Do you guys think I am making a big mistake by transferring colleges?

College Search & Selection
1

I am a college freshman who has almost completed his second semester, and I have been generally unhappy with the school, but there are some good things. The main reasons I want to transfer are because my current school is ridiculously small and a suitcase school on top of that. Almost all of the resident students are in-state, so those that like to party stay on campus and party on weekends, while those that don’t like to party go home. In addition, the school is in the middle of a residential neighborhood, and the downtown has nothing but a few restaurants and antique stores. Without a car, you are bored, and there are literally family homes a few feet away from campus.

The only solid friend I have at the school commutes there 2 days a week, so I rarely see her, so she doesn’t make enough of a difference in my decision. I eat dinner with a few guys most nights, but they like to drink and use drugs some of the time, and I don’t do drugs or drink, so I dont usually hang out with them outside of meals. Plus, there is a lot of drama within the group, and two of the members of the group are fairly awkward, but they are good dinner companions. And one of them is graduating next year, so he would be gone for my junior year if I stayed.

I am in a few clubs, but they haven’t had any meetings because they are so unpopular, and I have a few friends in the building, but they are loners and never want to leave their rooms. Plus, we don’t click that much anyway and I hang out with them at times out of boredom. My roommate is the worst you could ask for and is a party animal, and never uses headphones when he listens to music. And he kicks me out of the room for several hours on Friday and Saturday nights so he and his friends can party and does not let me back in until he’s done. In my dorm and most others, the student lounge is completely empty and everyone’s doors are always closed, even at 7pm on a Friday night. The student center on campus is also completely desolate on the weekends and most weeknights.

My entire family is wondering why I dislike where I am, and they ask me why I want a party school now when I didn’t want one before. I do not want a party school nor do I want a suitcase school, and they think that a school is either a party school or suitcase school and there is no college that is in between the two. They think that any school I go to that is not a party school will the be the exact same way my school is, with the campus being completely dead on weekends and I will be just as bored.

Additionally, my school can’t give me the degree I want, so if I stay, I would earn an economics degree and go to graduate school for my finance degree. All of the schools I have applied to for Transfer have very good business schools, but my school has only a regular college. The academics in general have been very good, though. So anyway, do you think I am making a huge mistake by transferring colleges for a better social life. And would every campus be the exact same way, with nothing to do for non partiers. I need to know.

2

Hey Beach Guy.

Transferring is a personal decision. A common one definitely. Many students are not quite sure what they want in a school until they have actually been away at school. You are finding the school size, student body, and location is not working out as planned.

You will do better at a school that you want to be at. If that is gone, then transfer out to a school with a large resident population located in an area where you can access different activities. Without a car you are looking at a city setting.

As far as a roommate goes. That is just the luck of the draw that you will have to deal with until you can choose a different roommate second semester.

Best of luck to you.

3

What are your other options? If you have affordable choices, that’s great. If not, you need to work with what you have. You’re paying for your room, so your roommate has no business telling you that you have to get out. Why can’t you just hang out but not drink? You seem to have friends and are in clubs, but neither are as active as you’d like. Are there any active clubs you can join? Can you get a campus job? Both of those may help. If you stat, try to get a new roommate next year.

It sounds like you want more of a residential feel and less of a commuter campus. That’s a reasonable reason for transferring. What’s your budget? Your other threads indicate that you’re from NJ. Are there any universities there that are affordable?

4

@MassDaD68, but do you think I’ve tried hard enough to like where I currently am? Transferring should be a last resort for anybody, and by not hanging out with people outside of meals if they are partiers, I am blowing an opportunity to stay where I am and do the right thing. I feel like I have too many “rules” for people I hang out with, like that they have to be down to earth and not socially awkward and not party at all or very little. I do not feel that I’ve tried hard enough to enjoy this school, and I feel guilty transferring unless I have done everything I can not to.

5

@austinmshauri, my 4 other options are all affordable. There are 1200 students on my campus, and 90% live on campus, but almost all the people who dont party go home on the weekends, leaving the campus dead.

6

I’m a parent, and if I could afford it, I would agree with my child’s wish to transfer for the reasons you’ve outlined.

How small IS your current school?

If you were at a larger, more residential school, you’d have a much better chance to find people who stay at school many/most weekends and are looking for fun that doesn’t involve drugs and alcohol. If you are willing to share the names of the schools you’ve applied to/been accepted to transfer to, we might be able to give more specifics.

7

That doesn’t seem to be working out very well for you. You can live by whatever rules you want, but you can’t impose them on other people. They’ll just refuse to hang out with you. You can attend parties without drinking, you know.

8

It is a tough decision. I applaud you for wanting to tough it out but you should not apologize for who you are. Not wanting to be a part of the drinking crowd is not wrong at all. The school might not be able to offer you what you need. It sounds like you need a slightly larger university so that there are more students who share your values and is located in a place that would facilitate doing things not centered around drugs or alcohol.

Transferring is not a failure. You cannot be expected to fully appreciate the campus until you actually spent time there.

9

Which school do you attend? Are you looking to leave NJ for greener pastures?

10

It sounds like a bigger school could be a realistically better option.

11

@LuckyCharms913, my current school has 1200 undergrads.

12

Go to the large livelier school. I dont think you’ll regret it. YOLO

13

IMO transfer to a larger public school that has a finance degree. The more undergrads there are, the more options you’ll have for who to hang out with, and the more clubs there will be that will have fun activities for a straight edge person like yourself.

14

@MassDaD68, my college is not a party school by any means. Parties only occur in weekends in the on-campus suites. What I’m saying is that most of the people who like to party stay here on the weekends and do just that-party. Most of the people that don’t like to party go home every weekend. The small size and isolation of the campus also make me feel claustrophobic.

15

You don’t have to cross off a bunch of items on a form to prove your worthiness to transfer. It sounds as if the school is just a poor fit for a variety of reasons. Some people do not thrive in a small school. One of my daughter’s friends went to Conn College, and in spite of already having 3 close friends there, absolutely hated it. She transferred to Vanderbilt, joined a sorority, had a great time, and graduated a semester early. Does this mean she didn’t try hard enough at Conn College? No, it was just a bad fit.

16

1,200 students is really small, especially if a lot of students leave on weekends. If you have affordable options that aren’t a big compromise in terms of academic quality, I’d seriously considering making a change.

17

@LuckyCharms913, I knew I wanted a small college and still do, but 1200 is microscopic. Almost all of the students here live within 30-45 minutes from the school. 90% of students live on campus, so it’s not a commuter school, but many of the straight edge students like me go home on the weekends because of the distance and lack of activities on campus, leaving me very bored and lonely when I stay. The campus, landwise, is really small also and in the middle of a family neighborhood. It takes less than 10 minutes to walk the entire campus. My current school is great academically, but all but one of the schools I am applying to for the fall have even better academics than here.

18

Which school do you attend currently, and where are you trying to transfer to?