<p>My S who has been considering a transfer from UMiami to SUNY New Paltz and felt like it was a done deal last semester is now rethinking his decision to maybe not transferring.</p>
<p>He is not 100% happy at UM and feels NP is probably a better fit for him, but has made a place for himself at UM. He has some ok friends, feels as though the academics meet his needs and enjoys the weather and all UM has to offer. I think one of his concerns is the difficulty of transferring to a place where he knows nobody and starting over. Is that a reason not to transfer?</p>
<p>He is very into alternative music, playing guitar and is more laid back than the kids at UM. Most of the kids he knows have never even heard of the music he is into. He has not found any kindred spritis as far as friends go.</p>
<p>Should he stick it out at UM and have a so-so college experience or transfer with an unknown outcome, but the possibility of finding more his type of kids, but not having a safety zone, nice weather and better facilities?</p>
<p>If he has found friends in which respect him and the things he likes, whats the problem? Why do his friends have to have exactly the same interests?? I mean of course he might feel more comfortable around people who are exactly like him but to go through a rough and difficult transfer process in order to find people who listen to the same music sounds a little absurd.</p>
<p>It's not just that he wants friends who listen to the same music, he would like to feel more like he belongs. While he has friends now, he is more or less forcing himself to be friends with kids that he doesn't feel he has much in common with. The party scene at UM is also a source of concern for him as he is just as happy hanging out in his room and playing guitar or just seeing a movie with ffriends, neither of which seem to be interests of the kids he is meeting. It seems to be more a case of fitting a square peg into a round hole.</p>
<p>Twenty8, how is that a valid question in this case? SUNY New Paltz won't close any doors that UMiami opened. We're not exactly comparing Harvard to San Diego State. Any difference in prestige or academic strength would be minimal. So if a student finds one to be a better fit, why not move accordingly?</p>
<p>An unsatisfactory social scene is certainly a valid reason to look elsewhere, provided that the student in question has tried to take advantage of the opportunities available to him, rather than hide in his room. And, it sounds as if the OP's son has done exactly that, but failed to find what he wanted. The important thing is that if the transfer is of social nature, he needs to make sure that the new school is markedly different, and fills the currently existing to void to his satisfaction. Otherwise, it will have been a needless disruption to his college career.</p>
<p>Twenty8 - Yes, he has joined clubs and organizations and has done volunteer work. He has made a valiant effort to make the best of his current situation.
He visited NP and spent the night there when he was first researching colleges. He liked it then, but the draw of UM's warm weather, beautiful campus, better rating and exciting city life seemed very appealing. Now he is realizing that those things don't necessarily make for a happy college experience. </p>
<p>gprime - NP is the polar opposite of UM- state school, cold weather, smaller school, more rural surroundings and a laid back, artsy and earthy student body. Hopefully, it would be worth the effort to transfer and would fill what is lacking in his current situation.</p>
<p>It's funny, at first we were concerned that going to a lower ranked school would be a big mistake....but recently I had a conversation with someone whose son graduated from UM last year and he is having a really hard time finding a job. It has been made clear to them that the Suntan U. reputation still follows UM desite the change in its ranking and upward trend as a serious University. So, maybe the ranking issue is not as important as we first thought.</p>
<p>gprime: Sorry, I didn't mean to suggest that going to NP would close doors, just that UMiami is well-ranked, and therefore transferring mainly on the basis of social life may not be best in the long-term. Further, Princeton Review lists UMiami in their lists of 'Best Career/Job Placement Services,' 'Diverse Student Population,' and 'Lots of Race/Class Interaction.' Maybe he just hasn't run into the right people yet?</p>
<p>But, if his heart is in NP, then he should definetly apply.</p>
<p>Last word, though: I go to a strict Christian school, known for its self-selecting student body. Nevertheless, I've found all sorts of kids here, from party-ers, study-ers, prayer-ers (=P), etc. Sometimes you have to seek them out.</p>