Didn't attend my dream school...

<p>collegebust: I haven’t read through all of the posts in this thread but I have read through most of yours. Three things you said caught my eye:</p>

<p>"It was initially a huge disappointment to go this school rather than the Top 15 school that was my dream (and that I was accepted to). And the initial disappointment just NEVER wore off. I’m constantly wondering “what if.” </p>

<p>"…learning my parent’s didn’t have enough money to send me to a certain school (not true, but hypothetically I would have no problem with this)…but knowing that you’ve prepared and waited for this for years, and that the directions were in your pocket for the big day, but then they just slid out through some hole you didn’t even see so you end up getting lost and missing the show…I think that’s something to be legitimately upset about. "</p>

<p>" They told me that I had an equal chance of failure everywhere - possibly more chance of failure at the better school - and they would waste less money if they sent me someplace cheaper." </p>

<p>It looks like you are harboring a lot of regret about letting things slip away from you and that you feel your parents expected you to fail. You didn’t explain why you didn’t go to your dream school, just that the reasons weren’t financial. From what you didn’t say it sounds like you feel like your reasons for not going to that school were not good ones. I’m expecting that perhaps the reason for your inertia may be tied to the reason why you didn’t go to that dream school. Perhaps you need to resolve this issue and this could be something that counseling could help you with. This might be available at your school. I agree that sometimes you just don’t like a place but it surprises me that you didn’t attempt to make a change sooner, there must be a reason why you chose to stay where you are for 3 years. You may need to sort these things out in your mind before you can be at peace where ever you may be. Not liking your school is one thing, not doing well because you don’t like it is another. You definitely might be happier someplace else but I think it would help you to understand the depth of the regret that you are feeling and how and why you landed where you are for you to be at peace with what lies ahead. You got into a top 15 school you must have a lot of capability, get the help you need and don’t waste it. People have been in deeper holes than you are in and have turned their lives around. Maybe you need to come to peace with the reason for your decision to go to your current school, even if it was a bad decision.</p>

<p>Well, it was my parent’s choice to send me to this school, not mine. I didn’t leave for various reasons. 1, is that transfers aren’t granted as much scholarships as incoming freshmen. I had significant scholarships to various schools I applied to but unfortunately lost them the moment I enrolled here. 2, transfer admission is significantly more difficult. My senior year wasn’t bad (Bs) and my first year of college wasn’t bad (mix of Bs and As), but it wasn’t enough to get me into the school that was a reach when my transcript was flawless. 3, hey, I’m shy. I had managed to make a few friends and I thought I would be unhappy having to deal with being a transfer. 4, My grades plummeted by year 2 and then that was that.</p>

<p>Also, to answer questions about graduating sooner, it’s really just not possible. Summer classes are expensive (it’s more economical to be full time for a year), I have an internship and don’t have time to take classes this summer at least, I could technically squeeze more than 2 of my major classes in a semester but if it’s not recommended why would I shoot myself in the foot, etc. etc. I mean, I’ve talked it out with school officials in detail already.</p>

<p>Ok, I’ve got a couple of questions but there’s really no reason for you to give me an answer, just yourself:
1-Why did your parents make that choice for you? My guess is it wasn’t just to make you unhappy. If it was because they thought you would not succeed, the question is where aspects to your level of maturity at the time that made them doubt your possibility for success. It sounds like you went from being a great student in HS to a good one in your senior year. Maybe it has something to do with that.
2-If they didn’t want you to go to the school you got into why did they let you apply?
3-Is there a possibility for you to study abroad, or take a semester at another school? Many schools offer these types of programs. It’s not unusual for kids to be looking for new surroundings by the time junior year rolls around.
4-Why do you dislike this school so much?
5-Lots of people don’t get into their reach school and life goes on, no big deal there. It sounds like you made a choice to stay where you are. It seems that you need to embrace that, figure out what you can be doing to make your stay more tolerable, and most important, stay on top of your game and not let your frustration about your “parents” choice be a justification for letting things get away from you. Out in the real world, at least in my experience, people have asked me for references, certifications etc, no one has asked to see my transcript. Getting C’s really isn’t the end of the world and you still have a couple of years to improve your GPA. Internships provide great opportunities for learning and networking so kudos to you for landing this, make the most of it and enjoy it!</p>