Hello all, so here is my story:
Currently, I’m a junior at a Private Catholic University. I’m a double major with a GPA of a 3.8, had three internships, working two jobs, and I’m pretty involved on campus. However ever since I started coming here I’ve never been happy. There’s always an emptiness inside of me every day I go to class, the passion in me is just gone and I feel like I haven’t had the experience I wanted in college. I’m gay as well and even though the vast majority of the faculty and students here are loving and accepting, the University admin is pretty harsh on the LGBTQ community.
And I know what’s gonna be said, if you’re gay why did you go to a Catholic school? A couple reasons, one, my school offered great financial aid that covered 95% of my tuition, two, it was far enough from my hometown(although I commute now so that point is mute), and third I honestly didn’t know how bad it was until I got here and I admit that’s my own fault, I should’ve done more research but I was in such a rush to get into college my senior of high school and when my college sent me my financial aid package, I thought it would be a pretty good deal.
So I’m in a dilemma, I’m thinking of transferring to a community college, getting an associate’s, then transferring again to a four-year college. My concerns/cons are, financial costs of going through all this, going through multiple application processes all over again, career success, and whether if I’ll be able to go on and successfully complete a BA. I’ve thought about just toughening it out since its only one more year but I’m not even sure if I have the strength to do that.
So my questions are, what are my odds of success at transferring out this late in the game? What will my chances of being successful in a career look like through all of this?
You have less than 3 semesters remaining. Many students have undiagnosed depression and feel that transferring is a magical solution… Have you visited the counselling center? How do you plan to pay for all this transferring?
The timing concerns me. If you are a junior, after this semester you only have one year left. Going to a CC for an associates degree seems like a huge step backwards. If you feel you really can’t take it for one more year, any way to finish up early? Maybe even with one major or by taking classes over the summer?
It’s not undiagnosed depression as I actually do have diagnosed depression and I’ve come to a point of my life where I’m able to distinguish whether it’s depression related unhappiness or situational/environmental unhappiness. I have gone but it hasn’t helped at all and I have a few limited options in mind but I honestly don’t know. I posted because I like to have outside perspectives before I commit myself to a decision.
I’ve thought about that too and that is in the realm of possibility for me, the thing is I would’ve to take extra loans for summer classes and I don’t want to get into any more debt than I have to. Thankfully, I’m better off than most thus far in that department, I’ve taken very small loans up to this post but I also don’t want to accumulate any more during my undergrad years.
Transferring to a CC at this point would make sense if:
- You intend to pursue a career program there that will get you a job right away, either because that is the career you want, or because it will pay well enough to support you while you pursue other future studies.
Or
- You are making a drastic change of major and need an entirely different set of pre-reqs than you have so far.
Or
- Your grades are awful and you ned an academic re-boot before you apply anywhere else to finish your bachelors degree.
None of those seem to be true for you. That means that your options are:
- Look for 4-year institutions that might accept you as a junior. You will will need to plan to spend two years there.
- Look for 4-year institutions that do accept senior transfers. Most of these are distance ed/online programs. University of Maryland University College and Penn State World Campus come to mind, but there are others.
- Figure out a way to get through one more year where you are. Does your college offer any semester abroad or semester away options? Can you arrange to do a “guest senior year” somewhere that would be specific for your major or your career goals?
- Take a gap year to do something different, and then go back to your college finish up.
It appears that you have already made a decision to transfer and are here looking for support for that decision, which you are not receiving.
If you are truly, utterly miserable, ask about taking a leave of absence right now. That would leave you with a bunch of W grades for this semester (unless you can swing a medical leave and get the grades wiped out). That way you would still need three semesters to finish up, and transferring makes a bit more sense.
The plain truth is that lots of students don’t get the experience they had wanted out of college. They have to commute. They have to choose a similar major but not the one they want. They have to work full-time to pay the bills. They don’t get the internship they had hoped for. Costs and/or parents force them to attend a place they don’t like that much. Please don’t let fictional accounts and other people’s fantasies lead you to believe that you are somehow missing out on “the best time of your life”. Your best times are ahead of you. Keep that in mind whatever you do decide about transferring,
What are your current majors ?
Does your college or university have an agreement allowing you to be a visiting student at another school for a semester or a year ? (This option might allow you to keep your financial aid.)
Can’t you apply to transfer directly to a four year college? Your GPA etc… seem pretty strong and I think you have a good reason for transferring as well.
My college does offer semester abroad options and I actually just started looking at them, I’ve also considered doing a gap year. Thank you for your help and explaining what options I have available.
I’ve thought about it and I would hopefully be a good candidate but my main worry with that is financial aid. If a school were to offer me a nice financial aid package then I would’ve nothing to worry about.
Thank you. I know I should keep that in mind, that there will still be time for fun and adventure in life hopefully, I guess part of the reason why I’m disappointed is that I thought it would be like living in a fantasy, I thought all my problems would go away but that wasn’t the case. I did have good moments here and still have time to create more good memories, I just don’t know if I should keep going with this.
Thank you for your help. I really did need to hear this perspective.
Yes it does, and I’m currently exploring options regarding this.
I think it’s a giant waste of time and money for you to transfer at this point, as well as a giant step back. You run the risk of losing all motivation and never getting a degree if you make such a drastic move at this point. The finish line is near. Seems to me that you need a change of scenery for a semester. I never got my act together in college until I studied abroad. It gave me a much-needed different perspective on life, and when it was over I was motivated to finish my degree.
You say the admin aren’t very tolerant, but the people you interact with on a daily basis are. So ignore the admins and stick to those who accept you. There are other gay students at your school I am guessing, so get more inovled with them if you can, or volunteer for a cause that interests you. You will find yourself feeling better if you are giving of your time. Good luck.
This.
Financially, your best bet- by a mile- is to finish your degree through your current university. Look for exchange programs- in or out of the country. Do your homework: are there specific graduation requirements that have to be done on campus?
Then try again. Try someplace else. The right kind of support can help you manage unhappiness, whether it’s clinical depression or situational unhappiness.
And in the meantime feel sorry for people for whom college was the best time of their life: a 4 year highlight from 18-22 and the next 70 years is all downhill? no thanks!