So about a year ago I realized I wasn’t at the right school for me. When I was a high school senior I didn’t really think about where I wanted to go or what I wanted to do.
Unfortunately, my first year’s GPA was low, so I had to delay my applications.
That being said, what kind of schools will accept a student interested in Finance/Economics with the following information?
Current School: University of Oklahoma
College GPA: 3.14
Hours: 48 (plus 39 hours of AP Credit)
ACT: 34
High School GPA: 3.7
I would like to think I could get into a better business school, but based on my first year performance, I am not very confident in my ability to transfer.
I think I can afford basically any school, even up to Ivies. But if there are any schools that tend to be more generous with financial aid and scholarships, that would be preferable, as I don’t want to finish school with a ridiculous amount of debt. In my current situation, my tuition costs are almost entirely covered.
With that said, I want to transfer because I think I can get into a school that will give me better opportunities upon graduation, like better pay and better location ( I don’t want to stay in Oklahoma).
So my question is, would transferring pay off in the long run? If the cost of a different school is low compared to the benefits of the transfer, than I don’t mind higher school costs.
I wouldn’t want to stay in Oklahoma either after hearing about their vendetta against AP U.S. History!
I forgot to also mention, since you have so much credit already, you could probably graduate a semester early or so, which would save you some money.
Back to your main concern though. Since you are applying as a sophomore (that’s what I got from your context) your high school stats would still be a large factor for admission. So it’s to your advantage to transfer as soon as possible for your high school stats to still carry weight.
Is there a reason your college GPA is kind of low? Just maladjustment to the college?
As for colleges, I would look in colleges ranked about the 20s-30s and beyond. Any criteria for narrowing down a list?
GPA is low because I acted like a high schooler for my first year. Second year I did a lot better, and was more responsible with my time
As far as narrowing schools down, I want to be at a school with a strong business reputation, specifically in finance and/or economics, and I guess one with generous grants/ scholarships wouldn’t be bad either.
Schools that have a local music scene are also really interesting to me, I always like to meet other people to play with.
With a 3.14 CGPA you are not prepared for a more demanding school. Get and keep your act together and stay at OU. If you can afford any school you will not get need based aid. With that GPA you will certainly not get merit aid.
I don’t know if this helps or hurts but my first year, I was a petroleum engineering major, and those classes are the source of my low GPA. I have made A’s and B’s in all coursework for my current major.
I just thought I would mention this because I’m not sure if that would change how other schools look at my transcript.
The petroleum engineer thing could probably be mentioned in a ‘special circumstances’ spot (or something of the like) on an application, because as far as the colleges know, you got a 3.14 as a finance major.