When should I transfer?
Hey everyone,
I’m a current freshman at a top liberal arts college, and I’ve gotten myself into a pretty annoying dilemma.
I originally came into this school with the goal of transferring. The school wasn’t very high on my list, and although I knew academically it was extremely strong, I didn’t think I’d fit here.
However, I’ve been pleasantly surprised. Socially, it’s been great, and the recruiting resources have far exceeded what I expected. Every week we have a new bank or hedge fund with alumni coming in to help us students, which I know is standard at most target schools, but I was under the impression my school wouldn’t have these same opportunities yet it’s shown to be even better since there’s only 20 kids at a Goldman info session as opposed to 500 kids at larger schools fighting to get a word with the alums. I’ve also had a few coffee chats with alumni already and they are super responsive and helpful.
Now here’s the real issue, in coming here with the goal of transferring, I got my parents way too excited about the possibilities, and now all they can think about is when I can leave this school and transfer to some Ivy. It seems pointless to me at this point, because I’m enjoying all aspects of this school and most importantly I’m sure I’ll be fine recruiting wise for high finance, yet they still persist.
My parents really want me to apply to transfer this year, and then join my new school beginning of my sophomore year. I’m super skeptical of this now because I’m thinking, if I do leave this school, I’ll lose all the club involvements and alumni connections I’ve made so far. It’s only been 2 months and I’ve done so much, I can’t imagine how far I’ll be by spring time. If I do leave, I’ll have to fight to even just be a member of these top clubs at the ivies, and on top of that I’ll be way behind on networking etc when recruiting literally starts right at the beginning of your sophomore year.
My possible solution is this- tell my parents I’ll transfer after my sophomore year, joining the new school my junior year. This way, I can still recruit and land my role without any major bumps, and then just join my new school after I already have a role secured. You may wonder why I don’t just tell my parents that I don’t want to transfer at all, and it comes to the simple fact that they are fully paying for my tuition. That isn’t a small favor that’s a huge one and I’m not just going to completely disobey them, the least I could do is apply to transfer for their sake. But I’m wondering if my solution seems feasible.
Please let me know what you think, thanks.
Based on the most helpful WSO content, your situation is not uncommon, and your proposed solution of transferring after sophomore year seems like a reasonable compromise. Here are some key considerations to help you make an informed decision:
Recruiting Timeline:
Social and Academic Transition:
Parental Expectations:
Long-Term Perspective:
Recommendation:
Your solution to transfer after sophomore year is both feasible and strategic. It allows you to maximize the resources and connections at your current school while keeping the door open to transferring later. Be transparent with your parents about your reasoning, emphasizing how this approach aligns with both your career goals and their aspirations for you.
Sources: Stay for recruiting or study abroad in junior spring?, Should I Slow Down?, Transfer from Lower Target to Higher Target, I Transferred Schools for Investment Banking, Are transfers really screwed?
The best time is to transfer into your fall sophmore year after applying freshman spring.Also you could do freshman spring from freshman fall.
If you're going to transfer, 100% transfer going into your sophomore > junior year; it only gets harder the more time you spend at your original school, socially and recruiting-wise. But overall, if you're happy @ your current school and legitimately see no upside to transferring, then I recommend having the tough conversation with your parents and letting them know this. If transferring out is definitely not worthwhile, then putting yourself through the struggles of adjusting to a brand new school, making new friends and leaving old ones, is not worth it. - From a transfer student who liked their original school
Bro I'm sorry but if you are getting great opportunities, doing well academically, and feel like you're growing, you shouldn't care. My advice is tell your parents that you are doing great where you are at, show them that you are learning and getting great opportunities. At the end of the day you need to live your life at some point.
I dont know if you've already had a conversation with them or not, but I'm sure they just want you to be the best version of yourself (maybe idk). Show them that you are and maybe that'll get them to change their minds.
You sound like you haven't communicated things well, sit down and have a real convo and tell them how things are and what YOU want-- if they disagree then just go on with their plan or whatever, if not then your problems are fixed.
Sincerely,
Someone who spent most of his life trying to please his parents (still am a bit)
Maximize for your own happiness man. Life is too short to spend it all on chasing parents approval especially when you have seemingly found happiness at your school. Ivy's are also significantly more competitive (though obviously top-end outcomes on average are better). On a more important note, you're going to be working very long hours for the two years after college, you ideally want to get to at least enjoy your college experience (which is not a guartnee if you transfer, but seemingl is if you stay).
You could always mess up your transfer applications so you get rejected. Then you can avoid the uncomfortable conversation, and they would be more impressed when you landed a top role out of your current school. Not advocating for this, but it’s an option.
I mean they could also just get rejected even if they weren't intending to...not like it's particularly easy to transfer into an Ivy
Sack up and tell your parents that you are capable of making your own decisions.
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