First off, thank you for reading my post…I know it is very long but PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO READ IT AND THROW ME SOME ADVICE… i am in a very conflicted position at the moment and would appreciate any advice whatsoever. Heres my current situation…. I am currently a freshman at the College of Charleston and worked my butt off academically this year… and it paid off as i got into my “dream” school - the University of Miami as a transfer student for admission in the fall. I didn’t get into Miami originally when I applied as a Junior and was devastated and ended up going to the College of Charleston as my second choice school. I’m not leaning towards either school at the moment, and would appreciate any advice regarding my future after you read the pros and cons that I will be facing at each school…
Lets start with Charleston. I am CURRENTLY having a very good time here, but didn’t have as great of a time last semester (hence why i decided to apply to the University of Miami). I joined the fraternity AEPI, and really feel like i am starting to fit in and find my place here. There are so many “pros” to Charleston: however to be honest (whether this is a stupid reason to stay at CofC or not)… the main thing holding me back from transferring at the moment is the girl situation here. The quantity (something like 70% girls) and quality of girls hands down cannot be beat. It’s not easy to leave that behind. Another huge reason is the overall FRIENDLINESS at Charleston… that constantly spreads good vibes. It really does live up to its name of the “friendliest city in the world” This is something that cannot be found at Miami. I am also in a great apartment that cannot be beat. Overall, I just love the people at Charleston better than Miami. the first CON of Charleston is the weather. Coming to a school in South Carolina I didn’t expect it to be cold the majority of the school year. I am a huge fisherman (it is a passion of mine) and I don’t really have the opportunity to go fishing at Charleston as much as I expected I would be able to when I first came to the school. Charleston is not nearly as good academically either, but I don’t know how important this actually is regarding my future. I am a marine bio major, and although Charleston has a great marine bio program, UMiami’s blows it away. The night life here also tends to be poor, and sometimes I feel like I’m not even on a college campus.
Now for MIAMI… the main PRO of Miami is the fact that it is a top rated school with an unbelievable marine bio program which provides for a seemingly infinite of job opportunities and internships that are just not as available at Charleston. But, once again… how important is this for my future? Does graduating from Miami vs. Charleston really make that big of a difference? Another PRO is the WEATHER … you can’t beat it… and constant heat provides me with year round opportunities for my passion of fishing. Theres literally places for me to fish right on campus which it pretty much my dream come true. Another pro is that I will be able to join the AEPI chapter at Charleston… so my effort pledging at Charleston wouldn’t have gone to waste. There is always something to do at Miami, while Charleston can get boring at times… especially when the weather isn’t great (which is most of the year). The night life is also unreal, in addition to the opportunity to go to sports games (which Charleston doesn’t have)…. giving more of the feel of actually going to school on a college campus. Lastly, Miami has long been my DREAM SCHOOL. I took marine bio courses there for 3 weeks a couple summers ago during a summer scholars program, and was hooked on the school ever since.
For the CONS of Miami… i visited the school last weekend for the first time since I took that program there and was disappointed with some aspects of the school that i wasn’t originally aware of. My main concern is that the people at Miami, both guys and girls, seem to be extremely shallow, and don’t appear to care much more than regarding what other people think about them. Coming from Charleston to Miami, the hospitality that i was used to experiencing at CofC was shattered, and the difference in people’s personality was strikingly apparent. Also, there seems to be a lot of jock-like dudes there, with a smaller amount of girls; who seem very shallow and jappy for the most part. I know this might not be the best reason to not go to Miami, but I do feel that it is important to consider.
OVERALL, the dilemna seems to be between my social life (better at Charleston) and my education (better at Miami). I will definitely be a “smaller fish in the pond” at Miami, but I will be getting a better education. I can’t thank you enough for any help or advice whatsoever.
(1) Just a heads up - transferring sucks. Even if you’re transferring to a school that’s warm & fuzzy & friendly, that first semester is a transfer student will be just as hard as (or harder than) your first semester at CofC. So, if you decide to transfer, be prepared for that. Yes, it will also get better after your first semester (just like at CofC).
(2) I don’t know anything about the Marine Bio program at CofC . . . but that’s something that you should know, or be able to find out. Go and talk to the prof’s - ask if you’d be better off transferring to Miami, or if there are advantages to the CofC program that you’re perhaps not aware of. I’m guessing that the smaller program may give you more research opportunities than you’d have at Miami, as well as better opportunities to develop close relationships with your prof’s. (And if you’re looking at grad school, those relationships make all the difference in the world!) Go to CofC’s career services office and find out what kind of job placement prospects you’d have in your chosen field if you decide you’d rather get a job straight out of school.
Other than weather and fishing, neither of which I’m giving much weight to, it sounds like the most compelling reason to transfer is would be improved opportunities in your chosen field of study. And you have the resources, since you’re at CofC, to find out more about that than anyone on this forum could ever tell you.
And, yeah, I get that you love fishing . . . but you have the rest of your life to fish, and only four years for going to college. So figure out your priorities.
But if the opportunities for grad school from CoC are as good as from UMiami, I don’t see a big reason to transfer. It seems obvious that CoC is a better fit for you (outside of weather and fishing).