<p>I am strongly considering transferring from Northwestern to a large public school. I original chose Northwestern because it has a unique engineering program, offers small class sizes, and is in the suburbs of a large city with many opportunities. I felt pretty confident about this decision, but after attending for a quarter it just doesn't feel right.</p>
<p>I grew up dreaming of going to a specific large public school in a rural area. Both of my parents went there, my grandfather taught there, and my grandparents still live in the small town where it is located. It still has a great engineering program and actually has an even better alumni group, but its program is a little less innovative, and its rural location makes a co-op much more difficult.</p>
<p>My issue is that I feel like I would be more at home at the public school. I feel almost no connection to my current school, its city, or even its region of the U.S. Meanwhile, I've spent months at a time at the small town where the public school is. I thought I would be able to get over this connection due to the academic opportunities of Northwestern, but this is not the case. I feel as if I'm missing out on the opportunity to live in a small town for four years, while the rest of my life I'll probably be near a city anyway. Am I crazy for wanting to switch?</p>
<p>Other reasons to switch, aside from feel: Would have semesters instead of quarters (more time to learn material). I would have more motivation to be outgoing. Greater personality diversity. More clubs and leadership opportunities.</p>
<p>Side Notes: Both schools are far away (across the country) from my hometown. My brother will be attending the public school next year. I am not an introvert, and have made friends at my current school.</p>
<p>I don’t think anyone can tell you what makes sense for you although you may benefit from talking to others like ivyleaguefan. But, I think you need to dig deep to understand what is really going on so that you don’t find yourself unhappy at the next school. I would encourage you to reach out to all of the opportunities NU has to offer before you decide. If you are lacking a connection, join a club of any kind; volunteer in Evanston, participate in your dorm government. There are so many ways to get involved. It’s more than making friends. Involvement generates connection. And its a good life lesson, because when you graduate, you may move to a new town and need to make those connections. Good luck. </p>
<p>I saw your post on another thread. My daughter is in the engineering program and PSU and she could not be happier. We are out of state and nobody from our area ever attended the school. She went outside her comfort zone and made a wise decision. She had offers from other great schools but PSU gave her the opportunity to continue to train in classical dance also. She is very social but not a heavy partier and seems to have made many friends who are of like mind. You are going to find a lot of serious students in the engineering program…they have to be or they won’t make the cut after Sophomore year. Personally, I wish I had the chance to go there. I love that place. I love that town. Its the perfect college town . IMHO. (By the way major companies recruit heavily there.) </p>
<p>No one can answer this for you but it does seem to me based on your one quarter of attendance that you never really wanted to be at NU, you went to prove to yourself that you could. Clearly your heart has always been at the other school and, in reality, you never gave NU a chance. I think you would be committed to NU for the year, applying to transfer in the spring for Fall 2015, is that correct? My suggestion to you is that you truly commit yourself to NU, it’s program, extracurriculars, etc. You can’t make long term connections in ten weeks but you should definitely apply for a transfer so that you have that option.</p>