Thanks so much for coming back to update. It’s very much appreciated, and as @tsbna44 said, you’ve gotten some great results!
I’m sorry that you haven’t felt emotionally supported, especially by your father. But college is a time for a fresh start. That could be finding friends and mentors who are supportive of your efforts. It could even be that your parents have a shift in their thinking and that your relationship with them becomes much healthier and happier.
And above all, it’s a time for you to fully realize that you can control your thoughts, your emotions, your actions, your reactions, and your choices. You can’t control what others do, particularly the Negative Nellies of the world. For many, that realization feels liberating and like a load off their back. I hope it does for you.
Please don’t do this. If you ever transfer colleges, it should be because it’s what you want and what will make you happier and more fulfilled. If you do something to spite others, then you’re really allowing the others to control you via their opinions and comments. Additionally, you set yourself up for disappointment. If you enter college with the thought of transferring, then you’ll have an emotional foot out the door from the get-go which will make it harder to make connections with friends, professors, etc. because you’re already thinking about other places to land in the future.
So bask in the glow of the acceptances you’ve received and the one that you seem super excited about. Look into all the things that are going to make your time in college fulfilling, from any living learning communities or clubs or fall classes or other experiences that will make your time some of the best years in your life so far. Congratulations and enjoy your time as a Scarlet Knight!
This is a great result, as are your other acceptances to several other very good schools.
Let’s suppose that you go to Rutgers, do very well, graduate, and at some point in the future are considering applying to graduate school. At that point high school will not matter at all. Graduate admissions will not ask about high school and will not care about high school.
And you can do very well with a degree from Rutgers. I know a lot of people who have done exactly that, and who have made the school look very good by their being a Rutgers alumni.
Please take full advantage of this excellent opportunity. Attend every class. Pay attention. Keep well ahead in your class work. If there is anything that you are unsure about, ask for help. In case of doubt look for help early. Expect this to be more difficult than high school, because it will be more difficult than high school. There will also be a lot more opportunities that you can take potentially advantage of.
There is no need to transfer to “an even better school”. Knock it out of the park at Rutgers.
And just in case I didn’t already say this up-thread somewhere, the first three Rutgers graduates who I met were three graduate students at Stanford. The fourth was a boss, who had a few Stanford graduates working for him. There have been many more and they have all made the school look very good.
Best wishes.
Since you dad didn’t say it, and I am a dad, I will say it: CONGRATULATIONS!!!
You have some terrific acceptances on your list…really terrific ones. Congratulations.
Please choose one with the intention of staying at that college for fall years. Transferring out of spite could actually backfire on YOU. Especially with the terrific acceptances you have.
Rutgers is terrific! So are all your other acceptances. Be proud of yourself!
Congratulations
What a great list of colleges that all want you.
Have you visited your favorites yet?
How are you going to choose?
No matter what, you should feel very proud. Those are many students’ first choices and you got into all of these (MANY didn’t).
Since your father has dropped the ball, I will tell you:
I AM VERY PROUD OF YOU!!!
I will rephrase that:
EVERYBODY HERE ON CC IS PROUD OF YOU!!!
You have been accepted to a large number of world class universities, three of them with scholarships. Seriously, those are absolutely amazing results.
Being accepted to three of your top choices is actually amazing. So not only do you have eight acceptances to chose from, three of them were at the very top of your list.
I’m really sorry that your folks are sucking the joy out of what’s actually a really good outcome. Congrats on getting a waitlist offer from Rutgers!
I know that the “familiarity breeds contempt” factor affects how students feel about their in-state public university options, no matter where they live… but nothing beats New Jersey for the level of negativity and contempt residents seem to have for what is, in fact, an excellent public university system. I don’t understand it, but I have seen it over and over again. Maybe it’s an extension of the “what exit?” disrespect that people have for New Jersey in general? We just see SO MANY New Jersey kids here who feel ashamed to attend their state schools; I’ve even seen NJ parents who outright forbid their kids to apply in-state, preferring OOS schools like PSU and Pitt which are great but not objectively better than Rutgers. It’s weird and unfortunate.
IMHO it’s extremely selfish and short-sighted of your father to demean your excellent acceptances. And further, it’s silly, because no place you applied was meaningfully “better” than undergrad business at Rutgers. It’s not like Dad had his heart set on Wharton. So, you’re going to Rutgers and not IU Kelly - how is that supposed to hold you back in life? It won’t! Put the money saved into an investment account and see how much you can grow it!
I know that your recent experiences are making you feel like you have something to prove, and you could validate yourself by transferring. I would really encourage you to table that for the time being, though. Give your experience at Rutgers time to win you over. I strongly suspect that once you find your groove there, leaving won’t feel as attractive as it does now. At the very most, keep the transfer idea on the back burner and think about it only in terms of keeping your grades up, to maximize your options. It’s always good to have a motivator in that regard, even if you realize later that there’s no need to transfer.
In my opinion, prove your dad wrong by knocking it out of the park at Rutgers and having a terrific college experience there. Don’t go in with one foot out the door; put down roots there and get the most out of it that you can. Everyone here is rooting for you!
Are any others affordable?
Are you going to visit one of your top choices (PSU, VT) or UDel if they’re affordable? In particular, UDel with scholarship could be great and the environment (vibrant college town+cute campus, in addition to being excellent in your areas of academic interest) should provide a solid contrast wth Rutgers and it’s fast paced/split campus. Same with Bentley+ scholarship (if it’s affordable): it punches well above its weight, offers personalized attention, and is different enough from Rutgers that upon visiting you’d have a clear idea whether you like it or Rutgers better.
If, for nothing else, to show dad, not sure the timeframe - it’s not at graduation - but I’d say BC, BU, and NEU are great schools - and Bentley is smoking them.
Also, on the Bentley website….see this.
I’m not telling you to go to Bentley. You chose Rutgers - and it’s awesome.
But to show - what an incredible admit it is!! So are Rutgers, Va Tech and you had others you listed, etc. so your family is way off base. But alas - stay focused on school - and you’ll be fine. You, moreso than the school, will determine your long term success. You learned this after your early hs. Let’s go!!!
Median College Salary Rankings 10 Years After Graduation
My daughter chose UD over in state Rutgers, but even receiving the highest yearly scholarship ($17,000 a year), it was still more than Rutgers (3.95 gpa, 34 act). But it’s a great school, my daughter liked it more than Rutgers due to a walkable campus (where her dad and sister graduated, plus she had a bunch of friends there).
I haven’t visited Bentley but it is super expensive, I think almost 74kish after scholarship. Stevens was also one of my options but it was 51k with scholarship but I did get into iStem which they fund a project that you develop. Looking at cost Rutgers makes the most sense. Though stevens was a very tempting offer.
Yes it all depends on the budget but if it’s affordable it could provide a nice contrast to Rutgers and help OP make a choice (rather than feeling disappointed).
If Bentley is 74k and your parents can afford it without loans, it could be worthwhile investment (especially, if it’s your first choice, you could call and say it’s your first choice but you’re 4k short, see if their Financial aid office can match that). More support, great alumni network, excellent ROI.
However I agree Rutgers makes more financial sense compared to 74k
What about UDel? Is it affordable without loans for your parents?
What about Stevens?
Yah - I just put that there to show dad. You chose Rutgers. That’s a FANTASTIC choice. You are done. No need to look at Bentley. Just to strut it in front of dad.
But what I put up should impress anyone - so you can say - and I turned this school down!!!
Message 2 - @heavyweightcollege called Rutgers a reach - and there you are!!! Stevens a low reach - and you got with $$.
