Help! Lost, confused, and looking to (maybe) transfer...

College Search & Selection
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<p>So here's the deal. I'm currently a freshman at Vassar College. So far, I haven't really liked it. I don't enjoy my classes and haven't made any friends. I feel isolated onto the campus and wish I could get out more just to go see a movie. Also, there are far more girly-girls here than I expected. This just isn't me, I had all guy friends in high school. The upperclassmen seem okay, but I feel as though my class belongs on the O.C. or something...(at least, maybe, my hallway) This may have something to do with the fact that my class is 50-50 gender ratio, this was in order to make up for the 70-30 girl-guy ratio of the class before us (normally the ratio is 60-40) Anyone have any thoughts on how they think this could affect the balance of a class? </p>

<p>So, I'm thinking of transferring. I figure I might as well apply and see what my options are in case things STILL aren't going well at the end of the year.</p>

<p>My high school stats were alright: 3.8 UW up until last semster senior year (went drastically down to a 3.3 or so) Not sure what my overall cumulative ended up being.
ACT score: 33
EC's: 3 years theatre (8 or so shows)
3 years piano
2 years flag corps (captain)
2 years science club (secretary)
2 years art club (secretary)</p>

<p>College grades: Not sure, but it's prolly gonna be more 3 B's and an A or maybe 2 A's and 2 B's</p>

<p>Career goals: I want to be a working actress in Film or theatre (especially theatre)
However, I do not want a BFA program, I want a BA program in drama with the ability to maybe take voice and dance lessons on the side.
I also want to be a writer on the side, but I don't care if I earn money at it or not, I just love it anyway, which is part of the reason I want a BA program, I think it will help me be a better writer.</p>

<p>Other stuff: I'm one of those students who wouldn't mind a B-average in college if I don't have to be a grind. Not sure if I want to attend grad school or not. </p>

<p>Any suggestions for schools or chances for the schools below?
I'm shy, a bit of a tomboy, feel comfortable with guys as long as there are not other girly-girls around, and love to read and write. I guess I'm a bit artsy, and like to wear black some days when I feel the need to. I'd like an open-minded college with a good drama program and a bit of an artsy feel.</p>

<p>Now, I know what you're thinking...you're thinking "doesn't she have all this at Vassar?" Maybe, but I'm just not seeing it. For some reason, there are a lot of good-looking frat-type guys in my class. Too many giggly girls. Where are the open-minded artsy people? People put way too much emphasis on how one dresses here. Also, I don't mind rich kids, but I'd like a campus not so predominate in them (Vassar isn't really, so that's not a reason I dislike it) I feel like I stand out here, and I don't understand it. Where have all the hippies gone? They've been replaced by hipsters. I never expected to feel weird at Vassar.</p>

<p>Here's where I want to apply to transfer:
Barnard:Anyone have any info on the performing arts programs here? I've only been to the city once, but I adored it. It was amazing, and I felt happier there than I've felt all semester. Also, if I'm in the city, I can get out more to just go see a movie. Also, the all-girls thing interests me, anyone know the type fo girls that go there? Also, I've heard that lack of boys isn't a problem, because there are boys from Columbia in classes. This college is at the top pf my list. How similar is it to Vassar? How different in terms of culture, etc. I applied here as a freshman, but withdrew my application after being accepted ED to Vassar.
Columbia: Kind of just want to see if I can get in. I think I might need a more nurturing environment though.
Northwestern: near Chicago, great theatre program with senior showcase, however, don't like that it's on quarters :-( but, but oh well.</p>

<p>Any other suggestions? I want to transfer to a school comparable or better than Vassar in terms of academics. Also, does being a URM count for anything in transfer admissions? And, does applying from a comparable institution increase my chances for admissions at all?</p>

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<p>I am not sure I can give you any help, but I do have some questions. Did you visit before you applied or accepted? Why did you decide to go to Vassar?</p>

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<p>To be honest, I can't think of a single school that is "comparable or better than Vassar in terms of academics" that would offer more of what you appear to be looking for.</p>

<p>Other than the fact that it is in NYC, I don't think Barnard will be appeciably different and I certainly don't think one visit to the city is enough exposure to transfer to a NYC school.</p>

<p>Northwestern seems like an odd choice. I know it has a strong theater program, but it also has a very preppy, pre-professional oriented student body. I don't think it would be anywhere near as "artsy" as Vassar.</p>

