<p>Hey guys, I have a personal question about college and would love some advice. I'm a high school senior just graduated and chose to attend my state flagship university in the fall. The thing is, I chose to attend there for financial reasons (My family is low-income and I would be in debt for decades if I had chosen any private school instead) and not because I loved it while I visited. Truthfully, I feel ambivalent about the school itself, social environment and fit instead of education (the university has a pretty good reputation and educational value). I don't know if I will be happy there, and my ultimate question is: Is it possible to be successful at a school that you're not happy with?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Go in with an open mind, if you give it a try you might find yourself liking the school. If you go in planning to hate the place, there’s not much hope of it turning out well. As for being successful where you’re not happy… well, that depends on your definition of success, but yes, it’s possible to pass your classes and get a good GPA and such.</p>
<p>I would say to try to be content with the school you’re at. College is such a privilege when considering the limited opportunities most of the world’s population have and going to a school while having limited debt is also a huge plus. Most major American universities are going to be able to give you a decent education–it’s up to you to make the most of it.</p>
<p>OP, just try to enjoy it. People are people everywhere, and I’m sure that you’ll find some people you like. I think that most people end up being pretty happy at college relative to high school just because they have more freedom and because of an older friend group. If you try to be happy, I’m positive you will be. 
Don’t rule out happiness.</p>
<p>As for grades, I think that it’s a bit of a setback to be sad all the time, but it’s definitely still possible to succeed academically. If anything, not having a super lively social life will give you more time to focus on school work. </p>
<p>However, this will give you very little fulfillment, and your EC life might not be as successful.</p>
<p>from experience i can tell you its possible. i am an upcoming senior at my last choice school (i got into all of mine but chose this large state school for financial reasons too) and with schools like this, there are tons of opportunities. i made the absolute worst of my experience and am having a horrible time but i don’t mean to make you worried! my advice to you is to join something! join join join! on like the first week. get out there. sports, clubs, whatever. find that one thing you’re interested in and if you can’t, find something new and try it out. stick with it for a while and even if you don’t like it, at least you’ll meet some new friends before you quit. big schools like this are very diverse and they end up being what you make of them so get out there and find your niche and i promise you’ll love it.</p>
<p>Dude, you don’t even know that you’re not happy with it! Listen, time and time again I’ve seen people grumble their way into freshman year, thinking they can do better, they don’t belong here, and this isn’t where they want to be. This is such a silly attitude. Like it or not, you’re going to that school, so get excited about it! It’s not a garbage dump, it’s a college where thousands of people have attended and made memories, friendships, and relationships to last a lifetime. You’ll take classes you love and classes you hate. You’ll meet awesome people and eat Ramen and join clubs and embarrass yourself and get drunk. You’ll kiss people and read great books and decorate your dorm room and get As and laugh with friends at the dinner table. There is absolutely no reason why you can’t have an incredible college experience, EXCEPT if you sabotage it for yourself by being all sullen and apprehensive and pessimistic.</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses. I guess I’ll try to make the most of my experience but a few specific things bother me. One, a large percentage of my high school goes to that school (> 10%). I know it’s a big state school, but this fact just puts me at unease.</p>
<p>Secondly, I still do have to take out thousands of dollars in loans to attend this school (much less than any other school, but still) and will likely be in more indebtedness than the average American. I’m still unsure about my major, so I don’t know if going to the school is worth it.</p>
<p>I considered Community College, but my family thinks that’s a waste of time for me.</p>
<p>Your other option is to go to an expensive private school or OOS school, amass a ton of debt, be happy while you’re in school, and curse everyday thereafter while you pay back that debt.</p>
<p>You have to keep your priorities straight, as hard as it can be at this stage of your life. Your goal right now should be to get a college education at a price you can afford so you can get a good job and start a career and not be so strapped by debt that you can’t get anywhere in life. You don’t want to attend the college of your dreams now only to find out after college that you have better, bigger dreams that you can no longer afford because you spent too much on college. Is it a bummer to go to a college you’re not thrilled with when it seems like so many others go to their dream school? Yes-- I had that experience, too. But you need to keep your eye on the prize and make the best of it. The next four years of your life are not the most important, and they’re going to fly by before you know it anyway and then you’ll be on to the next big thing in your life.</p>
