Fear of Transferring

Transfer Students
1

This is kind of a vent post, but yeah.

Anyway, over winter break I officially decided to pursue transferring. I am unhappy at my school (Oxford College of Emory) for a variety of reasons (school is uninspired and heavily pre-professional; not a lot of the choice selection in courses; no niche clubs-- all clubs are extremely exclusive, btw, you have to apply to get in; in the middle of nowhere; barely any arts; no school spirit-- “Oxford culture” is hating on every part of this school; it’s literally a ghost town on weekends; I have no proper friends, and before you ask, yes, I am active in several clubs) (everything this college lacks is what my high school had, so it’s hard to adjust) and it’s stressing me out terribly. The reason I came to this school in the first place is bc I didn’t make it into any of the schools I actually wanted to attend. Looking back, I believe that I didn’t try hard enough on the main essay, had weak rec letters, and despite being 99th percentile for SAT/ACT, I come from an extremely competitive county so my scores were considered relatively average or weak.

I have relatively good first semester grades and am participating in a LOT of extracurriculars, but I am afraid that once again it will not be enough. I am so unhappy here-- I have tried new things and taken risks, and none of them have resulted in anything. I am proud that I tried, but in the end, I feel like I am trapped on this tiny campus with no friends, no way out, and nothing to do. I don’t know how to make myself appealing to colleges-- I am trying to build relationships with professors for better recs and for the transfer essay am planning to write a bit about how I want diversity in the English major (all we read are white male poets-- my high school made a big effort to diversify our reading material, so I know that some colleges must do it as well) / want a stronger English major where a creative writing minor is ok.

I am just so afraid of failing and getting rejected from everywhere again, and I am so afraid that if I actually transfer I will still be desperately lonely with no friends bc everyone already has someone. I am an outgoing person-- I get along with people easily, but since I’ve had such a hard time getting along with people here, I have become almost shy or anxious every time I see even a HINT of someone not liking me, and I’m probably imagining it.

I don’t know-- can anyone attest to their experience transferring? Is it still lonely?

2

So this might be irrelevant to you since I’m also still in the application phase, but I really relate to a lot of feelings you’ve expressed. I did four semesters at my first university, tried really hard to make it work in all of the ways that people always suggest, and just struggled to find the environment I needed there. I’m currently on a leave of absence and have accepted that I might have to finish my undergraduate there if I do get rejected on all of my applications. But the way I look at it, I’d rather apply to transfer, so that ultimately wherever I end up is where I’m supposed to be I guess? If I get rejected, I go back and finish my degree and move on with my life. If I get to transfer, I go there and make the best of it, and if it isn’t any better then I know that I tried my best to find what I needed, finish my degree, and move on with my life. Or maybe, I get to transfer and feel really satisfied with all of the choices I’ve made to get me to this point. I think if you have the capacity and resources to apply, there isn’t any reason not to.

3

@bernie12

@loease
You can transfer from Oxford after the two years, but by then. You might just like Emory college.
Transfer only to schools that offer great fin aid. Also, 99th percentile is a 1460 to 1600. 1460 is not that high. I assume you didn’t get into Emory college either.

4

If Oxford is the only place where you were admitted, then you didn’t have a very broad application list did you? My bet is that it was all high matches and reaches. There are something like 4000 colleges and universities in this country. Most of which would be more than happy to admit a student with the profile of an average Oxford admit. Provided that financial aid is not a huge issue (good money for transfers is hard to find), if you expand your notion of what can be a good place to study, you will find some nice options.

Look at the English departments at your home state public Us. The departments will have many more faculty members than Oxford, and are likely to have much more diverse reading lists. Even our local CC’s English department isn’t all dead white guy reading lists.