Any advice ?
 

Hey everyone ! Im currently a student at a community college who transferred from a 4-year university, because i didn't like it there. Im now looking at transferring to either UF or UCF spring '12. I've read just about every thread about UF and sec schools and it kind of had me afraid to even try to Rush at UF or UCF as a junior. (yes i'm aware UCF isn't a "sec" school but i have heard it's getting very competitive) Is any one familiar with UF or UCF and how the recruitment chances are personally or had a friend who went through recruitment as transfer student at UF or UCF? I would be so appreciative if you could share there stories.

Thank you so much

if you keep your options open, and don't write any chapter off, you may stand a chance. both schools hold formal recruitment in the fall before school starts.

if there are any chapters that have not reached total, they may hold an informal spring recruitment, which might be your best bet, if you are transferring in the spring and you will be a junior.

start collecting recommendations now, in anticipation of participating in spring informal recruitment. they would be a big help to you , as a transfer, non-freshman student.

again, i cannot stress enough that you give ALL the chapters participating in informal recruitment a chance-i know it will be hard, but you should try.

^^^everything FSUZeta said, and this: keep your GPA high and remember this: it only takes ONE.

To put it more bluntly, be open to accepting "the worst house on campus." I don't know anything directly about these schools but they are both big successful systems and that last house would still offer you an excellent experience and lifetime of opportunity. Plus, if more girls were open to this, they wouldn't BE "the worst house on campus." Besides, best/worst is all completely personal and relative and can quickly change.

I think your odds would improve if you could transfer for your sophomore year instead of junior, but of course your education comes first, so if there's a reason for you to stay at CC longer, then that's what matters most.

Thank you so much for being honest !
I'm looking into transferring sooner but because of how my credits have transferred to the two different schools my adviser spoke to me about obtaining my AA degree first. Seeing as UF doesn't accept "lower level division transfers" (you have to have 60 credits or more) & UCF has minimal spots open for "lower level division transfers" my best shot would be waiting to receive my AA the end of dec of 2011. Which bums me out :(

But on the upside i would most defiantly keep and open mind when going into rush. I have two recs as of now but i'm defiantly going to try to get more before i rush.
My mom also did some research on UAB & Troy and saw they had great science programs so i am looking at those schools to possibly transfer as a 2nd semester sophomore this upcoming fall. Although i'm not sure how UAB and Troys rush works, and how competitive it is.

You're going to defiantly keep an open mind? ;)


.....Kelly :)

definitely* sorry :)

uab has a great science department and medical school. it is located in downtown birmingham and there is no greek housing. i don't think recruitment is especially competitive.

Neither UAB nor Troy are all that competitive. There are five NPC sororities at Troy and four at UAB.

I watched the tour on Youniveristy.com and fell in LOVE with UAB i am going to apply there for sure!

Although its not that competitive would it still be wise to get recs?

Yes, go ahead and get recs. If no one shows up here from UAB I'll ask the sorority women I know how important they are, but I imagine the situation is similar to my campus: it isn't as crucial as it would be at a competitive school, but it's certainly worth your while to get them. You'll stand out in a positive way before you even get there. Since there are so few chapters you have plenty of time to find connections before you show up for recruitment. You've probably seen this, but just in case:
http://main.uab.edu/Sites/students/life/leadership/greek/48517/
I have relatives that go there, and they love it! I've only met members of the Alpha Gam and DG chapters, but they were all really sweet.

Plan a campus visit: once you know where everything is it's easy to get around and you have so many choices for food/entertainment/academic resources right there downtown. Visit Al's to get lunch while you're there!

Im not familiar with alabama but i heard its really nice and the weather is amazing. I just asked my mom and were going to plan a trip to go up there next month to visit UAB and Troy! Im excited now, kinda feel like a high school senior all over again. lol
Im going to definitely get the recs. Is it better to stay on campus when you want to go through with rush? I won't know anyone there so i'm thinking it would be a better way for me to be involved.
I will check at Al's! What kind of food do they serve?

I grew up in Mountain Brook (a suburb of Birmingham), so I can tell you this...great temperatures, horrible humidity, haha. I know more about UAB since I have relatives that attend school there, but I've heard good things about Troy, too. I have to admit I don't know anything about the dorm situation, but that's a good question to ask. Ask your tour guide if they're Greek or familiar with the system, because if they are they can certainly answer a lot of your questions accurately. If you don't get your questions answered soon I'll be glad to find a current student who can answer them.

Al's has Mediterranean food and it's amazing...I always end up there after shows at night haha. The Purple Onion is also yummy.

The streets downtown are on a grid system, so the good news is it will be easy to find your way around!

