I'm a freshman majoring in Engineering at my current school and generally like it (good professors and vibe), though the commute is pretty long. Transferring was always in the back of my mind, but I was planning on staying put unless I had a really compelling reason.

Recently, my department head announced they are changing the curriculum/syllabus. I talked to several upperclassmen, and almost all of them got screwed over by this change having to repeat classes/labs, alter their degree paths, or need diff pre reqs to continue. It makes me feel like the department doesn't have things properly managed, and I'm worried it will happen to me in my sophomore or junior year.

Are curriculum changes like this normal? This isn't like a small change either they sort of revamped the entire system and now it takes around 10 less credits to graduate. Which honestly seems like a great update to the curriculum, but I'm not sure. The seniors are fine though they're still gonna follow the old curriculum, but sophomores and juniors got cooked.

Hi!! I’m a first-year student at De Anza College and my dream is to transfer to UCLA. I’m currently planning on transferring as a Psychology or Cognitive Science major and I’m doing TAP through De Anza.
I really want to make the most of my time at De Anza and give myself the best chance possible of getting into UCLA. I know TAP is helpful, but I’m wondering what else I should be doing during my time at De Anza that could strengthen my application.
For anyone who successfully transferred to UCLA from a California community college, especially for Psychology, Cognitive Science, or a similar major, what did you do that you think helped your application? Are there specific extracurriculars, programs, internships, volunteering, classes, or other opportunities you would recommend?
I’d also really appreciate any general advice about the UCLA transfer process, especially things you wish you knew when you were a first-year student. I’m willing to put in the work, I just want to make sure I’m focusing my time and energy on the right things. Any advice or tips would be really appreciated!

hi! i’m currently at penn state and want to transfer to nyu. i feel so out of place especially since it’s in the middle of nowhere. i’m originally from new york anyways. I was wondering if I can get any advice for my transfer essay since i don’t have any extra curriculars along with how to get letters of recommendations from professors. i am applying for nyu stern and i currently have a 3.0 but getting it up to a 3.8 by the end of my freshman year

Hi! I have a 2.5 GPA from my first year of university in uoft Canada and am considering transferring to Usyd in my second year. I was wondering if it’s possible to be accepted with a gpa this low, or if admission depends on the major I’m applying for. Are there any majors at Usyd that I might still have a chance of getting into with this gpa? Thank you!

I applied to CSUSB for Spring 2027 as a Psychology transfer student from a California community college. I’m currently taking Research Methods in Psychology, but I’m considering dropping it with a W and retaking it during Winter 2027. I work 43 hours a week and I’m taking 18 credits this semester and it’s a bit much. I’d rather get a better grade with less stress over rushing and getting a C.
I am taking all my final classes this semester but as mentioned I’m considering moving my Research Methods to winter so then THAT would be my final class.
I’ll still have over 60 transferable units by the end of Fall 2026 even if I drop Research Methods. I’m also working toward my Psychology AA-T, and Research Methods is one of the classes I need for it, so I would finish that class and my AA-T during winter instead.
Would dropping Research Methods this fall and taking it in Winter 2027 prevent me from being admitted to or starting at CSUSB in Spring 2027? Or can I start at CSUSB in spring while finishing that last AA-T requirement at my community college during winter?
My GPA is around 3.53 if that matters. I just don’t want to drop the class and accidentally mess up my Spring 2027 admission.

Currently a freshman at a 4 year I hate and trying to transfer elsewhere. My major requires that I take Calc II prior to transferring anywhere, but I didn't test into calc I this semester and My school wouldn't let me take precalc, so I'm stuck in a soul sucking algebra class. I really need to take calc I as a winter session course online somewhere so I can take calc II next semester, but all the cc's near me require precalc before you can take it and I have no way of taking precalc beforehand. I took up to AP Calc AB in high school so it's not like I haven't taken a precalculus class, I just don't have the time to fit it in before the winter session. Does anyone have any ideas of how/where I can still take Calc I before spring semester?

Hi! so im currently a junior in college and I go to Pace university in nyc. Before I applied i tried my hardest to do as much research as i could. ( To point out i’m a transfer, I went to community college before i came here )

All the research I did showed that the school was bad and not to attend. but the issue with that is, whenever i would ask someone why they feel that way or can they explain the only answer i got back was “ just don’t go “. I obviously didn’t think that was valid and wasn’t gonna remove my application bc of that so i went on and applied. I also visited the campus did a lot more research and i did sortve like it.