<p>I’m not going to the college “of my dreams” (none of the schools that I applied to even fit that bill) and I will amass a ton of debt (more than 30K, very likely) from the school that I plan on attending (flagship state school). I don’t think I can really “afford” any type of college that does not give 100% need unless I get a high-paying job right after my degree.</p>
<p>Find it hard to believe that this is your real circumstance and not just a hypothetical. Really, you are low income going to a good value state flagship and you have issues with the fact that some 10% of your high school will go to same good value state u? You are also put out that you have to put up $30k in loans. Do you feel entitled to a full ride? Who should pay?</p>
<p>Personally, I have been through a lot of issues in high school and I went to a high school that was not a good fit for me. I was bullied a little in middle school and I was judged by many of my peers in high school, which caused many issues. There are ~440 students in my graduating class and every year, at least 35 students attend the flagship school every year. It’s not the worst thing in the world, but the fact just makes me uncomfortable. I’m not saying I deserve a full ride, but I think more than 30K in student loans for an undergraduate degree in this economy is excessive.</p>
<p>Whoops I over counted. Last year, over 10% of my high school went there. This year the percentage is 8%.</p>
<p>I transferred to a school that I wasn’t sure if it would be a good social fit. In so many ways it seemed as though I wouldn’t feel comfortable, but even though I’ve only been here a few weeks I’m already having a great time. The thing about state flagships is that they attract people from all over the state and potentially all over the country/world which means that there will be a huge variety of people with a ton of things to do. </p>
<p>Remember, 35/10,000+ is a tiny percent. So if you don’t want to hang out with your high school classmates (many of whom will mature substantially in college), you don’t have to. </p>
<p>But yea, it sucks how expensive college has gotten and how much state support for schools has fallen since our parents were our age. No debating there.</p>
<p>“Do you feel entitled to a full ride?” “Who should pay?”</p>
<p>I doesn’t make sense to have to pay that much for a degree. The government is cutting funds for education but can afford to give big tax breaks and subsidies to oil companies and big corporations? State schools should be paid for by the government, but they have their priorities all backwards. I would have not gone anywhere unless I got a free ride (and I did), bottom line. It’s not entitlement, I just don’t think I should start my life with thousands of dollars worth of debt. It might seem ‘normal’ or ok to a lot of people, but not to me.</p>
<p>I agree that there are many benefits to state universities. But when I ask myself honestly, I cannot find any real intrinsic reason to go to that particular state university. Meaning, if I didn’t gain any economic benefit from going to that school (degrees), I would never pick that school. I just feel I’m going there because of societal expectations and jobs etc. whereas some of the other schools that I applied to, I could actually visualize myself going there and being happy.</p>
<p>I know a lot of people are saying I should try it out and all because I might like it but I’m not so sure but if I don’t, what do I do? How would I pay off my debt I accrued without a degree?</p>
<p>You could elect to start at a community college or a state school within commuting distance and transfer from there. I saw you’re from Massachusetts. I’m not sure how public higher education works in the state but if its anything like California the community colleges offer articulation agreements with the state universities. That could potentially save you thousands of dollars a year. </p>
<p>I also saw that you’re interested in a major which UMass doesn’t offer. I go to a school with probably the number two program in that field, and checked the faculty profiles. It appears as though many of the faculty didn’t actually receive their undergrad degree in atmospheric/meteorological science. Instead many got it in engineering, physics, math, etc. UMass also hosts a Climate Systems Research Center which may allow you to get involved in figuring out how atmospheric processes work.
[Climate</a> Research Theme | UMass Geosciences](<a href=“http://www.geo.umass.edu/research/climate]Climate”>Climate Research Theme | Department of Earth, Geographic, and Climate Sciences)</p>
<p>Again, if you elect to start at UMass, go in with an open mind. You’ll be surrounded by tens of thousands of other students, some of whom you’ll have nothing in common with, but others with whom you share a great deal. Then there’s also the other four colleges in the consortium which means there will be an enormous variety of social scenes, types of people, and academic offerings to choose from.</p>