My D is a freshman at UNC. We are NC residents. She had a rough time with some personal issues in HS and thought she’d want to stay close to home. She now feels like she wants to have a different college experience and the idea of city life outside NC is appealing.
Without sharing too much, I think a change would be beneficial.
UNC is a great school. But she doesn’t want to be in college in NC.
She is an excellent student who probably could have been accepted at many universities. She wants to major in some form of liberal arts, yet tbd.
She has a little social anxiety and would like a college where she can be in a dorm all 4 years. Or, at least through jr. year.
I realize we hit the jackpot with this amazing school in our state. But she wants to spread her wings and experience a different kind of life experience. We know we will be paying a lot more. But it is what will make her happy.
Anyone have suggestions? She was accepted to Wake Forest, Davidson, Elon, waitlisted at Duke and withdrew her application when she decided on UNC.
She wants to start at a new school as a sophomore. I don’t think I made that clear. She is open to any part of the country other than NC or FL
Thank you
Is she looking to attend college in a city?
We are from NC. Mine decided on William and Mary. Great liberal arts school. He’s been very happy.
Ideally, yes
I think part of the issue is 2nd year vs 3rd year transfer. Not all schools want. You have to research.
But Lafayette has most on campus all four years.
Others to look at - Wesleyan, Vassar, Hendrix, Denison, Maine schools, Sewanee.
Bigger schools may not have four year in campus housing required but may have the capacity - yiu can go most any flagship or sub school.
Vandy, Cornell etc like 2nd year but you may need to give up a bit of pedigree to make a 2nd year happen.
Ok I just saw city. Vandy, maybe Lafayette, Emory, Brandeis,Syracuse, Rochester etc but not all are four years required.
Vanderbilt requires students live on campus all 4 years (or they did when we toured a couple years ago).
Yea and likes 2nd years.
Pitt, Barnard, Cornell (not a city but Ithaca is great), U of Richmond (not directly in the city), Emory (close, but not in), BU.
You would have to research the transfer policies.
Brandeis and Holy Cross are schools with lots and lots of resources academically but feel like a campus and a little cozier. Lehigh or Bucknell, Franklin and Marshall, Santa Clara (but not sure if guaranteed housing all 4 years), Boston College, Vassar (where I wish I had gone so many years later- just beautiful, everything I would have loved, sigh).
Thank you
You all seemed so well informed. is there a resource or platform that has information on transfer policies, or it is just looking school by school?
I should also mention that she wants a lot of social opportunities. She’s kind of “starting over” after some issues a few years ago. So a school with lots of social opportunities would be ideal.
And to be clear, she didn’t wait to see if she would have come off the waitlist at Duke. her HS counselor thought she had a very good shot. That was the most selective school she applied to and the only where she was not immediately accepted. She’s not afraid of a reach and she wants academic rigor. Thanks
Carnegie Mellon, Northeastern
Again, you would have to check the transfer policy.
This is unfortunate, my daughter realized this was potentially a problem growing up in Chapel Hill and opted to go to UVA and not UNC.
Initially it was difficult to acclimate in Charlottesville and making friends was more work but it definitely benefitted her in the long run. She would come home to Chapel Hill on breaks and she how high school relationships muddied the waters in college.
Vanderbilt, Northwestern, USC, Boston College & Kenyon College.
Consider spending sophomore year abroad and then returning to UNC. If UNC only requires 4 semesters on campus, she can then take another two semesters abroad. Some study abroad programs are just one semester, while others are for one academic year.
She can open up a common app transfer account, and look at schools’ policies and deadlines there. (Not all schools are on the common app tho) Typically there are more details on the websites as well. There is not one transfer resource with all the information. The vast majority of the schools take soph transfers, the UCs are a notable exception.
What major(s) is she interested in? In addition to some of the good suggestions so far, she might look at Northwestern and WashU. Is she interested in liberal arts schools of around 2,000 students?
A few questions:
- desired size of school?
- does she have a specific major or set of majors in mind? Not all colleges have every major.
- desired budget in terms of COA per year?
- other than “not in NC or FL,” are there any other geographic requirements? For example, “X” amount of a drive to an airport to make it easier to fly home on breaks. Or “no frozen tundra schools in places like Montana or Wyoming”?
- is suburban campus ok or is being in a city a must have?
- any other specific factors to consider? For example, “must have a KPOP club w/awesome dance moves.”
Note that for sophomore transfers, both high school and college records will be important. For junior transfers, college record will be the most important, with high school record being less important or not considered.
The student got into UNC and other selective schools. So they likely have a strong hs record.
I have a daughter at UNC who is from out of state and transferred her sophomore year and I can understand how huge and overwhelming it can be. My older daughter, who went to Sewanee, visited her and told me she was so glad she went to a smaller school. Have you looked at Sewanee in TN? Other options could be Centre College in Danville KY or Transylvania in Lexington. While they are not the top tier colleges like your daughter initially applied to, they all produce excellent students who go on to graduate school etc. I do think college is what you make of it and, in many cases, where someone went to undergrad doesn’t matter in the big picture. If she is interested in a top tier school I would check out W&L. Good luck and keep us posted. It is so hard to see your child struggling.