I am considering transfering to a different school and I really need some guidance on what school to choose or if I should stay at my current school. I am currently a 1st year student at the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University which is known to be the best communication school in the world. I plan on moving to NYC or LA after graduation to pursue a career in media/communications/entertainment. I love the school itself but I do not like the location of the school and I donât really connect with any of the students there. However I am getting great financial aid and it is the best school for my career. I have applied and gotten into a few schools and there are a few I am still waiting on.
Syracuse University- Newhouse School of Public Communications. Current School.
Boston University- College of Communication. Accepted.
Chapman University- Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. Accepted.
Southern Methodist University- Meadows School of the Arts. Waiting for decision.
Boston College- Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences. Waiting for decision.
University of Miami- School of Communication. Waiting for decision.
University of Southern California- Annenberg School of Communications. Waiting for decision.
If anyone has any insight about these colleges please let me know! I really need some advice!
As Jon Kabat-Zinn famously said âwherever you go, there you are.â What if you donât âconnectâ with students at the new school, and what if you like the school LESS?!?
Iâd be inclined to stay planted. Youâre in a good program with good aid. Youâd be trading the devil you know for the devil you donât. No school is perfect.
See if Syracuse has âstudy away/off campusâ programs in NYC and LA. See what one has to do to qualify znd make sure to do more/better.
If you got a great scholarship, itâs hard to see how any of the other programs could be an equal or better value⊠odds are that the new colleges will not be as inexpensive as Newhouse.
Whzt factors make it âhard to connectâ with other students ?
They actually do have programs in LA/NYC that I am thinking about. I have received really good financial aid from the schools I have gotten into so for now I donât have any issues with tuition costs. I have visited a lot of the other schools and when on campus, I met a lot of students who were incredibly kind and welcoming. The students I met at Syracuse were the opposite of that. They are not outright rude or mean but they are not the friendliest people. They are very stand offish, snobby, and just give nasty looks for no reason. I just canât really see myself being happy there for another 3 years.
I know a first year in your program. She is incredibly kind and welcoming (though maybe a little shy at first, in her first days at college), not snobby at all. She was virtual in 1st semester and has just come on campus in 2nd semester (along with quite a few other students obvs). Her description of the students in her classes is completely different than yours- overall. When I asked her if there snobby / cliquey girls she said âof course- you find those everywhere- but not manyâ.
If you donât want to be there, you donât want to be there- fair enough. But it is exceptionally unlikely that most of the nearly 500 people in your year (much less the other nearly 1500 people in your program) - in a communications program!- are unfriendly and âgive nasty looks for no reasonâ. You donât have to tell us your underlying reasons for leaving, but you need to know for yourself (see comment 1)
Your only sure choices so far are Boston or Chapman. Accepting that the costs are equal, and leaving aside their (extremely) different locations, to me the big dividing point is where your core interests are: if film Chapman, if journalism/media BU.
Didnât mean to offend you or anyone. That was just my genuine experience when I was at Syracuse. I know that there are snobby people everywhere and I know thereâs obviously some nice people at Syracuse. I just feel like I met friendlier people at different schools.
Have you already left or did you decide to go virtual 2nd semester?
Itâs not a matter of offense- and I get one place not âclickingâ and another place feeling like home. I just encourage you - as you make your choice- to think past perceived friendliness. If you visited Syracuse before you went, what did you like about it on that visit? what turned out to be different between that visit and actually being there as a student? Were your happier visits to the other colleges like experiences (time of year, in/out of term, etc)? All of these questions are just to help you think through what you have learned to help you assess your choices going forward.