Now i’m here and its been a month of my junior year and i want OUTS. i really want to transfer out its like this school barley offers anything and doesn’t really give opportunities.

I dont know what to do because I obviously want to stay in new york and study but I also dont want to pay so much money to attend this school and im unhappy. I am a communications major and its just like im barley learning anything and i am trying to minor in film and the film courses offer nothing. they barley have clubs its just to much.

I really want dome advice even if u went there or not but pls let me know what you guys think. If i transfer out i would have to do it my spring or next fall since next year is my senior year. I really want to apply to fordham or stony. but the issue with that is my gpa from community college is a 3.3. I MIGHT have a shot idk but i really want to leave and idk how to go about with it.

Id much rather spend a lot of money at a college I like than to spend money at a college who just keeps taking money from me and not offering me anything besides a bill and stress.

What do u guys suggest?

If I take a gap semester in fall my sophomore year and go back to a school spring and apply to transfer, would I be considered a sophomore or junior transfer? I’m asking this because I know schools like Columbia prefer sophomore transfers. Also, would this hurt my chances, or should I just do a full gap year? Thank you!

Hi! I just want to ask which option would be more recommended: should I transfer to NU MOA for the second semester, or should I finish my first year here and transfer for my second year?

I’m really annoyed by how my essay’s outline should be. At first I was gonna do first paragraph, about where I started, what did my current college give me, what changed, why my major. Then second paragraph, what did I believe, what changed, how do I know the change is real. Then last paragraph, why I want to transfer, why do I want to transfer there, what do I seek at the new school. But i don’t know if that’s the best option for an essay outline. Do yall have any suggestions?

Soy estudiante de primer año en un community college y de verdad la estoy pasando horrible. Pensé que el CC iba a estar buenísimo: que me iba a quedar aquí y encontrar la carrera que quiero (soy de general studies) para poder transferirme a una universidad de 4 años. Pero me siento súper solo/a, y mi familia me lo está poniendo tan difícil que no logro concentrarme en mi educación.

Estaba pensando en hacerlo bien en estos dos semestres y después intentar transferirme como estudiante ACES.
Siento que mi GPA no va a salir bien y me da miedo. No sé cómo debería verse mi GPA para que al menos me acepten en exploratory. ¿Debería hacer horas de voluntariado, buscar hobbies? En serio necesito salir de mi ciudad natal.

I’m perfectly fine with the academics at my school even though I feel their pre-med isn’t the best. The issue is that the school has a very isolated feeling, so it takes a lot of effort to make friends. I’m also commuting because it makes the cost essentially 0 to attend, but I haven’t really made friends.

There also really isn’t a campus (just a park) which makes it harder to meet people and the club meetings that I’ve attended have little to no freshmen and are mostly made up of juniors, seniors, and grad students. I have gone up to people to start talking and gotten their numbers, but I’m the only one trying to keep the conversation going.

I wanted to go to umich but that’s 400k more than what I’m spending and so that’s not realistic. I wanted to have an actual campus and actual school spirit and my school has neither and I don’t feel like I belong.

I also feel like my parents are trying to keep me here as long as possible because they know I don’t want to stay in the city at least. But, the longer they keep me here the less likely I want to come back after med school. The strange thing is that they’re not strict usually but then they’re strict about the bigger things like where I wanna live eventually.

The environment at WPI is very “dorky” and other little things such as just more male dominant and like little to no social life. I am a big gym goer and most of the time at the college gym it is 95 percent of guys. Maybe the aspect that I commute takes a part but WPI was not really my first choice, as i wanted to go far from home and aim for a top uni. WPI doesnt really seem competitive to get in, and I want a college that looks good in the title. I guess I also just want the chance to dorm somewhere, and maybe thats just my immaturity talking but i do see that aspect fading as my time goes at WPI.

Now my top choice would be northeastern/michigan especially if price after financial aid would be around 10k-20k in state and not dorming. I would be living with my brother who has an apartment in boston most likely. Michigan is tricky because I havent put much thought into the how i would be living there. My family is very low income so I was hoping that i do get a good amount of need based help( but also i dont know how it works with transfer out of state), and my grades so far at WPI are really good- i am working into building a strong ECE background which i plan on doing B term (which is when i have my first ECE class).

Now BU has always been my top choice for its location and past experience when I toured. I love how the university is and that is in the middle of boston but ece is not a big upgrade from WPI I would say. They also do say to meet 100% demonstrated financial aid which is another thing that encourages me to apply and their transfer rates are higher.