<p>My advice would be to branch out from your hallway and start trying to find some like-minded friends elsewhere at Vassar. I'm sure there are plenty on campus, but it is sometimes hard for a first-year to find them.</p>

<p>I don't know the mentoring or counseling or peer student resources available at Vassar. But, if you sat down with your hall RA or a dean or someone in counselling, I bet they could point you to the organizations on campus where the people you are looking for hang out. Theater groups would be a good starting point.</p>

<p>You kind of threw the URM thing in as an aside, but it is possible that's a factor in the alienation you are feeling, too. Getting involved in the appropriate URM student group on campus may or may not be an avenue you want to pursue. I probably would.</p>

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<p>You might want to consider top ranked film schools like USC and NYU, as well as Northwestern and FSU that also have strong theater programs. But any good film school will give you plenty of chances to act because of the huge number of student films being made on campus. Also take a look at the North Carolina School for the Arts, but you might have to start all over again as a first year student.</p>

<p>BTW, doesn't Vassar have a strong film program and would this give you an acting outlet?</p>

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<p>Interesteddad offers good advice about giving time to get used to a new environment. However, I have visited Vassar and it does have a unique culture which is not for everyone.</p>

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<p>i thought of nyu while i was reading your post, even before you mentioned columbia/barnard. if you want to leave new york, wesleyan and brown are similar to vassar but more "hippy" than preppy</p>

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<p>Edad: I'm sure Vassar is not for everybody. However, as I read through the qualities being sought -- artsy, not so "girly-girl", less emphasis on preppy clothing, students who wear black from time to time, and so on down the list -- I can't come up with any schools that would be orders of magnitude "better" than Vassar in terms of that campus culture. Especially when you throw in the "must be better academically than Vassar".</p>

<p>Most of the options I can think of (Smith, Wesleyan, etc.) aren't enough different from Vassar for me to say, "oh yeah, it would be a world of difference, you'd be much happier....). While Barnard is a school that would belong on the same list as Vassar, it is certainly not going to represent an escape from designer handbags. You'd still be in the same boat of trying to identify a like-minded group of friends from a large mix of people. In many ways, I think a transfer to Barnard would be like saying, "I'm unhappy with my Honda Accord so I think I'll trade my silver Accord in on a blue Accord and see if I like it better...."</p>

<p>I'd have to have a much more concrete set of likes and dislikes to start recommending transfer options. To me, tranfering is a lot of hassle to go through unless there are clear, specific reasons to do so.</p>

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<p>The truth is you sound a heck of a lot more like a Bard or Sarah Lawrence or even a Smith student than a Vassar one. (the wearing of black is a giveaway). All three of them are more "artsy" than Vassar (though I am somewhat surprised, as Vassar does have a good reputation for its theater program.) </p>

<p>"People put way too much emphasis on how one dresses here. Also, I don't mind rich kids, but I'd like a campus not so predominate in them (Vassar isn't really, so that's not a reason I dislike it) I feel like I stand out here, and I don't understand it. Where have all the hippies gone? They've been replaced by hipsters. I never expected to feel weird at Vassar."</p>

<p>I am wondering whether you are reacting to the overwhelming amount of family wealth you are seeing around you? (and this would be equally true at Barnard and Columbia and most northeast liberal arts colleges, and certainly Northwestern). Half the student body receives no financial aid, which means family incomes about $160k, with a median for them much higher. Probably 60% of the remaining in the next bracket down. It's kind of hard to be a "hippie" and not a "hipster" with a family income in that range, and you might be feeling some of that.</p>

<p>Vassar is a really good school, and ID is correct that the combination of fine academics and good theater arts probably would put it close if not above any other LAC in the country, for that combination. But if the fit is just not right, maybe you should look for something really different.</p>

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<p>In good faith I don't want to highjack ames' thread, but I was wondering if people could recommend some schools for me in a few posts? I am going back to Smith in the Spring. UChicago will not be on my transcript so technically it is not as though I am transferring twice. I was quite content at Smith socially. I have a good group of friends -I like the progressive leanings of the students, and the fact that most are well-rounded. My frustrations with Smith were primarily academic -I was looking for more serious students and more competent/enthusiastic professors -presumably, the two will go together, although I only have limited experience with this. I would like to stick with a small school, preferably coed, in a rural area with outdoorsy activities, strong biology, anthropology, and political science, all things which were initially important to me when I applied to schools out of high school and I realize are important to me now. Schools I am considering (and this time, for the first, actually visiting) and their most recent admit rates for transfers are Bowdoin (15%), Davidson (15%), Wellesley (30%), Swarthmore (15%), Reed (?), Oberlin (30%). What do you guys think as to how these schools meet my expressed desires?</p>

