I’m currently at the University or Pittsburgh in my first semester, and I’m very unhappy here. I’m planning on waiting out the semester, hoping it will get better but I’m very uncomfortable on the campus and I don’t see myself ever loving it here. I’m scared that I’m going to dissapointed my parents if i tell them i want to transfer but i genuinely believe it’s the right thing for me. So basically i was wondering if it’s better to take the spring semester off and maybe take some community college courses, or try to transfer directly into another school closer to home and with a more traditional campus feel. Thanks for any help or advice!!
It is OK to take a semester off. Frankly, unless you would plan to finish up an AA or AS at that community college before transferring on to a different 4-year place, I’d advise against taking classes at the CC in the spring. You will end up with one more transcript that you will have to send to everywhere that you do apply, and you’ll have to keep track of that record for the rest of your life along with your U Pitt record.
Go ahead and investigate your options at 4-year institutions that you like better than U Pitt, and see if a January start is possible. If not, go home, get a job, and enjoy your time off from the academic rat race. It will still be there when you are ready to start up again.
“It is OK to take a semester off.”
Absolutely.
At the risk of stating the obvious: Work hard to keep up your grades as long as you are at university. Attend all classes, pay attention, and keep ahead in homework. When you get to applying to transfer, your university grades up to that point will matter quite a bit.
Also, you should be pretty sure that you are applying to places where you will be happier. You don’t want to transfer and find that you are no better off than you were at your previous school.
There is nothing wrong with taking some time off to figure this out. There is also nothing wrong with giving your currently school a full year, working hard, and seeing how it goes.
You have been at Pitt a week and a half. Look very carefully at your next school so that you don’t end up feeling the same way there.