<p>I was waitlisted to U of C last spring, and chose to not fight the wait list, and instead attend UC Berkeley as an out-of-state student. I began regretting my decision in late spring, and though I had a good first few weeks here at Cal, the initial excitement wore off, and my residual feelings toward the matter are that I made the wrong decision.</p>
<p>I came from a large, competitive public high school in which being a nerd was the norm. I thought I wanted to get away from that. I loved Berkeley for the fact that I could seek out an intellectual atmosphere, but that it wasn't surrounding me at all times. </p>
<p>I love the Bay Area. I love the genius and drive of all of my professors. I love that even in just a month, Berkeley has helped me learn how to function as an adult. </p>
<p>But small things that I thought I was trying to escape from have been at the forefront of my mind as of late. I miss being around people who have the same intellectual curiosity OUTSIDE of the classroom that they do inside of it. I worry that with the strict bureaucracy and major restrictions here that I will not be able to take as many courses outside of my double major that I would have liked (the core would allow me to do so). I worry about the budget cuts, about the somewhat lackluster treatment of undergraduate education here. I worry about the sheer size of the University. </p>
<p>I am considering pursuing a double major in English and History. At Chicago I could write a creative thesis for the English major if I wanted. In part, I do worry that in a transfer to Chicago I would be giving up interaction with professors from the best English department in the country. Yet I know Chicago's english department is superb as well, and it would come hand in hand with more personalized instruction and smaller class sizes. </p>
<p>It seems early to be thinking about this, and I am fully aware that these are the feelings that plenty of people have their first month in college. There's a good chance I could feel much better about my decision in one, two, three months from now. But I've woken up every morning for the past two weeks not feeling like I don't want to be at Berkeley, but rather that I do want to be at Chicago. </p>
<p>Does anyone have any experience with the transitions of transfer students, or with the transfer application? My sister graduated last spring from UofC, ending on a great note, but after having an incredibly difficult first year. She's living in Chicago now and seems to be happy. I picture myself at UChicago next year and it seems exciting and right. I don't feel like I have an idealized portrait of the school and of the environment, but I do recognize that I could. </p>
<p>Thoughts?</p>