<p>I'm currently in my second semester at Cornell's School of Hotel Administration and I have been contemplating transferring. The school is nothing like I expected and if it were any other school, I would have transferred by now; but it's not just any other school. The fact that it's an ivy and I'm in the best Hotel School in the world makes the decision that much more difficult. </p>
<p>I have been thinking about jobs, and what I want to get out of my education and I realized the only reason I am doing all of this is for the money. The only classes I have liked so far are the ones outside of the Hotel School. I thought I could suffer through boring classes so I can get a business degree and get a good job, but now I'm thinking that's a mistake. </p>
<p>I just want feedback from anyone who's in a similar situation/has had a similar experience and if you think it's ridiculous to give up an opportunity at a school like Cornell.</p>
<p>I felt pretty overwhelmed during my first semester here, specifically because of the workload (I know they all joke about the Hotel School having it easy) and I spent a great deal of time at TA hours and in the labs, sometimes until they closed, finishing projects, papers, and homework in general. I became so wrapped up in that that I felt kind of stuck, like I didn’t have time to do other things I wanted to do and meet as many people as I’d hoped. I also don’t feel very close with many people in the Hotel School. I loved high school but I don’t want to do it all over again and that’s what I feel like is happening when I step inside Statler. If I were to transfer majors, I probably wouldn’t stay at Cornell, which makes me feel this weird sense of guilt. I feel as though I’ll end up with a great job and make a decent amount of money, but I’m starting to question my motives and wonder if it’s not just about the good job.</p>
<p>The Hotel School is a very special, very specific place. It is indeed one of the top programs in the world. However, if you don’t want to be in the hospitality industry you are going to be miserable trying to complete that program. </p>
<p>You need to think about what you would like to do with your life, and your career. If you decide that your goals are better pursued at a different institution, do not waste one second feeling bad about “leaving an Ivy for X”. You would be leaving the Hotel School in order to pursue the program of studies that you really want.</p>
<p>Wishing you all the best.</p>
<p>P.S. Back when I was a grad student at Cornell, the undergrads in HumEc seemed to be the most balanced. Why not take a look at that division and see if you find something you like.</p>
<p>i agree with happymom. i’m in humec and LOVE it, as do many others in my college. i don’t think you need to leave cornell just because you don’t want to be in the hotel school anymore. there are a lot of really cool majors here</p>
<p>Sometimes the reality of a situation does not fit expectations and hopes. In such cases, it’s no sin to find something that you think fits better.</p>
<p>whats your gpa? try to transfer, as long as you have a lot of gen eds, because many schools don’t take people from vocational programs if thats what your in.</p>
<p>I’ve been thinking a lot about whether I want to internally transfer or transfer altogether. I just haven’t felt consistently happy here. There are good days of course, but I can’t help but feel this underlying pressure of going here and am always talking about grades or hearing someone wherever I am talk about how unhappy/stressed they are. I was waiting for the bus yesterday and a girl just broke down in tears! Plus I feel like there is no escape from the school. Ithaca is pretty isolated and the town offers basic necessities: walmart, target, and a few scattered take-out places; not to mention the weather. </p>
<p>I just can’t get over the fact that I would be leaving an Ivy and am wondering if I should just tough it out for the next 4 years. I know I’m the one who ultimately has to make this decision, but I just need to make sure I don’t make a mistake. My parents tell me that I can do what I want, but I can sense they want me to stay. I’m really just not sure what to do.</p>
<p>Could you do a visiting student semester somewhere else? I know we have one here at NYU, but anywhere else would do. It would break up the monotony of being in Ithaca for four years, but you would still be able to fulfill credits for graduation. Is study abroad an option, or is the Hotel School really rigid?</p>
<p>Don’t let the word “Ivy” stand in the way of your emotional freedom. If you are miserable, get out of there. There are lots of fine places you could be. Think of it this way: you aren’t “leaving an Ivy”, you’re “leaving a program in hotel management that just isn’t right for me”.</p>
<p>Of course one never knows whether ther might be some opportunity in the future that may not have been there otherwise. That part is unknowable though, and may even go the other way.</p>
<p>While, on the other hand, you apparenty know that you are not happy with the current, or the foreseeable future, in virtually any respect, that part is either fact or a lot less speculative.</p>
<p>This is a precious time of life, if one can look back at your four years of college as overall a net positive experience, by a large margin, that’s better than otherwise.</p>
<p>Thanks again for all your advice. For me, I am prepared to transfer; however, I don’t believe my parents are supportive of it. They tell me that it is my decision and my life, but they always try to convince me to stay. They say that it isn’t just a hospitality degree, but a business degree. While that is partially true, I know I will end up in hospitality some way or another. They didn’t seem to supportive of the idea of an internal transfer, so I didn’t even bother telling them I wanted to leave the school altogether. The environment and attitude is what really bothers me the most, more than the classes (although the competition and workload is nothing like anything I’ve ever experienced). At first I thought I was just going through the normal sadness of adjustment, but there hasn’t been a single day where I have felt genuine happiness that has lasted.</p>
<p>I’m sorry for crashing your topic. I’m applying to transfer to Cornell. I would like to know the financial aid situation in Cornell. Do transfer students get as much as freshers? In general, do engineering students get more financial aid? Thanks!</p>
<p>re: depressed, oldfort made some good observations along those same lines on another thread, and it seems possible that this may be the case.
Look up “first year adjustment reaction” in a pyschology life span development textbook, they certainly ought to have some of those floating around Hum Ec.</p>
<p>But if that is indeed the diagnosis, the question is what to do about it. The status quo certainly doesn’t seem optimal. the choices are: 1) find ways to make it better, or rather actually good, where you are; 2) take a leave and try to work things out and maybe come back when you know why you’re there; or 3) transfer. If depressed, just staying and continuing the status quo is not likely to make one not depressed. But the choices seem to be the same, whether depressed or simply legitimately unhappy with things without being depressed.</p>
<p>If you are depressed it might be a good idea to talk to an appropriate professional, maybe at home while you’re on break.</p>
<p>If you want “IVY”, then GO! Although no one outside of the US will care much of the “IVY” school, they do care about is Harvard,Stanford, Berkeley.</p>