How to know if you are at the right college or not?

College Search & Selection
1

I am a college freshmen, i am a student athlete, i play football. I attend a small division 3 school in South Texas. I am aware that I play division 3 football, i know for a fact i will not play in the NFL, i just love the game. I was recruited by multiple schools and visited all of them. When i came and visited the school i am at, i was infatuated. Their football program had a lot of success in the past, had fancy uniforms, ect. The list goes on. This school recruited me at the last minute, while another school i was leaning towards attending really went the extra mile and WANTED me, i was one of their top recruits and had high hopes of me playing as a freshmen. The school i chose instead brought in over 70 players, while the other school only brought in 30, so they were more selective in recruiting. They were both division 3 schools.

For school, both schools have my major. Both are great educational institutions. The school i attend is 5 and a half hours from home, while the other school is an hour. My grades are good, i made a 3.0, which is decent. I missed a 3.5 by a total of THREE points! Made an 88 and 89 in 2 of my classes. The reason i have doubts about this college is that it’s such a big inconvenience being so far away from home. Im not “home sick”, i just hate how my family can’t come down to watch me play because the college is so far from home. Also this town is not the brightest…i hate it. There is nothing to do and when you get 11 miles per gallon and have to drive 20 minutes to get to anything doesn’t help. I have friends and try to go out when i can, but i can’t see myself here… I absolutely DREAD driving back to school. Im a very outgoing person, but extremely introverted around people when I’m here at school. I never really sat myself down when i made my decision to come here and i hate myself for it. I really need some help on here… how do i weigh out my options and help explain how i feel to my parents? I plan on finishing my whole year here, and then look farther into transferring or not when school is close to ending.

2

Your goal should be to finish the year academically strong because if you do end up applying to transfer your record needs to be top shelf.

Have you looked at other schools? More comfortable in city or suburbs? This is why it’s so important t visit and overnight at a variety of schools before going away.

Remember you’re also becoming an adult and try not to compare HS to college. It’s time for growing up and becoming more independent. Maybe talk to your parents and see if they can come to a game or two but don’t try to replicate your HS experience. It’ll make them feel bad. Good luck!

3

It sounds like you just made the wrong choice and there is still time to fix it. Many students transfer. Have you been in touch with the other coach since you started at this school? Since you are DIII, transferring and getting a release is much easier than at DI (read about self release for DIII to DIII transfers). You may finish the year where you are, but if you are considering transferring, it is not too early to investigate the process. Keep your grades up. Talk to your parents. My guess is they know you aren’t happy, but they may not want to be the ones to bring it up. They may love having you closer to home as well, and at a minimum don’t want to see you unhappy or losing confidence and your mojo where you are. (An outgoing person that is becoming introverted isn’t in a healthy place, so you need to change or the place needs to change.) Open up the communication with them. “I think I made the wrong choice” is a great conversation starter, and if they have supported you through all these years of football, there is no reason to think they will quit now. I wish you well and good luck in this journey.

4

Maybe talk to someone at the other school, like the coach? See if they still have interest in you. The time to do that would be NOW, not toward the end of the semester. College coaches are ALREADY making plans for next year, see if you can be part of it. Good luck!