Posts tagged Transfer

Aw, bummer. I’m sorry to hear it. Unfortunately, as you’ve probably already guessed, the freshman application period for this fall is 100% closed, since we’re currently in the process of sending out decisions to fall 2013 applicants.

However, you should know that a spring transfer is still very much a possibility. In order to qualify as a ‘transfer student’ (for application purposes), you’ll need to have graduated high school and enrolled at another college for at least a term. Spring transfer applications are due by November 1st (along with the FAFSA and financial aid app) and notifications are sent out in early December. So keep that in mind, if you keep researching Bennington and continue to be intrigued.

Also, come visit us! Regardless of whether you decide to apply for next term or next year or even not at all, visiting campus really is the best way to get a sense of what Bennington is like on a daily basis. You can sit in on a class, get a personalized tour, eat lunch with students, and (my favorite) just wander and explore. You can schedule a visit on our website or call Admissions at (802)440-4312 to have us schedule one for you.

Whatever you decide, best of luck!

-Evan ‘13

Hey there! Transfer students have the same housing options as undergraduate students; which is to say that the vast majority live in on-campus housing.

If you’re accepted as a transfer, you’ll fill out a housing request form sometime over the summer before you get here. Based on the information you provide about your interests, preferred quiet hours, roommate personality stuff, etc., you’ll be placed in one of the 18 on-campus houses with other undergrads. It’s also possible to live off-campus, but there’s a separate requirement process for being approved for off-campus housing, and I don’t personally know of anyone who’s transferred in and been able to live off-campus in their first term. Long story short, if you’re interested in transferring, take a look at some of the other posts on this blog regarding student housing - anything that applies to undergrads applies to you, also.

-Evan ‘13

I suppose it’s possible, although I’m unaware of a circumstance in which that’s ever been the case. The times Bennington lists for notifications are the deadlines for Admissions to make their decisions for that given cycle, so you should count on hearing back from us within a week or so after that date.

Just to recap, those dates are as follows:

• Early Action - Feb. 1
• Early Decision 1 - Dec. 20
• Early Decision 2 - Feb. 1
• Regular Decision - Apr. 1
• Fall Transfer - May 1
• Spring Transfer - early Dec.

Hope this helps!

-Evan ‘13

Hey there,

For safety’s sake, you should check out NYU’s admissions requirements for transfer students. You can find some information about applying there as a transfer student here. If necessary (hopefully not) you could apply after one year of study at Bennington. Working hard and doing well - whether you transfer or not - should provide you with ample opportunities. Hope this helps!

~ Holly, ‘13

Here is a small collection of answers to transfer questions we’ve given in the past - it might help flesh out the process and experience a little bit.

According to our website, approximately 10 percent of the student body has transferred to Bennington. As someone who transferred into Bennington as a second-semester freshman, I’ve always felt like the transfer experience is pretty cohesive. I’ve never had issues finding classes or fitting in or anything like that; I was able to hit the ground running once I got here and never really had to worry about it.

Hope this helps. Email me at evanb@bennington.edu if you have any more specific questions about the transfer process.

-Evan ‘13

First, it is possible to defer until Fall 2013 after you are accepted. Regardless of when you transfer in to Bennington, you will not be behind in any way including FWT. Whether you transfer in the Spring or the Fall, your first FWT will be in Janurary of 2014 (after your first Fall term).

Second, the question about your social transition really depends on who you are and what you think works best for you. In the Spring, there is not as much of an orientation as there is an opportunity for you to get a lot of information about Bennington and meet and talk to your adviser. In the Fall, there is a lot of opportunity to socially transition because only students of the incoming Fall class are on campus with a few faculty members and student leaders. This orientation is very thorough, but it can be overwhelming for some students. I hope that helps clarify the difference so that you can decide what will be best for you.

Third, the housing on campus is like an orientation in itself because it is easy to socially integrate into that smaller community as your home base. There are two house chairs in each house that would be a great resource for your transition regardless of which term you transfer into. Feel free to look more into housing and our community through this link. Regardless of your decision, apply as Spring transfer like you are planning and then you can always choose later to defer until the Fall if that would be better for you!

All my best,
Alana 

************************************************************

Also, just a brief addition to what Alana has to say, but there IS a brief orientation period for spring transfers. Brief as in, like, 1-2 days, but Student Life typically will assign spring transfers a peer mentor figure who can talk to them about the transfer process and take them to lunch and show them around campus and things like that. It’s a totally different animal from New Student Orientation, but there is a support structure there for students who decide to transfer in for Spring term.