If you're going to school in another state please factor in any out of state tuition and fee costs, as well as travel, as those could eat up any sorority funds you may have.

Though it may be heartbreaking to finish out at a JC or CC and transfer with the possibility of not being Greek, being broke and not being able to afford being Greek will also be heart breaking. Find the best school at the best price, and go from there.

I've also never heard of only allowing kids with 60 credits or more to transfer, I came out of the UC/CSU system in California and though it was suggested, and more difficult to transfer into impacted majors, with good grades it could be done before 60 credits and without an AA. I'm so glad I never had to experience a situation like that and peaced out to mule cloning college where it was cheaper to pay out of state than live at home in state, and a hell of a lot more fun. You have my sympathies.

ETA: Don't forget to check how many credits will transfer, how they will count, and when you will graduate. If Florida has JC/CC system similar to California there's a transfer articulation agreement so you are guaranteed to have courses count properly. Going out of state may foul that up and you'd be in school for longer and spending more money. Definitely check into that when you're looking at a four year school.

Thanks for the advice, i have always wanted to go out of state, and the vet school i'm looking into is in alabama so thats nice (trying to get in-state for grad school lol) . Yes! my mistake when i transferred to my CC now, i didn't know that some credits won't count at different colleges so when i transferred from my 4 year university, my CC didn't take some of my credits. (which, is why i'm in the situation i'm in now:( ) Luckily, the credit evaluator did hep me find some equivalents.
This year i've noticed that a lot of schools give you a list of the courses they will transfer over from your transcript once you have been accepted which is nice when deciding what school to choose.

You can also make an appointment with someone on the faculty that can look over your transcript and tell you what will transfer if UAB or Troy don't have such a list. Call the schools before you go and ask if this would be possible. (I've had a couple of friends that did this because it came down to which school accepted the most credits).

I live in florida now so i think i can handle the humidity lol! Im leaning more towards UAB then Troy, but i think once i get up there ill know for sure :) Thank you so much for being so kind, i will keep you updated when i go on my tour.
YUM! i love mediterranean food, lol now what's the Purple Onion? lol

When i go up for my tour would it be wise then to being an unofficial transcript so they can look at it that way? That would make sense to know before i apply so i'm not wasting money on application fees and requesting all my transcripts for a college where in the end i find out won't take a lot of my courses.

I have to say being a transfer student is so much more harder than being a high school senior, i wish i would have did more research before deciding on a college. Trying not to dwell on the past. sighh* lol

You need to find out what is appropriate and accepted for residency because states are much stricter about it than before. Just what I glanced for Alabama requires a lot of proof, which can include financial independence, and not moving to Alabama just for school. That could mean going a couple months early and getting a job, living off campus, changing your car, license, voter registration, bank account, filing taxes, and on and on. Oregon is so strict that you can not be considered a resident if you attend school at all in your first year there. You could be put in a bad situation if your parents are claiming you on their taxes yet you claim residency in Alabama, and not filing taxes. I was kind of shocked if they receive documentation with an out of state address you get booted back to non-resident, crazy.

Oh no i'm not talking about now, i would claim residency before i go to Grad school i have about 2+ year to finish my bachelors and then for sure decide with i want to do with that. in 2 year + grace period, i should be able to figure it out... Hopefully. But, i'm doing the research. My friend who's in California (she goes to champman) now told me it would take her 3 years to claim residency so by her senior year she should be able to claim residency right before grad school.

Hello notYourOrdinary...my daughter attends UAB as a science major and is an Alpha Xi Delta. She loves the school and her sorority! UAB started many years ago as a commuter college but the current President has worked hard to change that image and campus. There are no sorority houses, as stated earlier, they each have suites. I will be happy to answer what I can or I can get you in touch with her. She hates computers though because they seem to hate her so she isn't on very often! lol

That would be great! I wasn't familiar with UAB until my mom and i did a in depth college search and saw the tour on Youniversity.com and i loved it! I'm planning to go up to Alabama and visit UAB (and troy) next month. I'll pm you! thank you so much !

Be careful with that. I moved to a new state to go to grad school, and after a year and a half I applied for in-state status. I was shot down. One of the reasons given was that the school did not consider my student loans to be "income." Funny, it felt like income to me.

I think that the best route to getting in-state status is working full time for a year or more, and perhaps taking a class or two part time. If you are a grad student, your school should also give automatic in-state status to any student who is working on campus as a TA, GA, or RA. If I had it to do over again, I would chose the latter route.

Well then, you understand how it is. Right now, for instance, it is for some reason hot outside again. My hair is not happy. Definitely update us! The Purple Onion is sort of a mix of Mediterranean and American foods...also there's Surin (Thai) in 5 points, which is also heaven. I love food, can you tell?