<p>Let's say you get to college, and immediately you realize that you're at the wrong school. You have the option of staying at the school for a full year and getting good grades so you can transfer somewhere better for sophomore year, or you can transfer home to a low-ranked local university for your second semester, and then transfer again for your sophomore year. Is it better to stick it out for the whole year or leave after the semester? Neither option is particularly appealing (I don't exactly love my home life), but I just hate this place so much. I can't stand the people. The guys are so preppy and macho and the girls are so fake and self-absorbed. I like art and philosophy and no once cares about that stuff. They only care about getting drunk. I'm so unsure of what to do and I'm scared about what's going to happen. I feel like no matter what my whole freshman year has been wasted. I hated high school and wanted things to get better in college, but I'm just as unhappy here as I was there.</p>
<p>You may want to post this in the Parent’s section of CC. Many parents have helped their college students through similar situations.</p>
<p>If YOU know for sure that it’s not the school for you and you won’t wonder what would have happened had you stayed, its time to get out. I felt the same way and transferred back home. I took the spring semester off freshman year because my transcripts didn’t get sent in time to make it into spring and instead took summer classes. Although I regret choosing a “lower tier” college, I don’t regret transferring at all. I felt the same way as you did, the school just wasn’t a good fit for me and I knew I had to get out of there. </p>
<p>Just be prepared to deal with the parent’s saying “I told you so,” my mom tried to convince me not to go there because she didn’t want me to be too far away and is convinced that she was right the whole time and yadda yadda yadda. If you can get out and find another school, go for it. There’s no sense in being unhappy. I’ve had countless friends that felt the same, they transferred to a different school and finally found the right college for them. There’s no harm in transferring for a better fitting school.</p>
<p>biologynerd-- Wow, that was a great answer. I chose my college more because it was selective and reputable and less because it was the right fit. I think what I’ll do is work hard this semester, transfer home, work hard at my local university, and then transfer again. No use in being unhappy. Thank you so much!</p>
<p>I guess the main dilemma is whether or not it’s going to be any better at home. I live on Long Island, so I would be attending Hofstra if I came home. If you know anything about the school, then you know it’s really nothing to get too excited about, ha ha. I guess I’m just not sure where I would be <em>less</em> unhappy.</p>
<p>If you’re unhappy its not worth it to stay; however, you need to check and make sure you’re familiar with all the transfer policies (how they take your credits in, you’re probably gonna have to send all your high school transcripts, IB and AP scores, etc). Also, make sure that you know the policy for the other school you want to transfer to after the one close to home (sometimes some schools have a policy where you can only transfer after so many credits, usually junior year). Make sure you know these policies in and out!!!</p>
<p>Also, drive the financial aid office crazy, literally. Transferring is the biggest pain in the butt when it comes to financial aid because most transfer students don’t get a good aid package. Make sure you are getting the most aid that you can and camp out at the financial aid office if you have to. </p>
<p>And I think the biggest piece of advice I can offer is, don’t write off that school close to home because “you know everything about it.” Believe me, I was in an identical situation 2 years ago. Because I resented my transfer school so much I had a hard time adjusting and making friends there too because I felt like it was just my sloppy second. But if you have that kind of attitude, it ruins a good experience and it keeps you from being happy and making the best of your situation. You never know, you may end up liking it so much you stay (you can always move into a dorm or off campus apartment instead of living at home).</p>
<p>I hope this helps! Feel free to message me if you have any questions.</p>
<p>Thank you so much, biologynerd. I really agree with everything you said. I do have one more question though. Assuming I do transfer a second time, can you recommend a school that would be good for someone who’s looking for a more intellectual student body? I’m an English and philosophy major, and I want to find people who are more like me. I hate being around party-people. I know I could never get into schools like UChicago or Reed, but are there any schools that someone with an average GPA could get into? Thanks so much. I appreciate your insight.</p>
<p>You’ll find people like you no matter where you go. I despise partying and hooking up as well, and most people who like to party. I’m at a well known party school (and I live in a place known for its parties) and I met plenty of nice, mature people here.</p>
<p>Yeah, I guess that’s true. I just hate being in a school where the partiers are kind of the majority and are at the top of the social hierarchy and the serious kids are kind of relegated to the outer edge of the social life. I feel like I’m in high school again. I’d love to go to a school like Sarah Lawrence, but, unfortunately, their transfer acceptance rate is only like 20%.</p>
<p>No problem! I’m happy to share whatever I can. You’re going to want to look for a liberal arts college, probably something private. You can virtually study English and Philosophy anywhere, but I would look for smaller schools with more discussion rather than lecture based courses. </p>
<p>There’s this school called Wittenberg University in Ohio. I’m not sure exactly where you are looking to transfer but its a great small college, very academic oriented. It’s a religious campus as well, so I’m not sure if you’d be ok with that. I got accepted but I only had the money to visit two colleges, so I never ended up going to visit. I do know however, that academics are taken seriously. While its not an ivy league school, it is a nice undergrad and the campus is absolutely beautiful. </p>
<p>I would also check out Carleton College in Minnesota. Its a small liberal arts college. I actually visited this one and it was gorgeous. There is partying that goes on, but its only because its in a VERY small town and there’s not a whole lot of nightlife. But the people that I met and talked to when I visited were really smart and loved it there. Its 40 miles from the twin cities though, so you could always catch a bus into the city and explore for the day.</p>
<p>Where exactly/which region of the country would you prefer to go?</p>
<p>I would still apply to Sarah Lawrence anyway if that’s where you really want to be. You never know and it doesn’t hurt to try.</p>
<p>Apply to UChicago and Reed as well! You never know. Test scores and GPA are looked at far less than writing talent and enthusiasm for the school at Reed.</p>
<p>And, I know someone who’s a technical theater major at Hofstra and she absolutely loves it there. It’s a perfectly fine school.</p>
<p>Thanks reedie. Who knows, I guess I could send a hail mary application to Reed for next year.</p>
<p>biologynerd-- Carleton has a 7% transfer acceptance rate. Yikes. I think I’ll try to stay at least somewhere on the east coast, though.</p>
<p>The unfortunate thing is that with these small LACs, not many people transfer out, so not many people get to transfer in. =(</p>
<p>what about elon in north carolina?</p>