Currently a freshman at American University, majoring in International Affairs (AU is #8 for this major and I went to pursue this major). I’m not vibing with the culture of this school at all so I’m considering transferring to Notre Dame. I’d transfer to ND as a Global Affairs major at Keough School. I feel like I should do more to optimize my application but I don’t really know what areas I can strengthen between now and March.
High School Stats: → 34 ACT (35E, 35R, 31M, 34S) → 13 AP’s all 4’s → Varsity Track & XC captain → Model UN Captain → Catholic prep school that fed into ND → 3.5 UW GPA (yeah it’s cooked), 3.97 W
College Stats: → Intern in the House of Representatives fall & spring this year (HFAC)(~18 hrs weekly) → On the #1 collegiate Model UN team in the country (8.9% acceptance rate) (hopefully I win some awards) → Working on a startup, but the metrics are bad right now and they won’t improve much before I send my app. → GPA should be above 3.9 this semester → Taking Calc 2 and some 400/500 level courses next semester
– You have been at your college for a short period. Give it time. There is much to recommend American, especially in your major. The ECs available at American are a plus.
– In general I am not a fan of planning a transfer so soon. This thought can get in the way of your developing friendships, creating relationships with professors, getting involved in ECs, etc. It is fine to put in a few applications if you like, but don’t count on a transfer working out.
– If you definitely want to transfer you need to expand your application list beyond ND.
– If financial aid is needed, understand that it can be harder to come by as a transfer student.
–A successful transfer can absolutely be made, but it is not always easy. You will start a new college where friendships have been established, where students are in routines ans understand the expectations of professors, etc. and much will be new to you.
thank you for the advice, i haven’t let this get in the way of me forming a connection at AU though. I feel very “in” but I just have a problem with the campus culture and some events out of my control. I know a lot of ppl at ND so the making new friends part is less of a concern to me
#8 in the US for your major is a very high ranking.
My biggest concern here is the risk of transferring and discovering that you don’t like some aspects of the new university. Nowhere is perfect. Wherever you go you will find something that isn’t quite right.
As one example that applies to a lot of schools, my suspicion is that if I had been in university almost anywhere in the US over the past year I would have been uncomfortable with some of the political protests that have occurred. Fortunately my daughters are both in graduate/doctorate programs, and graduate students are relatively more likely to be focused on their academic programs. This may be partly because these programs are so academically demanding that you have to be.
As another example, I have heard comments about academic politics (such as rivalry between professors) at a wide range of schools.
As people get older at least some of us tend to become a bit more tolerant of imperfection among our fellow humans. We have seen so much of it.
My other comment is that since you are in your first semester at AU, your high school grades are going to matter quite a bit. I would expect that transfer decisions won’t be made until after first semester grades are available, but that still gives admissions only one single semester of university grades to consider. Of course there is nothing that you can do about this (none of us have a functional time machine) other than do well in your current classes at AU.
Certainly you can apply to transfer. You have at least until you hear back (perhaps in the spring) to decide whether you actually want to do it. If you are accepted to transfer, then you still could choose, if you want to, to stay put.
Which suggests that you do your best in your current classes, apply to transfer, but also make an effort to get involved at your current university as much as is reasonably possible.
Are you still planning to transfer? What was the problem? We are trying to decide for my son now and AU is one of his top choices so any feedback would be appreciated!