Our child had a hard time deciding between 2 colleges at decision time, but ultimately stuck with the one they originally liked a lot . We got to know one school really well, but we were quite taken with the other school which also had a program we liked as well. But we allowed our child to pick because after all, they are the ones that have to be there and they liked the fit. After all the excitement has died down and an enthusiastic start , I am beginning to wonder if it was the right choice ( don’t want to go into specific reasons for privacy) however, how hard is it to get back into a school you previously turned down? How demanding are they with wanting new references if you child barely knows anyone and barely has any grades yet? What do they usually take into account? Is a positive or a negative that they were accepted earlier this year? Thanks, I know we need to give it more time, and in another month it may not be an issue or consideration. But in case it is, it’s good to have options.
My son crashed and burned first semester freshman year due to mental health reasons. He ended up going to a local university the following fall, but definitely less selective. He submitted the application and was accepted immediately. However he lost the presidential merit he was offered initially (which we expected).
Does your child feel the same?
I know someone who did this. They realized their mistake soon after arriving on campus and contacted the school they had turned down. The school allowed them to start second semester. In this case neither school was very selective (both over 50% acceptance rates) and the transfer was from a private school to the student’s instate public.
I’d be very surprised if they let him transfer in mid-semester, seeing as they will have given his place to someone else, classes may be full, and they will have their own curricula for all the coursework and assume he would have already missed various assessments. I would expect normal transfer rules apply, which is usually only after a year, but check the college’s website. In the meantime, ensure he is trying to his best GPA wise.
I assumed they meant next semester, heck add/drop is over.
Transferring, in the middle of the semester, to me, doesn’t sound doable and is not a good idea. I’m assuming that you’re meaning to transfer within the next two weeks?
You’re asking a school and a professor to jump through hoops to accept the student to try to get him caught up with all of the readings the paperwork, the tests, the quizzes, housing, and everything that has been performed by the other students.
I don’t know of anyone who has done this unless they were hospitalized and it was pre-determined and agreed upon at the beginning of the semester.
I think your child would be really frustrated by trying to play catch-up. If you’re talking about the next semester, then it may be possible, but housing would be an issue, as would the financials, timelines, and the social issues.
So are you asking about transferring this fall or the following semester?
How does your child feel? I for one would give the current school more time. If your student hasn’t mentioned wanting to transfer, please don’t put the idea in their head.
If considering transferring after one semester consider not only admissions but also factors such as housing, aid (if important), scheduling, social fit, etc.
Does the student feel the same way?
Depends on what the school’s transfer rules and process is. If the school is open admission, it may be easy to transfer. But not such much if it is selective, particularly more selective.
Also, transferring in the middle of a semester, as opposed to the beginning of the next semester, would be impractical.
And also consider course sequence. If he transfers after one semester, your student might have trouble getting the second semester of courses he took the first semester at his first college.
I don’t always assume parents know all the details such as add/drop… but even if they meant mid-year, do colleges accept transfers with only one semester of grades?
Usual advice I think is to give it a year. D19 was desperately unhappy when she came home for thanksgiving during freshman year, but by end of freshman year, even with COVID, she was much happier and happily stayed for the full degree. Adjustment anywhere is hard.
An open admission college, like a community college, would.
Depends on the school. Many large flagships do. Not sure about others.
My son transferred after the end of his freshman year. He started sending out transfer apps early March, and did reapply to schools who had accepted him the year prior. He ended up attending a school that had previously accepted him. In fact when he made his decision the year prior, his top two choices were the school he originally attended freshman year, and the school that he transferred to as a sophomore.
As a parent I had reservations about the school he chose to attend as a freshman. I kept my mouth shut and let him make his own decision. But there were red flags for me that it wasn’t the best fit for him, and that the school he turned down was actually the better fit.
Transferring was the best choice for my son, and he has flourished at his transfer school. He is very social and outgoing, and even still it was HARD to start over. It wasn’t all roses the first couple of months, but once he hit his stride it really came together for him.
I would advise your child to give it at least a semester to decide if they want to stay. Some schools might not be as welcoming to a spring transfer, so they may have more options to transfer as a sophomore. Transferring comes with its own stresses, but can also be big reward if the next school is truly a better fit. I wish you and your child all the best.
Doubt that’s what they’re talking about given earlier comments + earlier thread about declining waitlist from higher ranked school.
Thanks, probably Just some adjustments - no not talking about the middle of a semester , that’s not workable , more like spring semeste
For spring semester, refer to the comment thumper1 made above about sequencing. This may or may not matter depending what major your child is doing (it wouldn’t have mattered for my older child but can definitely matter for some). For some majors it may make sense to wait till fall before transferring because of this. Your student should also try check to see if credit will actually transfer, but they may not know this upfront - I know at D19’s school, the final determination of what would transfer was only made after registration. I don’t know how common this is.
Finally, if he does decide to transfer, he should probably look at other options too. I’d guess there’s a decent chance he’d be accepted if the school had originally accepted him, but a plan B is always a good idea.
Following on from this, if he is doing architecture as an earlier thread suggests, sequencing could very well be an issue. This will very much depend on the structure of the program, which can vary quite widely between colleges, but I have seen a few colleges say transfers for architecture are only considered for fall because of this. Transfer credit might also be an issue. Complicating matters, some schools will require a portfolio for transfer. (If he decided on another major then this is not relevant.)
Like others said, will depend on the school.
But I’d point out, anyone who gets into more than one school has turned someone down.
And many kids and families really fret over that decision - wondering, was it right?
If they’ve been there two or three weeks, I don’t see how you could possibly make that assumption at this point. Who is to say they wouldn’t be struggling at the other school either?
I would let the semester ride out - are there social issues or academic issues? Lots of kids have bad roomies or can’t find friends.
For many it gets better….but going elsewhere isn’t necessarily the solution.
I think you made a commitment and it’s a premature discussion. You may think you know - but do you really?
Few schools allow transfers mid-semester, but this will all depend on the destination school. DS declined admission at one school that told him that should he later wish to transfer, he could. I also know kids who were heavily solicited by schools as recruits and subsequently tried to transfer to them without success.
With all that said, it’s awfully early in the year to have concluded that the current school was the wrong choice. Unless there is some very grave issue (i.e., medical issue requiring regular access to a specific type of facility/staff), I would do everything possible to make the current situation work. If it’s still wrong in spring, pursue the transfer.