Has anyone transferred FROM an elite college?

<p>Hi,
I'm considering transferring from an elite LAC to a much lesser known LAC. I'm hoping to:
1. Be closer to home
2. Not feel outnumbered by rich kids and find more people who have a background like mine (it's not that I'm not open to ppl w/ different backgrounds, I just feel intimidated, and don't like feeling like I'm one of the few middle-class kids)
3. Not feel surrounded by so many elitist, snobby ppl (I know they will be everywhere, but I'm hoping for less)
4. Be in a more laid-back, less intense environment</p>

<p>In short, this place feels very different from where I was born and raised, and I miss it. Very very few people from my HS went out-of-state, I'm one of the few. I find myself missing the laid-back, friendly feel of my school and small-town. Any thoughts? Experiences?</p>

<p>I know exactly how you feel and are wondering if we go to the same school, haha!!!</p>

<p>I feel like that right now.</p>

<p>I'm at a state university though and I feel lost...</p>

<p>transferring feels like such a major life change, I already took a risk with this place, and now I'm terrified of making another mistake...</p>

<p>I feel lost too...</p>

<p>And it doesn't help that I was really close to my friends in HS and miss them like crazy...and I'm a sophomore!</p>

<p>Transfer! If you're a hard worker you'll do good in life, ur college degree doesn't mean ****. A piece of paper only takes you so far, hard work takes you anywhere</p>

<p>What school do you go to?</p>

<p>You defenitly should not let money intimidate you, well atleast when the people you say are intimidating to you don't actually have any money personally but their parents do. People who feel superior because their parents make a lot of money are the worst. My father makes a lot of money but that means absolutley nothing to me cause it's not my money and I didn't do anything to make it. Wait maybe 5 or 10 years until you decide to bring up money and intimidation related issues cause that's when they'll be relavent</p>

<p>Trust me, do yourself a favor and don't transfer. For all of the snobs I'm certain there's atleast a few decent people at your school.</p>

<p>From another post:</p>

<p>LACs, unfortunately, have a harder time with socio-economic diversity, so you'll have pockets of affluent kids at those places too. They will be a bit less obvious though than their East Coast counterparts.</p>

<p>Perhaps, what you may be noticing is the difference in how kids communicate as well? My friends from the East Coast tend to talk a lot, are quick to give an opinion, gesticulate some, break eye contact to look at the ceiling, and tend to drop titles of people, books, etc...more readily than my friends from anywhere else. It might look like they are a little arrogant, come across as priviledged, or live in a little bit of a bubble. Often times, they are not aware of how that can be percieved by others who are not used to their style of communication. I used to dread going to high school in Massachusetts from the Pacific Northwest because it took some time to change gears.</p>

<p>Luckily, outside the Corridor of Power, people and colleges tend to be more laid back. The work might be intense, but communicating may be easier. I'd suggest schools in the Midwest, Pacific Northwest, the South (they like to dress well, but are very approachable), and the Southwest. Again, I hate to use general terms, but my East Coast friends tend to be very much the hyper, type A personalities. Either that or they are a little neurotic. BTW, my Dad is an East Coaster, so I know how it can be.</p>

<p>At the same time, you'll get used to it by your second semester. The hard part is learning the swagger, especially if you are laidback. Most of the time, my friends and peers out east are shocked when I react in a different way than they do. I know it's a pain, but I let them know it. </p>

<p>BTW, we can all be provincial...dealing with others who are different can be intimidating, but you also learn from it. Otherwise, your world will be limiting. I'd say, if you can, stick it out.</p>

<p>"At the same time, you'll get used to it by your second semester."</p>

<p>-Doubt it...that's what I thought, but I'm a sophomore now...</p>

<p>Part of me thinks I'm crazy for giving up this education I'm getting to go back home and to a much lesser known school or a state uni, but the other part of me no longer cares about the name brand.</p>

<p>I also think that it may not be an East coast thing, but maybe it has to do with the type of student here. I think you'd have to be a Type A student to get here, someone who's very concerned with reaching the top. I was that way, but now I'm realizing I'm changing, and I no longer feel that way. I no longer think that reaching the top will make me happy...So I'm thinking that a lesser known school will have less of these types of people. </p>

<p>So what do you think? An East coast thing, or is it a top college brand of students thing? I'm guessing a combo of both, but more towards the students thing.</p>

<p>You could go abroad for a year...or do a semester in Washington....</p>

<p>As to your question, I'm leaning towards it being more of an East Coast thing...but, I may be wrong. The thing is that my Reed, Grinnell, Vandy friends, for instance, do not behave like my East Coast friends at Wesleyan, Vassar, etc...but the stats for most of them are very similar. Especially in the South, my friends have found that you can be type A's without the posturing...and be laidback at the same time. Weird, I know.</p>

<p>As for dealing with them, you could teak them a little by always arguing the opposite...it'll get them going, and you know they will take it seriously. ;) Try to treat them like an eccentric aunt: smile, be cordial, and just follow where they lead, even if you know it sometimes is a little out of touch with the rest of the world.</p>

<p>BTW, by your senior year, those peers will be way focused on grad school...so you won't have to see as much of the behavior because they will be busy positioning themselves. In any case, if you don't want to stay put, apply for transfer. In the mean time, also apply to go abroad for a year...then make a decision after your 4th semester. I know it sounds bad...but you'll have to spend this year there anyway...and if you go abroad, you won't have to try to re-acclimate yourself to a new school and rush to make faculty contacts if you plan to go to grad school. Also get a squeeze ball for those particularly try times. Worked for me.</p>

<p>it's an east coast thing.</p>

<p>The thing about going abroad is that although you'll be getting away from the environment for a semester, you're ultimately coming back to it. Going abroad is a great opportunity to travel, meet people, and learn about yourself, but at the same time, you might realize that you still don't want to go back. What my opinion has become is that even though I could try and make the best out of a situation, if I could find somewhere else that I would be happier and enjoy more, why shouldn't I take that chance? I don't know, I'm just thinking now that college is supposed to be some of the best four years of your life, and if you just kind of waste it by skating by making the most of something that you don't particularly like or are happy with, you're wasting a valuable experience. I'm taking the plunge by transferring. I'm scared. But excited. :)</p>

<p>A good number of my friends who went abroad went for a year. Even if they liked their undergraduate school before leaving the country, they found, when they returned, that their peers were somehow out of touch. They could not wait to get out and go to grad school.</p>

<p>I'd say have a plan A and plan B, and if possible a plan C. I've also had some friends transfer after two years who had a hard time at their new school even if it did fit them better. The issue for them was that they did not know the professors as well, and it took a year to really get involved or hold an office. That was fine for those who planned to take a few years off after their undergrad, but it was bothersome for those who wanted to go right after it.</p>