Almost through my Freshman year and I hate my school?

Student Lounge College Life
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Hi everyone, I really need some help with this.

Basically, I go to one of the biggest party schools in the country, and I’ve been miserable for more than half of my time at school this year. My year started off okay, I made friends and joined clubs, but after a few months went by everything started to fall apart. My friends started talking to me less and less, I stopped participating in the clubs and groups I had joined, and I started spending a lot more time in my room. My roommate and I started off as friends and now we haven’t spoken to each other in weeks because we can barely tolerate each other at this point. I shut myself off of all of the people on my floor and don’t talk to a single person there.

The social scene at my school was something I was worried about from the start, and it wound up being my biggest issue so far. The school is very big on Greek life and has a huge party scene. People go out sometimes every night of the week. Being the already extremely introverted, not entirely masculine guy that I am, I just don’t feel like I connect with anybody at this school that seems to be full of big personalities all grabbing for attention. I barely go out anymore, and I have maybe 3 or 4 solid friends that I maybe see once or twice a week. I’m not a huge party person, and when I go to a school that has such a large focus on partying (almost everybody does it) it’s hard for me to find people that don’t.

I’m struggling to decide if it’s worth it to stay at this school or not. The school, while being a huge party school, is also ranked very highly academically and it’s name will look great on my diploma in three years. The business school (I’m a marketing major) is very good and I know I will get a good education. However, the miserable way I’ve felt the past few months just makes it hard to make that seem worth it. I’ve been really lonely and I’ve dreaded going back every single time I’ve been on break. I feel like the fact that I continuously dread going back is not okay, I should be excited to go back to my school not want to stay home instead.

So, It’s really academics vs. happiness at this point. Is it too late for me to apply to transfer for the fall? Is it worth me starting over and trying again next semester at the school I’m at now? Or will I just wind up in this same place again? I just really don’t fit in here and I feel like it might be too late to transfer for the fall. I’m really confused and could use some guidance. Thanks!

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Some schools will still accept transfer applications even if the deadline has passed. Find a list of schools you are interested in and email them ASAP. Your happiness matters over academics. I made this mistake my freshmen year and chose academics. Regret it to this day. You won’t perform well if you aren’t mentally happy. If not, you could always go to CC for a semester and transfer :slight_smile:

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Just worth mentioning - transfer students get pretty poor financial aid, so if you’re not transferring somewhere you’re in-state for you want to make sure it’s still affordable to you. In any case, there are still schools accepting transfer applications (some deadlines are coming up really soon at April 1st)

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You say: “I stopped participating in the clubs and groups I had joined, and I started spending a lot more time in my room. My roommate and I started off as friends and now we haven’t spoken to each other in weeks because we can barely tolerate each other at this point. I shut myself off of all of the people on my floor and don’t talk to a single person there.”

Self-isolation is a big indicator for depression. You may be unhappy with the type of school you’re in, but it sounds like you could also benefit from some counseling. Don’t wait until your next school (or next year at your current school) to take a trip to the health center. You’ll be glad you did, even if the only thing that comes from your visits is some clarity on whether or not to transfer.