I wanted to apply to BU as a transfer for 2025 fall after being rejected last admissions cycle, but I’ve really messed up my first semester as a Freshman. I really wasn’t in the right headspace and mental condition (which I realize isn’t an excuse), but I really wasn’t able to get the best grades or develop any relationships with my professors. I ended up with a 3.48 GPA, which is just the definition of ‘mid’. My classes were all huge, and I just really missed out on talking to my professors. I don’t think I’ll be able to get LORs for the deadline, considering that I’d have to get to know my current professors more and give them enough time to write one. I’ve been trying to be better this semester, but I just don’t think I can recover from such a horrible first semester.
Is it just doomed for me? Please be brutally honest, thank you.
“Can I transfer right now (or to start in September) to BU” and “Am I doomed” are two very, very different questions.
Transferring to BU to me seems unlikely right now. However, this may depend upon some information that you have not given us. As one (perhaps extreme) example, a 3.48 at MIT or Caltech might be interpreted differently compared to a 3.48 at community college. Where are you currently studying?
Usually transferring to a school that rejected you when you originally applied can be difficult, and is more likely to work if you have more than one semester in university and have a very good GPA.
On the other hand, getting a 3.48 GPA in your first semester of university is definitely not a disaster. Lots of students have recovered from way worse, and gone on to graduate and do well in life. To me a 3.48 GPA suggests that you are getting roughly half A’s and half B’s. There is an old saying “B’s get degrees”. Strictly speaking a few C’s can also be part of getting a degree, and having half A’s suggests that you are doing well in some of your classes (and probably okay in all of your classes).
Regarding class sizes, BU has about 18,000 undergraduate students (and roughly the same number of graduate students). I would expect that freshmen there also will find themselves with some large classes.
Why do you want to transfer to BU?
By the way, BU can be expensive depending upon your budget and what sort of financial aid you get. Do you know if you could afford BU even if you do get accepted?
I think that we need more information to give you useful information, other than to say “you are not doomed” and “do as well as you can where you are right now, it is definitely worth putting in the effort”.
Not to jump in on a small point but fyi the saying is “C’s get degrees” not B’s. I only call it out because there is already such grade inflation and pressure in this world and suggesting the “even a grade as low as a B” allows one to graduate (which is the point of the saying — if you get C’s you’ll still graduate) feels like it’s feeding a national obsession with A’s at all costs.
OP — I’ll share that I got a 2.0 my first semester freshman year after a brief stint thinking I wanted to be pre-med but ended up getting an MBA from a t-20 and a second grad degree at an Ivy. So no you are not doomed.