Transfering?

Q: How hard is it to transfer to another college?

A: Thanks for writing! I'm wondering - is there a particular college you really want to go to, or do you just want to be "anywhere but here!"?

If you have one specific college in mind, take a look at its transfer admissions Web site. That will tell you whether they accept sophomore-level transfers or just juniors. You'll also want to take a look at their statistics on how many transfer applicants are accepted. If you apply, be sure to get your application in early, and make every essay and every recommendation as strong as it can possibly be!

If you're thinking about transferring because you're not so happy with where you are now, the process will be a little bit different. You can look at a range of schools that accept sophomore-level transfers, and you can apply to "reaches" and "safeties" just like you did last year.

Along the way, of course you'll want to figure out which of your current credits will transfer. And while you're doing all this, make sure you're keeping your grades up and participating in extracurricular activities. This will make your applications stronger - and if you end up liking your current college and you decide to stay, no harm done!