<p>Jamimom, I disagree with you on this one, but then again I only have two kids. Transfer applications are possibly even more daunting than the first time around, when at least everyone around you is doing the same thing, and the GCs, for better or worse, are supposed to be helping.</p>
<p>My D was seriously unhappy with her school, to the point that when she was home, she was in tears about going back. She'd made every attempt to fit in, but the academic and social atmospheres were a poor fit for her. She basically did the apps herself, with moral support from me. Additionally, I took her on visits to two schools, and helped with getting the HS stuff (transcripts, recs). I also looked over her essay. Why wouldn't I give some help where it was needed? As some kind of test to see if she was serious? Seeing the misery she felt was enough, especially when I'd been there before, 24 years ago.</p>
<p>My advice to the OP is: make it clear to your parents WHY the schools you want to go to are different from Penn State. My D was in an Honors college, and it was clear that she felt a different level of academic curiosity and challenge than did most others there. Additionally, it turned out to be a party school, with little social life other than the garbage can full of spiked koolaid at a crowded frat. Also, the other students were spectacularly apathetic politically. So it was a matter of finding possible transfer schools which were a better fit for her. You need to do this, too, and be eloquent about why "Happy Valley" is not happy for you.</p>