-Evan ‘13

Hi, friendly anon. Bennington DOES have rolling admissions, but ONLY for fall transfer students. The application deadlines are as follows:

• Freshman Early Decision I - Nov. 15
• Freshman Early Decision II - Jan. 3
• Freshman Early Action - Dec. 1
• Freshman Reg. Decision - Jan. 3
• Fall Transfer - Mar. 15, rolling based on enrollment capacity
• Spring Transfer - Nov. 1

Hope this is helpful!

-Evan ‘13

Yeah! Transfer applications for this spring are due November 1st and you should hear back about them sometime in early December. You can see more deadlines at our Common App page here. Hope this helps!

-Evan ‘13

So, there are really two sides to my answer, here: my side as a transfer student; and Admissions’ side as the people who review applications. I’ll give you sort of the official outlook and then offer my own advice as someone who considered a spring transfer before ultimately entering in the fall.

The Admissions stance is that it’s really tough to transfer in for spring after applying for the previous fall - mainly because we won’t have any real, new material to consider in your application. Since the spring transfer application is due in November, you wouldn’t have the opportunity to show us your grades; and since there’s such a brief window of time between now and November (relatively speaking, of course) it’d be really tough to, say, flesh out your resume’ more, or jam some summer classes into your transcripts. Also, something else to consider is that spring transfer students DO NOT complete a FWT before arriving on campus, which makes sense. Ultimately, I think it’d probably be easier to get a good experience from FWT after having the perspective that a semester on-campus can lend you.

Anyway. That’s the official side of things. My thoughts as a transfer student? It makes so much more sense to transfer in for the fall – as you might have gathered from the above paragraph, you’ve got way more time to hone your application into something that will make you stand out, but that’s not the only reason you should wait. When I was entering into the transfer process, I was given the option of applying for the spring semester or waiting until the fall. While I wanted to be at Bennington as fast as I possibly could, I knew that I would be much better prepared for life at Bennington if I had the opportunity to go through New Student Orientation and the chance to belong to an actual class (Class of 2013, hollaaa). Spring transfers, while certainly welcomed and well-prepared for the upcoming semester, don’t have the chance to go through Orientation at all, and I think that’s a huge bummer. Add that to the fact that you’d be applying for the spring with basically the same application, and I think it really makes sense to wait for a fall transfer.

If you do decide to wait, you can really do some awesome stuff in the meantime (and pump up that application) – find an internship; take a years’ worth of classes at another school of your choosing; explore different disciplines; start projects; travel; and write, write, write. My year of college pre-Bennington, while not always sunshine and butterflies, gave me so much valuable perspective on myself as a student and as a person, and I wouldn’t change it for anything. I know it may not seem ideal at this point, but this coming year gives you a really great opportunity to enrich yourself more than it probably seems like right now, and that’s exciting. As far as the application goes – we’ll consider anything that comes through, but I hope my advice at least helps you to make a decision. Best of luck!

-Evan ‘13

Thanks for pointing this out to us! Seems like there was some confusion regarding transfer arrival & orientation, so to clarify: Transfer students will indeed arrive with all new students on August 31^st. They will have some transfer-specific events during the week, but they will also be a part of orientation at large.

Additionally, the Orientation & Arrival info portion of the Bennington website is now being updated to include information about transfer arrival!

Sorry for the confusion, hope this helps clear things up.

-Amira ‘13

The application process for transfers is pretty similar to what freshman applicants go through (so, if you’ve already been through it this past year, it shouldn’t look too different). Typically, transfer applications are due March 15th (whereas freshman regular decision applications are due January 3rd) and have rolling admissions thereafter, which means that if your application comes in beyond the March 15th, you can still be reviewed and, possibly, accepted depending on whether or not there is any more room in the incoming class (usually somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 or so lucky folks).

As far as the application itself, the only major differences from the freshman application is that transfers have their own Admissions Counselor (the lovely, talented, snarky Sarah McAbee) and that you have to write an additional essay as part of the Common App that addresses why you’re interested in transferring and discusses your past experience as a college student at another school.

Transfer students are also considered for merit and need-based financial aid, just like freshmen are. As with the transfer application, financial aid applications (and the FAFSA) are due March 15th for fall transfers.

Which reminds me: there’s also the option of being a spring transfer student - all the deadlines for that are November 1st, and the biggest difference between spring and fall transfers is that spring transfers don’t have the opportunity of going through orientation (which is kind of a bummer). But! If you’re really dead-set on transferring here, it is certainly an option to transfer for the spring.

If you have any more questions about the transfer process you’re totally welcome to email me at evanb@bennington.edu - being the Admissions Office’s resident transfer student, I like to think I’m pretty helpful with that sorta thing.

-Evan ‘13

I know several community college transfers that go to school here. Where you came from or even what your GPA is are not the deciding factors in your admission. While your GPA is certainly an important part of your application, we are also looking for things like fit - whether Bennington really is a good school for you - and genuine intellectual curiosity. Looking forward to your visit!

Jan and Evan