Advice on my transfer decision

Transfer Students
1

<p>I originally posted this in the College Life section, but I decided to repost this here to see if I get more of a response.</p>

<p>So I am currently in the process of applying to transfer. At this point I'm actually just waiting to hear back from a few schools at this point before making my final decision. I'm pretty sure I want to do this, but I'm a little scared that I could be making the wrong decision. Tell me what you all think?</p>

<p>My situation: I currently attend a large university (16,000 undergrads) in the city. When I was first applying to colleges I was sure that I wanted to try something new and go to a large school. I thought that I would enjoy being a part of something so huge. Once I got here, however, I discovered that I was wrong. I very much dislike feeling like a number. I got involved on campus, but that only helped slightly. I still feel lost and faceless in the crowd. I was very involved and well known in high school, so this is a very different experience for me.</p>

<p>Furthermore, I find there to be a lack of a strong community feel at my school. This is something that I find unsettling. "Community" and "Family" were two things that were really stressed at my high school, so I've come to prefer that type of environment. At my current college, the atmosphere is much more cutthroat with people mostly concerned for themselves. While this is obviously not the entire student body, it is quite prevalent in my opinion.</p>

<p>I am also fairly religious. Not overly so, but enough that I feel slightly out of place going to a non-religious school after going to Catholic school my entire life.</p>

<p>Also, the major I have chosen does not have a very strong department at my school. It does exist, but I would not consider it to be one of the stronger departments here. I think my course of study may be better off elsewhere.</p>

<p>I have made some friends and I feel bad leaving them behind, but I just don't feel as though I fit in with the school as a whole. I don't really fit with the ethos of the student body. </p>

<p>Overall, I think transferring is the right decision for me, but I'm still nervous. Is this like a cold feet kind of thing? Its a big decision so maybe I'm just second guessing myself too much. What do you think?</p>

2

<p>It is a big decision, and one that is usually not cut and dry, there are almost always pros and cons to staying and transferring. I think you’re taking the right approach, apply and then wait until this spring to see: 1) where you are accepted, and 2) how you feel about your current school. Hopefully by then the pros will have tipped decisively to one side.</p>

<p>I think as long as you approach it honestly and realistically, you’ll be fine. My D1 transferred as a soph from a large public to a mid sized private. In the end she was glad she did and felt that overall she made the right decision. However, she also recognized in hindsight that she probably could have stayed with her first school and ‘made’ it work, and that there were some things she actually liked about the larger school than the smaller one (eg. easier scheduling as courses were offered more frequently and had more sections to chose from). </p>

<p>You do your best to make the best decision for you, that’s all you can do. And as an adult, you will live with your decision and learn from it. I think it sounds like you’re about par for the course, as I always say, transferring is not for sissies!</p>