I am a first year student at UAlbany who is having a really tough time and DOES NOT enjoy it here. I had a bad feeling about it as soon as I went to orientation but everyone told me to give it a shot so I did. Bad choice. I just feel like a cog in a machine here, like I don’t really matter. I want to transfer for Spring 2020 because honestly, I am just depressed. I hate it here. I don’t feel like I belong.
On that note, I was wondering if anybody knew of some liberal arts colleges or smaller universities relatively close to Albany? I live nearby and I would prefer to live on campus. I’m already applying to Siena College and Hartwick College, which I applied to during my initial college search process. I am willing to go places up to 3 hours away. State schools, if they aren’t terribly big, would be okay as well. I just want to be at a smaller place where I feel like people truly care about me and want to help me.
I am a history/ medieval studies intended double major right now, and the medieval studies program is hard to find. I am willing to switch to just history, as long as I can take some medieval classes. I do love all history though so mainly just a school with a solid history program would be good.
I understand the cost factor, and I am fairly certain that I would get an okay aid package wherever I went. But schools with strong financial aid would be a plus, so if you know of any that would be great.
I am also considering just going to a community college such as SUNY Adirondack (which can be residential) or getting a car (or taking the bus) and going to HVCC or SCCC so that I can live with my family. That would give me more time to figure out what I truly want and go from there. All I know is that I do not want to be here.
If you have any advice that you could give me I would love to hear it! Any help would be appreciated.
I visited College of St. Rose. I honestly wasn’t feeling it. I applied to Union last year and got denied. I heard that their need aware and have horrendous financial aid. I didn’t check Bard, Skidmore or Colgate though. I’ll look into what their transfer deadlines are for all 3 of those
Do the schools you’re applying to offer aid for transfers? If your mom is taking a PLUS loan for you to dorm at Albany maybe you should commute there instead.
The schools I’m applying to do offer aid, and Siena even said that they’d give me the same aid package as last year. And its not really about the whole dorming or cost situation at the moment, although it plays a factor. I tried to get out of dorming and they wouldn’t let me anyway. The main issue is how unhappy I am here. I honestly feel lost im the system and like just another cog in the machine. I don’t have a ton of friends and people in my dorm aren’t very friendly so I don’t reach out because when I did they were just jerks. I’ve met a couple of awesome people in my classes but it’s not like I hang out with them. On top of that the housing administration has been hassling me since day 1 about things that don’t even matter. Like I said, they refused to let me out of my housing contract even though I had a medical note from my doctor saying I need to go home. And then the residence director at the quad that I live is harrassing me about things that are completely irrelevant (saying that I’m lying about having a microwave when in fact I don’t have one, for example). I tried to go above her head to talk to reslife about the situation and they did not care at all. On top of that my classes just don’t interest me at all and my professors are okay but that’s about the only thing that is okay about Albany. I’m in the honors college and I just don’t feel like I belong. I’ve lost all motivation to do anything here because I just hate it. Overall I am just not happy and I need to find somewhere where I fit.
Holy Cross (Worcester, MA) has very good offerings in Latin and medieval studies. The transfer deadline for the spring was last Friday (Nov 1), but you could call to see if they’d accept your application a little late.
I remember your previous posts when you were trying to decide which college to attend. After reading those, and now your current situation, I’d suggest going to the community college and see how you feel as you end your associates degree. Good luck.
Are you eligible for the NYS TAP Grant? If that covers tuition the Pell Grant could help cover the commuting costs to a community college. After you get your associate’s degree you may be ready to commute to SUNY Albany.
I get Pell and Tap. I get a service through the government that pays my tuition and takes the pell and tap away to maximize how much money they can save though, so I wouldnt get a refund from pell. I could probably use loans to buy a car, which would still be cheaper than paying for housing expenses. The one problem with this is that my job was through UAlbany (not work study- school was too big to give me that), and i dont know whether HVCC would give me work study. I’m going to financial aid at HVCC on friday to talk to them about everything.
You may not be a transfer student. Many schools allow a student to take 16-26 credits after high school and still be considered a direct entry freshman. You have to check each school.