|
|
|
|
|
|
With Fran Northcutt, Honors Adviser, Hunter College
of the City University of New
York |
| | | |
|
|
|
|
|
Please remember to tell your friends about our Advicemail series -
they can register free here.
Q&A for the Head Advisor |
|
|
|
The names have been changed, but the questions are real...
Q:
How hard is it to transfer to another college?
-- Leaving Larry
A:
Hi Larry. 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!
Q:
I'm not sure how well I'm doing this semester.
How do probation and dismissal work? Basically,
how bad can my grades be before I get kicked out?
-- Probation Pauline
A:
Uh oh, Pauline - sounds like you may be in peril.
Most colleges require students to have a 2.0 GPA (that's a C average)
to remain in good academic standing. And in most cases,
a student may be placed on probation and given one or
two semesters to improve before being dismissed.
Notice my obsessive use of the word "most";
every college has its own standards and systems
when it comes to probation and dismissal.
There are a few things you can do right now to figure out
just how perilous your current peril is. First, take a look at
the standards described in your college catalog.
Second, research any additional standards that you need to meet,
whether they be for a scholarship you're receiving
or for a special academic program you would like to get into.
Third, estimate your current semester grades to the best of your ability.
What will your semester GPA be? How about your cumulative GPA for all of freshman year?
Fourth, gather up all this research and hightail it over to your academic advisor's office.
Good luck!
| |
| |
