<p>I am currently an engineering student (freshman) at University of Michigan Ann Arbor with a 4.0 in multiple difficult courses. I absolutely loathe this place as it is far too large, the students act like spoiled children (they are not even smart/brilliant, they just happened to be good students in highschool), and the school of engineering has this idea that an engineered system has to be something that exists physically (i.e. information engineering and social engineering like fields confuse the engineering school; their ideology is probably left over from the automotive age here in Michigan). I will admit that the professors here are not bad in the slightest, I just wish that the student body could reflect that level of quality, too. Clearly my dissatisfaction suggests that I transfer somewhere where I will be better off.</p>
<p>One thing I understand about transfers is that it really doesn't matter if you are unhappy with where you're at; Transfers are only for those who cannot get the most out of where they are at. Setting my personal preferences aside, my only legitimate reason for transferring is that I most likely cannot concentrate in the field I want to concentrate in (that is, make my own super engineering field that includes computational science (zomg math), operational psychology/management, and information engineering).</p>
<p>I am simply wondering if I have the wrong approach/interpretation/anything when it comes to understanding these transfers and my position at my current university (last choice financial safety during freshmen application process). I am also wondering, to the best of everyone else's knowledge, where I could possibly be looking at that is an improvement to where I am, allows me to take a more ambitious course (or design my own thing), and where students are serious. I truly appreciate any helpful input.</p>
<p>Since you have a 4.0 in rigorous courses, you should find transfer options to be fairly wide open. You are right, most transfer colleges won’t care much about your reason for transfer – since you do have great grades, you don’t need to do a big song and dance about “why” other than to share what your interests are in your target schools so they can see you are a good fit.</p>
<p>It sounds like finances are an issue–if so, that will drive much of your search. I don’t know if there is a perfect school for you that you can also afford, but there is a possibility of a school that is a better fit and a bit less frustrating.</p>
<p>Transferring because you are unhappy is completely normal and fine – you just have to start an aggressive search for a good fit (financially and academically). I have no suggestions of actual colleges. I just wanted to commend you on your great grades and to wish you the best in your search. Hopefully others will have more information.</p>
<p>Do you have a few schools in mind? If you list them, you may get some feedback on them.</p>
<p>There aren’t very many financial problems, I was just emphasizing the fact that transferring to a school that is equivalent in caliber to UMich is not worth paying 2x over for.</p>
<p>I am kind of eying schools the caliber of Harvard, MIT, and Brown; though looking at the admissions stats, I don’t believe that the chances of these happening are very high (I don’t know what the applicant pool is like though). My main issue is that I can’t seem to find any school that specializes in what I’m interested in at the undergraduate level that is also a bit flexible when it comes to degree programs.</p>
<p>You might want to look at what graduate programs have your specialization. If you do your undergrad there you might have a better chance of getting into their grad program and would likely have courses taught by teachers who are in your area. Many school also have accelerated bachelor/ master tracks which might be an option (although I’m not sure if the science have that, I know humanities usually do).</p>
<p>You mention a number of good reasons for wanting to transfer (size, the students, etc.). If you decide to stay at UM, however, are there any other majors/minors outside the College of Engineering that address your interests, e.g., Complex Systems, Organizational Studies, Informatics, which you could combine with an engineering major (e.g., IE)?</p>