<p>I’m currently a bio/biotech major at RIT. The school is fine, it’s just that I really feel like it’s not right for me. I honestly couldn’t tell you what made me decide to come here, I almost feel like I just ended up here on accident. A lot of the students are just too antisocial and awkward. Also, I grew up in Rochester, I don’t want to be here for the rest of my life.</p>
<p>I’m looking for schools to which I could transfer. Two that I’ve been looking at are UC Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz. I’m really liking UCSC but I’m afraid I might be taking a step down academically (even though RIT’s bio department is nothing special). I’m still looking, but for some reason, even though it’s so far away, I’m really liking the idea of the west coast.</p>
<p>I’m just looking for some other colleges I should be considering. I want something with a nice biology department, obviously, but I’m not sure what field of bio I want to get into yet. I would also really like someplace with nice weather and a nice campus, it’s oddly important to me. I think this might part of the reason I’m unhappy with RIT. I realize it’s super late in the year, but I was also hoping I could find somewhere I could transfer for next year, or at least second semester/third trimester of next year.</p>
<p>Also, I got a 1910 on my SATs and I currently have a 4.0 at RIT, I figured this might be important.</p>
<p>Would you mind going into detail about why you don’t like RIT anymore? I’m asking as it’s one of the schools I applied to and I am starting to hear bad things about the school. I would suggest SUNYs for you though. University at Buffalo might be the best match for you as it has a fairly large campus with a lot of students. Although the winters can get bad there, during the summer you can enjoy the huge city of Buffalo, visit Niagara Falls only minutes away, or occasionally cross the boarder and have fun in Canada once in a while.</p>
<p>Okay, well the school is okay depending on what your major will be. If it’s engineering, that’s great. If it’s really anything else, I wouldn’t consider it worth it to go here. After coming here I’ve come to the realization that my department is very weak.</p>
<p>The whole school is just very depressing. It’s possible to get involved, but I feel that the school lacks any sense of community. While experiences are going to be different for everyone, I don’t want to be wasting 15K a year at a school I don’t like.</p>
<p>I have considered SUNYs, I applied to UB last year, got in and seriously considered going. After I visited I changed my mind though. I’m still going to look at the other SUNYs, but I feel like I need something very different, I don’t want to wind up somewhere that’s just RIT with a different name.</p>
<p>You haven’t talked about your budget and that would be important, because you won’t get any real scholarships as a transfer student. Have you checked out the UC system? There is quite a bit of information on UC schools here. You have to be able to afford to fly, so there are additional travel costs. This time of year, the weather gets kind of monotonous in the NE and you can’t wait for spring to come. Santa Barbara is one of the most beautiful places in CA! (IMHO) You need to do a little research and get going if you want to transfer soon. RIT is trimester, so it would be best to transfer at the end of a complete year and even so, you need to check out how those credits transfer to other schools. I know RIT is ending trimester system some time soon, but that is a real consideration. YOLO</p>
<p>It’s difficult for an OOS student to transfer into a UC. The UCs have TAG agreements with the Calif CCs who need to transfer in.</p>
<p>What are your parents saying about how much they’ll pay? A Calif UC isn’t going to give you much aid…especially as a transfer. If they accepted you, they’d be doing so for the revenue. </p>
<p>Besides, you won’t be able to submit a transfer app to a UC until next fall. </p>
<p>No matter what you do, if you need FA, then do NOT cut ties with your current school until you’ve seen the FA pkgs of your new schools and your parents agree with the new terms.</p>
<p>As far as cost goes, I realize that I’m probably going to wind up paying more than I am now. I don’t exactly have a set price range, I’m taking the loans out on my own. Cheaper is always better, certainly, but I feel that higher expenses is something I’m not going to easily avoid.</p>
<p>UCs will be about $22,000 per year short of meeting need for out-of-state students (that is the amount of the out-of-state tuition surcharge). Check their financial aid estimators.</p>
<p>The most transfer-friendly schools may be the public universities in your state of residency.</p>
<p>If you want to stay with the SUNY’s, look at Stony Brook. There are numerous LAC’s that have strong science programs and are smaller in size. These may offer more options for a student to become active in the student community. Eckerd college in St. Petersburg just opened their new James Center for Molecular and Life Sciences. They have a marine science building on the bay and the largest number of Hollings Scholars in the US. There is a very active student led organization for students. A professor mentor program is highly regarded. Best of luck to you, hope you find a “good match”.</p>