I am preparing to transfer from community college. I am unsure of how competitive of a transfer applicant I am, and have had trouble narrowing down my college search because of this. Heres a little about me:
3.6 GPA, 4.0 Math/Science (Calc 1-3, Diff Eq, Bio 1/2, Chem1/2, Phys w/ calc 1/2, Anatomy&Physiology 1/2).
Leadership positions in clubs. Two jobs at the college as an academic tutor. Selected to sit on the Board of Directors of the college as the student voice. Lobbied my state government for education etc.
Also had an internship in my field of study.
Where should I be looking? How competitive am I at selective schools? What is possible/reasonable for me?
I prefer smaller schools, undergraduate focused, research opportunities, southeast, mid-atlantic or northeast. Any suggestions on where to look?
Your profile is very good. You will have nice options for admission, but need to think about affordability. What does the Transfer Advisor at your CC suggest? If the one at your CC only knows about the state public Us, ask to be put in contact with one of their colleagues who has experience with the colleges/universities you might target.
@ucbalumnus I am not sure what grade level I will be admitted as. It seems it depends on how many credits are accepted by my transfer institution. I would like to major in neuroscience, cognitive science, or psychology. I have also considered CS/engineering at a larger state school.
@happymomof1 Thank you this is a great idea, I will definitely look for an advisor that better fits my target.
Also, I live in FL and can probably go out of state with some financial aid. Will the LAC’s give aid to transfer students?
Given your stellar performance on your Math and Science courses, you could major in engineering/computer science or pre-med (general) or use engineering major as your premed. Are you doing organic chemistry I now?
I was going to recommend the University of Miami Neuroscience Program, but they require a 3.8 transfer GPA. I think you should apply anyways. New College of Florida, UF and FAU Wilkes Honors College (if they allow transfer) might be a good fit for you.
There are a fair number of colleges and universities that do offer a certain amount of merit aid to CC students who belong to Phi Theta Kappa, or who have the grades for membership but don’t attend a CC with an active PTK chapter. Come are listed here: https://www.ptk.org/default.aspx
Often merit aid for transfers from CCs is reserved for students who complete a full associates degree. So investigate that too.
Thank you all so much! Your input and encouragement is very helpful.
I compared schools I was interested in with “meets 100% of needs” schools. Do I stand a chance at selective schools like Swarthmore or Williams? How about Tufts, Grinnell, Connecticut College or Boston College?
Among Florida publics, New College of Florida is the smallest (a public LAC with under 1,000 students, although it has no engineering and minimal CS if that is the direction you want to take). The next smallest public school in Florida is Florida A&M at over 10,000 students. Since Florida public schools use a common course numbering system, determining transfer credit should be easy.
What kind of price limit are you looking at? There are some out-of-state smaller public schools with relatively low list prices (e.g. Truman State and Minnesota - Morris for LAC-type schools and the “mines” schools in South Dakota and New Mexico for engineering and CS), but if your price limit is much lower, they are unlikely to reduce the price further with financial aid to you as an out-of-state student.
