Incoming Freshman at T5/T10 LAC thinking about transferring
Hey everyone,
I’m an incoming first-year student at a top LAC. While I’m genuinely grateful to be here and fully intend to give the school a fair chance during my first semester, I’m increasingly feeling like the environment might not align with what I want out of my college experience long-term. I've attended small schools my whole life and going to a small school for college makes me feel like I'm missing out on a lot of personal growth and opportunity. I'm realizing I might prefer a much larger, higher-density campus with a wider variety of student perspectives and cross-disciplinary energy.
I'm interested in Pre-Law and potentially majoring in Philosophy. My target transfer list for sophomore entry would primarily be top research universities and Ivies (specifically UPenn, Columbia, etc.) where I can find that larger urban footprint and interdisciplinary scale.
A few quick questions for anyone who’s been down this path:
- For those who transferred from a small LAC to an urban university, how did you frame this transition in your "Why Transfer" essay?
- How early in the Fall semester did you start approaching professors for transfer recommendation letters?
I would appreciate any advice, insights, or experiences from anyone who has also transferred out of a LAC (or just anyone in a similar boat to me in general)!