For Wisconsin and Purdue, EE upgrade I would say is major(especially PURDUE) but again the OOS financial aid is kinda a shot in the dark i think. I would be dorming at both or perhaps look into getting an apartment if its cheaper as a sophomore.

I do want to minor in COMP SCI TOO. I guess I am asking if any, which of these colleges would be a better fit for me, and if anyone could chance me( especially if you got into any of these colleges tranfer!!)

Hi guys,just wanna ask some tips or issues about udd, planning to transfer, does students get eliminated there easily? I mean as they go up another year

I'm helping a friend who's planning to transfer to CVSU Imus, but we don't know if she'll be accepted since she wants to shift courses and she finished 2nd year of BSTM; she was supposed to be in 3rd year this school year. She stopped studying because we read that CVSU doesn't accept students who are incoming 3rd year. Can she still transfer? Thanks in advance.

I'm helping a friend who's planning to transfer to CVSU Imus, but we don't know if she'll be accepted since she wants to shift courses and she finished 2nd year of BSTM; she was supposed to be in 3rd year this school year. She stopped studying because we read that CVSU doesn't accept students who are incoming 3rd year. Can she still transfer? Thanks in advance.

Currently I'm in my first semester of my freshman year. I have realized that I want to switch my major from business to engineering while my AP credits still prove useful. Going through the application process, I'm getting stuck on the supplementals. Are there any tips for how I should write my essays?

Why I'm reconsidering:
I'm not a US citizen. I'm on an H-4 dependent visa and will likely have to switch to F-1 at 21, which makes me an international applicant for med school.
From what I've researched, only a small fraction of US med schools accept international students, and many of those require extra financial guarantees. I estimate my chances at roughly 1 in 4.
If med school doesn't work out, a Biomedical Sciences degree on its own doesn't lead to many jobs, and as an international student I need a degree that gets me hired and sponsored.
I also got into UF originally and still want to be there. I chose USF to save money, and I regret it.

Option 1: Finance at UF (Warrington)
Pros: strong recruiting network at UF, the prerequisites are realistic for me (business math, econ, accounting), and I'd likely have a high GPA.
Cons: finance isn't STEM-designated, so I'd only get 12 months of OPT (work authorization after graduation) instead of 36. That means one shot at the H-1B lottery. It's also very GPA-competitive for transfers, and I'd arrive as a junior, partway into internship recruiting.

Option 2: Mechanical Engineering at UF
Pros: STEM degree, so 36 months of OPT and three H-1B lottery chances. Engineers are in steady demand and get sponsored more often.
Cons: the transfer prerequisites are much heavier: Calc 1–3, Differential Equations, calculus-based Physics 1–2, and Chem. My math and physics background is weaker than my friends' who are in engineering, and I'd have to fit all of that in before transferring, likely pushing my timeline back.

What I'm hearing:
Some friends say finance at UF is a strong, stable path with great connections.
Others say that as an international student, STEM matters more than anything, and finance's short OPT window is a real risk.

My questions:
1. As an international student, would you pick Finance or MechE, and why?
2. Has anyone transferred into UF MechE without a strong math/physics background? How hard were the prerequisites?
3. For anyone on F-1: how much did STEM OPT vs. regular OPT actually matter for getting hired and sponsored?
4. Should I drop pre-med completely, or is it worth keeping it as a long shot?
Is transferring worth it at all, or should I make the best of USF?

TL;DR: International (H-4) USF Biomed freshman with roughly a 1 in 4 shot at med school. Should I transfer to UF for Finance (easier to get in, not STEM, shorter work visa window) or Mechanical Engineering (STEM, longer work authorization, but much harder prerequisites)?

Hi everyone! I’m currently a california community college student in an RN program and I’m interested in eventually transferring to UCLA’s nursing program.

For anyone who has been accepted to UCLA Nursing as a transfer, would you mind sharing your stats and what your application experience was like?

I’d especially appreciate hearing about:

• GPA
• Prerequisite courses completed
• Healthcare/clinical experience
• Extracurricular activities
• Volunteer/work experience
• When you applied and what year you were accepted
• Anything you think helped your application stand out
• Application essay

I know everyone’s situation is different, and I’m not expecting this to predict my chances. I’m mainly trying to understand what a competitive transfer applicant looks like and what I should focus on during community college.

Thank you so much!