<p>I'm a sophomore in an Ivy League school, and my experience here has been miserable. I am very eager to transfer to a slightly lower tier liberal arts college (think along the lines of Wesleyan) that I got into as a senior in high school. I'm a little nervous about my grades though- I currently have a 3.58, although I've been very depressed all semester and am expecting lower grades as a result. I had a good high school record, I have a few ECs right now, and I made Dean's List 2nd semester freshman year here (got a 3.85), but all in all, how does it look for me? I'm also a little concerned about the financial aid I'd get as a transfer- I'm guessing I'd have to take out student loans which I'd be repaying for the rest of my life, but I feel like it would be worth it, considering how unhappy I am here right now. </p>
<p>Advice, suggestions, thoughts? I don't think I could stand another year in the school I'm in, and I don't want my life to fall apart any more than it has. I'd really appreciate the help, cause I'm kind of freaking out about this now.</p>
<p>May I ask which Ivy League school you are in? And what exactly about this school that makes you not want to stay there? I am curious because I am transferring from a public school to a private school, which happens to be one of the Ivies.</p>
<p>If you are really depressed, have you seen somebody at Health Services? Get a physical, get your thyroid checked, get an appointment with a counselor. College students today are under so much stress- its amazing that more of them don’t implode! Maybe you need a medical leave for a semester to recharge your batteries.</p>
<p>“I am very eager to transfer to a slightly lower tier liberal arts college (think along the lines of Wesleyan) that I got into as a senior in high school.”</p>
<p>Pick up the telephone and call the admissions office. Ask what you need to do to apply as a transfer student. Find out if there is a chance you could start in the SPRING semester. They already accepted you once, and your grades are reasonable for a transfer applicant. The biggest question would be about your financial aid situation.</p>
<p>Since you are so miserable where you are, talk to your advisor about taking a leave of absence for second semester. Even if you can’t start at another college/university for the spring, at least you won’t be in an environment that you have come to hate.</p>
<p>If you need to make a change then make it. I know of a couple of cases of people at Ivy league colleges who they hated them. One transferred out to the State University and was much happier. They other stayed at the Ivy League school, hated it for the whole four years and didn’t get much out of it. Coming from an Ivy League school it seems to me you have a good chance of being accepted at Wesleyan. You won’t be paying back any student loans forever.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for all the advice… I’m at Columbia, and the size, city, and lack of community don’t work so well for me. I feel as though I’ve been severely reduced as a person since senior year of high school… I just need to get my life back together. Really hoping the transfer will work out.</p>
<p>I understand this all too well. If i might be so bold as to second what was said above about getting a medical leave, while staying in the area. get a job for a few months, try to make some new friends, read a book you want to, find a local band to become obsessed with for a minute or generally make an honest effort to find a connection to the community. I moved down here to Berkeley a few months ago because I am working on a transfer to cal, and it has been rough. When ever you get into a new situation and you just don’t find your “in” even after months or years, you can become distracted from your real goals. 4 years is not a long time, columbia is a GREAT university and it would behoove you to graduate from there rather thjan trasferring. Meditate, mature, think about the reality you are faced with, and the one you want…then find a way to bridsge the two. Depression indicates many things… one of those things is a sensativity to subtleties. take that sensitivity and try to focus it somewhere else.
feeling dead to the world or reduced as a person are feelings that have been felt by many great thinkers. try reading some of their work. look into sartre, judith butler, jean genet…try to build a philosophical framework around what you are feeling and then build one around what you want to be feeling. then you can plan how to jump from one to the other.</p>
<p>you are a smart person at a great school…take some time to envision yourself happy as that, and what it would look like.</p>