Hello! I am a prospective transfer student from one of the University of Pittsburgh’s branch campuses to either Pitt-Main or Swarthmore, with Swarthmore being my top choice. Sorry in advance for the long post, but its necessary!
PART ONE**
I just wanted some feedback on how good a fit either place would be for me and if these are legit reasons to transfer. Other relevant (and polite) comments are welcomed.
I am looking to transfer because:
1.) I am a voraciously avid foreign languages student. Currently I am studying one foreign language as one of my majors, but my current university only offers French and Spanish and I feel that a university which offers more languages to study would be much better fit for me, as I am studying/ maintaining French, German, Spanish (advanced), Latin (intermediate), and Arabic (basic).
The Modern Languages and Literatures major at Swarthmore is highly attractive to me, as it allows one to study multiple languages as part of the major (I believe). Although Pitt-main does not offer a “Modern Languages and Literatures” major, it does offer individual majors and minors for languages. I would love to take advantage of these offerings.
Both places also have a much stronger focus on foreign languages and the liberal arts than my current school, which is what I crave.
2.) My current school does not offer the extra-curriculars that I would dearly love to be involved in, namely a baroque/ classical chamber orchestra and string quartet (or some smaller ensemble like a piano trio).
Music is the light of my life and quite frankly, although my city offers a youth orchestra and a community orchestra, given the age group, group dynamics, and the repertoire that they both play, these are unfortunately not a good fit for me.
I am way too old for the youth orchestra and the community orchestra is composed of middle-aged people (not that that’s necessarily bad-- I would just like to be around peers who share the same passion as I do). Additionally the community orchestra does not play challenging music and does not reinforce the goals I am trying to reach as a violinist, as I have a different idea of what repertoire I would like to perform. Although there were/ are times when I enjoy(ed) participating in these, I strongly feel its time for me to move on.
I’ve tried creating a string ensemble here, but that hasn’t worked out because of administrative issues and I have struggled to find interested participants. My current school has no professor who specializes in strings/ string repertoire.
Although that problem could be worked around, people just aren’t really taken with the idea. Honestly I’m tired of being the one to initiate things because no one else is interested. I recognize that being the one to initiate things is often the only road to success, but my point is that for too long I have been in an environment where people are not/ have not been motivated to engage in/ create such activities. Its easier to lead when those around you want to follow.
But nevertheless I should try again this year before I transfer, because if I succeed it will at least greatly benefit others.
3.) I want to be immersed in a much stronger intellectual culture, where more people are crazy passionate about their field of study.
The “quirky/ nerdy” stereotype of Swarthmore seems like it would be utterly and completely perfect for me! But also I have friends from Pitt-Main who tell me that people there are generally more excited about their academics too. I’m strongly leaning towards Swarthmore because of its serious and challenging reputation.
I have only met one person here who really loves learning (he is one of my best friends now). However, he seems to be an exception here. Most of my classmates come off as uninspired and uncaring, and that really frustrates and bothers me. In a few of my classes I was required to revise much of my classmates’ work, which was done at a shockingly low level.
Both of the schools that I am looking at offer an Honors Program, which is a very attractive feature for me, especially because it encourages students to complete their thesis for the program on or close to the level of a Masters.
Please note: I don’t want to come off as a know-it-all. I am not “better” than anyone just because I love to learn. I recognize that there is something to be learned from everyone. I am simply pointing out that I would like to be surrounded by people who are smarter than and more passionate than me because that environment is best conducive to improving.*
4.) Current school too close to home/ location issues/ want the real “college experience”:
Having spent four weeks abroad taking classes for college this summer as well as having spent a month at Swarthmore’s Monterray Language Academy (for high schoolers) 2-3 years ago, I have found that being on my own really is conducive to personal development.
Furthermore as a commuter student I have not gotten to meet too many students on campus, but my on-campus job has allowed me to somewhat compensate for that. The people I have met are kind, however they are pretty average. I still am dreaming of the “college experience”-- meeting people, growing a circle of friends that share common (nerdy) interests, hanging out and having fun, learning how to live on my own and conquering the associated dilemmas that comes with that.
I think that living on-campus would better prepare me for living “in the real world”.
Drawing from my commuter experience, what my friends/ family have told me about their experiences, and from reading/ research I have done, I think it would not be prudent to conclude that the commuter experience is largely not the same as living on campus.
Although this is not quite as big a factor as the others, it is still, in my view, definitely worth considering: I would like to live in or near a big city. Swarthmore is attractive in that it is located near Philly but yet is still a small college where one can get to know the professors better. (And even as a small school it still is able to offer a delectable and unbeatable list of majors and minors!)
I actually really love Pittsburgh and am much more familiar with the city. However, the large class size sometimes freaks me out and I find it kind of intimidating.
I’m just really stimulated by all of the diversity and artsy things that large cities have to offer. I also consider such an atmosphere as something that would encourage me to grow in independence and confidence as someone just starting to explore the world.
PART TWO***
The hardest part about transferring will be leaving the professors here. I have been very close with multiple professors here and they all are extremely wonderful people, whom I cannot say enough good things about. I am worried that I won’t be able to find profs like them anywhere else, and that I will hurt my relationship with them by transferring, or mentioning that I want to transfer. (Its very typical of myself to make decisions with others’ interests in mind, so sometimes I question transferring because I do not want to let go of people I have met.) Are the professors enough to decide to stay, even though I am unsatisfied with everything else?