College Transfer

[Dachimp-lirious]

I am soon to be starting my first year of college at my “dream” state school, yet I find myself second guessing the path I’m about to embark on. I received a pretty good financial aid package and will only have to pay for room and board, however all but 2 of my classes will be online. I’m studying political science with aspirations of either working for the government or going into the law field someday. With that all being said I feel like my life and my future are under the control of the government or school officials who are deciding whether or not schools go completely online or whatnot. I want to take ahold of my future and I want to be in the driving seat.

After doing some research, I stumbled upon the USCGA which is really I believe a hidden gem. The small size and the athletic requirement really intrigued me, along with all the leadership skills I would learn that would not just help me in the coast guard, but as a man and a father someday. Leadership has been important to me throughout high school, I was involved in many clubs and was the Vice President of my class. Along with being a captain of both my football and basketball team this past year, athletics were also a major part of my life, however I decided to attend a public because of the generous financial aid compared to playing football at a smaller school. I know the academy is extremely challenging, therefore having high requirements academically which is why I have a few questions..

1. Being a potential government major.. will they still value my STEM ACT scores? My scores are as follows.. Reading-34, English-32, Math-26, Science-27, along with a GPA of 3.84.

2. A year removed from playing high school sports, would that put me at a disadvantage of playing football for the academy?

3. Is it generally more difficult for someone to transfer to the academy, instead of enrolling straight from high school? And what advice is there if any to boost my resume and increase my probability of being accepted.

 

[DistanceRunner07]

Take everything I say with a grain of salt because I am not admissions but I do believe I have some knowledge on this.

1.)USCGA graudates everyone with a bachelors of science degree so STEM is important there. Whether you are a civil engineer or government major you are going to be taking calculus and physics classes so keep that in mind. That being said though, a composite score of 30 is good. Obviously it would be nice to have the math score a little higher so I would recommend you take it again sometime.

2.) You can try out for sports at the academy and they get kids every year this way. I'm not sure you be starting the first game but you could definitely make the team and be a part of the program. Also everyone needs to have sport credits at the academy so if you don't play an NCAA sport you will be required to play a club sport. I think they have rugby so that might interest you.

3.)The academy takes in college transfers every year but it isn't really a transfer because none of your credits transfer. You'll be there 4 years regardless of previous college classes. But sometimes being in college can help your application as long as you are taking good classes and getting some leadership experience like through a job or club. I would recommend you reach out to some of the athletic coaches at the academy and try and become a recruited athlete. That might give you an edge in the application process. Also train hard for the PFE.

 

[Dachimp-lirious]

This was very helpful, thank you for the information!

 

[Crew Dad]

I would also suggest that you reach out for a USCGA Admissions Partner in your area who could help answer your questions/concerns personally or via skype. You can obtain the contact information from Admissions. Go Bears Crew

 

[ekb1398]

Agree with all of the above, except that if you choose not to play football you could participate in a club sport OR intramural sport or some other non-sport activity. Also, look up what a courseload would look like for a CGA gov major and try to make your courseload look like that. Strongly recommend throwing some physics, chemistry, or calculus into your schedule if you can. It will help with readmission, and while it is true you won't be given credit, everyone has the chance to validate these classes for credit, basically meaning if you can pass the final they don't make you take the class, so if you do well it's kind of like transfer credit. Lastly, I got in after doing a year of college myself, so if you have any questions or want to know more about it let me know. Coming in after high school and after college are pretty different experiences in some ways.

 

[Dachimp-lirious]

Agree with all of the above, except that if you choose not to play football you could participate in a club sport OR intramural sport or some other non-sport activity. Also, look up what a courseload would look like for a CGA gov major and try to make your courseload look like that. Strongly recommend throwing some physics, chemistry, or calculus into your schedule if you can. It will help with readmission, and while it is true you won't be given credit, everyone has the chance to validate these classes for credit, basically meaning if you can pass the final they don't make you take the class, so if you do well it's kind of like transfer credit. Lastly, I got in after doing a year of college myself, so if you have any questions or want to know more about it let me know. Coming in after high school and after college are pretty different experiences in some ways.

Thank you for the information! I am new to this forum and it’s nice to get real and genuine answers from people with experience with the Coast Guard. I will pm you if I have any other questions.

 

[AuxNoob]

Concur on the suggestion to reach out to an Admissions Partner. If you PM me with your area I can put you in touch with one.

 

[Dachimp-lirious]

Concur on the suggestion to reach out to an Admissions Partner. If you PM me with your area I can put you in touch with one.

Unfortunately because I’m new to the thread, it won’t let me pm until I have 5 post..but I’m from Ohio if that helps any.

 

[trackandfield08]

I would also recommend you reach out to the Admissions Office directly and introduce yourself to your assigned Admissions Officer. Academy Admissions Partners (AAPs) are great (I am one!), but developing a rapport with your AO will give them an idea of who you are as a person. Since you mention you're from Ohio, it looks like your AO is Lieutenant Junior Grade (LTJG) John Hu (https://www.uscga.edu/admissions-officers/).

Take some time to search this forum, there are plenty of threads about reapplicants and first-time college applicants for all the SAs, including USCGA. The easiest way to do this is to use google. Type in site:serviceacademyforums.com and then your search term. As always, the official source is your best source, so make sure you take the time to read through this page: https://www.uscga.edu/transfer-students/

Now, you mention that you are frustrated by the idea of the "government or school officials" determining your future in terms of academic experience. This is a part of life no matter what school you attend, and is especially true at a Service Academy, which are overseen by their respective services and departments (DHS for the USCG). Make sure your reasons for attending are solid. It's fine to be attracted to the idea of a "free" education, the academic experience, guaranteed job post-graduation, etc. But, also be very aware that the purpose of any SA is to train people to become officers in the military and to lead. It's also okay if you're just recognizing now that military service is something you're interested in. As you move forward, make sure you do some soul searching and that this is truly the path you want, and not just a decision based off your current dissatisfaction with COVID-19-related decisions.