lots of smart kids who are there for quality academics for a great price.
Trinity U in San Antonio meets need - would they give her enough aid? They have both majors, a very nice campus culture, and far more appealing surrounding area vs. Waco.
Any chance Cornell College in Iowa might appeal? They do a one-course-at-a-time block plan, similar to Colorado College. This can be great for art majors, because classes can schedule trips to art museums in cities around the midwest, and really immerse themselves in projects. There are multiple business majors available too. I’m not sure how costs would shake down, but they meet 86% of need on average, and they offer automatic merit scholarships to transfers with a 3.0 minimum GPA (apply by March 1st) Would a block plan like theirs work well for her?
Good luck sorting it out and getting her only a path that she’ll be happier with.
I’m sorry to hear about your D’s first semester experience.
I would tell her and you to prioritize her mental health/well being. It sounds like maybe being in school this semester might not be the optimal choice (realizing there likely aren’t any optimal choices.)
As for transferring, the 3.0 will matter, as you posted. Especially since she only had three years of HS and took a gap year. Are there any C’s or lower in her first semester of college?
I would start with the other schools that accepted her…would ASU work? I know it’s large, but it’s so disparate, and not too rah rah. And copious amounts of sunshine. I think your other potential schools make sense…Kansas, Utah, Belmont, Denver. Not sure Denver or Belmont get to your price though.
If she is really undecided about her path, CC could be the right answer for now. Living at home, doing well in some classes, hopefully finding some classes she likes could provide a good reset for her.
What about some LACs out west…maybe Occidental or Willamette? Don’t know if they will get to your price, especially for a transfer though. They could be too liberal as well, which is why I’m not going to suggest Lewis and Clark or Whitman, for example.
For relatively more conservative choices in the West…Southern Utah, Point Loma Nazarene in San Diego, George Fox in Oregon (pretty strong/varied arts here), Whitworth, Montana State, University of Portland. She would have to look at the major choices to see what might work at each school. Not sure about getting to the budget, and some of these schools are quite a bit more conservative than Baylor.