<p>Pre-emptive message: If you would chastise me yet again for the mess about UChicago, all I can really do is reiterate that I'd had a rough spring semester with a friend in an abusive relationship and being sick for 2 months. I tried too hard to come up with reasons to go to UChicago, b/c my parents had expressed preference in that direction, but in truth my personality bends very strongly towards liking an intimate environment and liking the outdoors. What trying to intellectualize myself out of those preferences and then in the end changing my mind says about me, I have no idea. Maybe I'm picky, but at least I think I'll make a good decision next time.</p>

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<p>Oh yes, I am also looking at New College of Florida (not a florida resident, but it's still cheaper than private)</p>

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<p>Mini:</p>

<p>By the same token, if we step back and look at the broad universe of elite, "rich-kid" colleges and universities (be it Vassar, Smith, Columbia, or whatever), would say that Vassar would be towards the less "showy", more "artsy" end of the scale. Not the most "artsy", but a long, long way from the most "preppy" end of the scale.</p>

<p>So, in that sense, if a student is truly miserable at Vassar, then I would also be inclined to look at schools that are REALLY different, not just one tiny shade of gray different.</p>

<p>For example, Smith is just slightly less white than Vassar. It does have a higher percentage of financial aid students (60% versus 54%), but that difference may lie mostly with the non-traditional age students at Smith. In other words, I'd want to get a much stronger feel for what the issues really are before throwing out recommendations.</p>

<p>I have no idea what the labels mean these days (hippy, hipster, etc.), but I find it difficult to believe there isn't a sizeable chunk of students at Vassar who put little stock in how people dress. It could well be that the poster simply missed them in the particular assignment to a freshman dorm. Or, it could be that all of the freshmen are also struggling to find their college identity and the poster just doesn't know it!</p>

<p>Two months is a very short period of time to write off a college without a little more exploration of the social scene options. It is not uncommon for freshmen to take a while to find their sea legs -- at every school. I am sure there are students saying exactly the same thing at every school under the sun right now. </p>

<p>I note that the poster says the upperclassmen seem OK at Vassar, just not the freshmen. That suggests a need to get out and broaden the opportunities for making friends. I seriously doubt the freshmen are any different this year than they were last year or the year before that or the year before that.</p>

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<p>Ames, I'm not sure if campus-culture is the best reason to transfer. There are a lot of airhead rich girls at Smith, for instance, but I've still made some of the best friends of my life there. I feel like you're not going to find a private school in America with a proletarian student body. Which is by the way unfair. I'm pretty passionate about educational reform:)</p>

<p>interesteddad: could you specifically address my post above, to tell me why it's perfectly obvious transferring wasn't going to solve my problems? I will tell you Smith has gone down hill academically since so many schools became coed -from acceptance rates and test scores it's students are significantly lower caliber than students at any of the other top-20 colleges. Is it typical at top-20 colleges for a MAJORITY of students not to do their homework? Maybe half, but a majority? I don't have problems with you making assertions like that, but plz be more specific. I know from my visits at other schools now that there are schools which are much more studious. At Smith, I was a top student in upper-level classes, while taking FIVE CLASSES. At UChicago, I possibly would have died. I know there must be some sort of a happy medium that would make me feel challenged.</p>

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<p>I chose Vassar for it's theatre program and it's reputation of being artsy. However, I'm not seeing it. There's a lot of preppy people here and a lot of partiers. Where are the artsy people? I see a lot of liberals, but artists? No. I guess I'm thinking maybe a different artsy school will live up to its reputation.</p>

<p>Oh, and I did visit Vassar before I came here. I honestly guess the primary reason I picked it was the beautiful campus, reputation for being artsy and intellectual, and the closeness to NYC (which is not so close at all)</p>

