First off, thank you for reading my post…I know it is very long but PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO READ IT AND THROW ME SOME ADVICE… i am in a very conflicted position at the moment and would appreciate any advice whatsoever. Heres my current situation…. I am currently a freshman at the College of Charleston and worked my butt off academically this year… and it paid off as i got into my “dream” school - the University of Miami as a transfer student for admission in the fall. I didn’t get into Miami originally when I applied as a Junior and was devastated and ended up going to the College of Charleston as my second choice school. I’m not leaning towards either school at the moment, and would appreciate any advice regarding my future after you read the pros and cons that I will be facing at each school…
Lets start with Charleston. I am CURRENTLY having a very good time here, but didn’t have as great of a time last semester (hence why i decided to apply to the University of Miami). I joined the fraternity AEPI, and really feel like i am starting to fit in and find my place here. There are so many “pros” to Charleston: however to be honest (whether this is a stupid reason to stay at CofC or not)… the main thing holding me back from transferring at the moment is the girl situation here. The quantity (something like 70% girls) and quality of girls hands down cannot be beat. It’s not easy to leave that behind. Another huge reason is the overall FRIENDLINESS at Charleston… that constantly spreads good vibes. It really does live up to its name of the “friendliest city in the world” This is something that cannot be found at Miami. I am also in a great apartment that cannot be beat. Overall, I just love the people at Charleston better than Miami. the first CON of Charleston is the weather. Coming to a school in South Carolina I didn’t expect it to be cold the majority of the school year. I am a huge fisherman (it is a passion of mine) and I don’t really have the opportunity to go fishing at Charleston as much as I expected I would be able to when I first came to the school. Charleston is not nearly as good academically either, but I don’t know how important this actually is regarding my future. I am a marine bio major, and although Charleston has a great marine bio program, UMiami’s blows it away. The night life here also tends to be poor, and sometimes I feel like I’m not even on a college campus.
Now for MIAMI… the main PRO of Miami is the fact that it is a top rated school with an unbelievable marine bio program which provides for a seemingly infinite of job opportunities and internships that are just not as available at Charleston. But, once again… how important is this for my future? Does graduating from Miami vs. Charleston really make that big of a difference? Another PRO is the WEATHER … you can’t beat it… and constant heat provides me with year round opportunities for my passion of fishing. Theres literally places for me to fish right on campus which it pretty much my dream come true. Another pro is that I will be able to join the AEPI chapter at Charleston… so my effort pledging at Charleston wouldn’t have gone to waste. There is always something to do at Miami, while Charleston can get boring at times… especially when the weather isn’t great (which is most of the year). The night life is also unreal, in addition to the opportunity to go to sports games (which Charleston doesn’t have)…. giving more of the feel of actually going to school on a college campus. Lastly, Miami has long been my DREAM SCHOOL. I took marine bio courses there for 3 weeks a couple summers ago during a summer scholars program, and was hooked on the school ever since.
For the CONS of Miami… i visited the school last weekend for the first time since I took that program there and was disappointed with some aspects of the school that i wasn’t originally aware of. My main concern is that the people at Miami, both guys and girls, seem to be extremely shallow, and don’t appear to care much more than regarding what other people think about them. Coming from Charleston to Miami, the hospitality that i was used to experiencing at CofC was shattered, and the difference in people’s personality was strikingly apparent. Also, there seems to be a lot of jock-like dudes there, with a smaller amount of girls; who seem very shallow and jappy for the most part. I know this might not be the best reason to not go to Miami, but I do feel that it is important to consider.
OVERALL, the dilemna seems to be between my social life (better at Charleston) and my education (better at Miami). I will definitely be a “smaller fish in the pond” at Miami, but I will be getting a better education. I can’t thank you enough for any help or advice whatsoever.
It’s amusing to me that someone says the weather in Charleston isn’t great year-round…the grass is always greener, lol.
This is a hard decision to make, and ultimately I think it depends on what you really want out of college. MIami has more of a national reputation; Charleston, more of a local/regional one. If your goal is to stay in South Carolina or the Southeast in general, graduating from either won’t matter as much (Miami will certainly give you an edge, but CofC is well-respected in the Southeast). Go anywhere else in the country, though, and Miami has the better name. However, name/prestige isn’t everything when it comes to getting jobs - particularly if you’re going to need a graduate degree.
Honestly, though, your pros for Miami seem a lot stronger than your pros for Charleston, and the cons seem weaker. University of Miami is pretty widely known as a “party school,” a place where students have a good time, and so I don’t think that your social life will be threatened if you go to Miami (other than having to spend more time studying, perhaps). I’m not sure why you got the impression that pretty much everyone at Miami is shallow, but I’d explore that a bit more and see if you can get to the root of it. Miami will definitely have a different feel from Charleston - different school, and different regional flair. CofC is a straight-up Southern school with Southern charm; Miami…isn’t. That difference isn’t bad, though, just different. It’s basically just about what vibe you want - Southern charmer-type student body, heavy on South Carolina girls and Charleston hospitality culture; or the vibrant, multicultural, party vibe of Miami. I’ve been to Miami and the city just seems to be buzzing all the time, in a good way.
And yes, job opportunities and internships do make a big difference - an internship can turn into your first full-time job, or an internship can gain you the network that leads you to your first full-time job. Both colleges likely have great opportunities (CofC has a great marine bio program!), though.