<p>I guess I'm looking at Barnard for these reasons:
1: Location
2: small-liberal arts environment with access to large university
3: all girls, where are all the interesting girls? I've heard Barnard girls are intense, interesting, the type who had all guy friends in high school and were just waiting to find girls like them to be friends with
4: The academics seem just as good as Vassar (anyone have any opinion?)
5: The theatre program seems just as good as Vassar (again, opinions anyone?)</p>

<p>Question: Why do people seem to think Vassar is better than Barnard in terms of academics and theatre programs?</p>

<p>As for likes and dslikes, I guess I really don't know what I want, that's why I'm exploring now. I originally wanted an urban campus, that's why I'm going back to that, but how can I know what location I want? Right now I'm just guessing. I'm not positive I want to transfer, I still have time for things to work out. I dfinitely know I don't want a preppy environment. I can't really pinpoint why I don't like Vassar except for that I feel isolated and trapped, a little bored, I need to get off campus! I'm a person who thrives on change nd gets bored with the same thing easily, going to the city is too expensive, everyone here is too preoccupied with drinking and partying, girls are too worried about what the guys down the hall are doing to talk about the latest book they've read, etc. There's ther things I think, I just can't figure out what they are. Still thinking on it.</p>

<p>Oh, and no, I'm not feeling left out because of my ethnicity, I went to a small school that was at least 95% white. (probably more)</p>

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<p>interesteddad: could you specifically address my post above, to tell me why it's perfectly obvious transferring wasn't going to solve my problems? I will tell you Smith has gone down hill academically since so many schools became coed -from acceptance rates and test scores it's students are significantly lower caliber than students at any of the other top-20 colleges. Is it typical at top-20 colleges for a MAJORITY of students not to do their homework? Maybe half, but a majority? I don't have problems with you making assertions like that, but plz be more specific. I know from my visits at other schools now that there are schools which are much more studious. At Smith, I was a top student in upper-level classes, while taking FIVE CLASSES. At UChicago, I possibly would have died. I know there must be some sort of a happy medium that would make me feel challenged.</p>

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<p>Maybe I'm just foooling myself. I don't know anymore.</p>

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<p>Any opinions? Anyone at all? Oh, and I'm also looking for info on Barnard and chances. So...anyone?</p>

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<p>What is everyone's opinion of the city? Anyone go or have kids that go to a school in NYC? How happy are they? Barnard is listed in the princetonreview as one of the schools with the best quality of life. That's encouraging, but I don't take PR too seriously. Anyone know about the campus? I've heard it's a little outdated and rundown.</p>

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<p>Just to clarify, I don't think Vassar is better than Barnard academically or that Barnard is better than Vassar. They are both excellent schools. It could be that Barnard would be a better fit for you. I have no idea. I also have no idea about theater programs and wouldn't even begin to comment on that.</p>

<p>I just don't want you to make an unrealistic comparison (a romaticized ideal of what you imagine Barnard to be like versus the reality on the ground at any college). For example, Barnard has one of the highest percentages of wealthy students paying full sticker price without financial aid of any liberal arts college in the country (59%) compared to 46% at Vassar. So, if your main objection is "rich preps", transfering to Barnard could be jumping from the frying pan to the fire.</p>

<p>What concerns me a little is that the energy invested in a transfer decision after two months might be better invested in exploring your own campus a bit more. It's not like you are an "artsy" type at a completely inappropriate school (for example, if you were telling us that you are unhappy at Washington & Lee).</p>

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<p>ames, i don't know about Barnard, but I think a good rule of thumb is that if your GPA is 3.6, you have a good chance at transfer to top LACs. If you want to be in a bigger environment, you might love Barnard. Word of warning: I had wanted to be in a more active environment, but I had never lived in a city and over the summer decided I hated living in the city. Personally, I'm thinking transferring to a different shade of gray might make more sense than transferring from black to white. When you're caught in an environment you don't love, it's easy to forget that some things about it are already "right" from your prospective -but maybe you're not as stupid as I was anyway.</p>

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<p>Yes, interesteddad, I definitely see what you're saying. It actually concerns me too that I can't figure out why I don't fit in here. And I guess I am romanticizing Barnard. How do I get the real picture of any school? I researched Vassar thoroughly, and maybe a solution would be to transfer dorms, becasue my hallway are the primary people I see and I feel out of place with them. I have joind one group with like-minded people, but I can't see them being my best friends. Or the solution is to just get out of my dorm more and meet people, which is what I'm trying to do right now.</p>