Need help, basically starting the whole college process over

<p>Ok, so I go to American University but to be honest, it's really not the school for me. I'm contemplating schools on the west coast, because I realized that I want to be somewhere totally different than home (NY) but still have aspects that I like (like the beach haha) and I don't find Washington DC that exciting.
However, I don't really know much about schools in Cali (or Oregon or Washington). Like the only schools I know of are the ridiculously impossible to get into schools, like Berkeley.</p>

<p>So if anyone could help me find a good match that would be really amazing! I was thinking of the University of San Francisco or Santa Clara University because those seem pretty good. I love Berkeley but I'm honestly not smart enough for that.</p>

<p>Let me tell you a bit about myself-
I was valedictorian of my class (ONLY because it was small), got a 2020 on my SATs, a 4 on my AP English & a 5 on my APUSH exams, etc.
The schools I got into the first time around were NYU, Boston College, and Notre Dame (mainly because I was a legacy.)
The only reason I went to AU was because it was the cheapest, but I really am not digging it and don't want to stay there. My first semester I had a 3.6 the next semester I had a 3.1 because I was really unhappy.</p>

<p>Please help!</p>

<p>Omg I also just transferred out of American University!!</p>

<p>have you also looked into sites like collegeboard for more suggestions?</p>

<p>haha seriously!! do you mind me asking where you transferred to? was it difficult? i’m nervous that my gpa is way too low. i’m going back for the next semester because i just kind of realized that i really need to transfer (the idea of spending the next 3 years there gave me more of a feeling of dread rather than excitement.) so i’m hoping to get a higher gpa but im nervous i’m not going to get into the schools i want :/</p>

<p>and yeah i’ve been looking at sites like princeton review and stuff but sometimes its nice to get more of a “real persons” perspective if that makes sense!</p>

<p>If you want to come to Washington state look into UW, university of Washington, it’s right in Seattle. It’s considered a good school for many majors, though not as prestigious as any of the others you mentioned.</p>

<p>totally understandable! but just a question, with the schools you listed do you have a top one yet?</p>

<p>and I had a similar GPA to you and I just transfered to GMU, I loved it the first time I applied as a senior in HS and it had the intended major that I was going to do (nursing) and its a WHOLE lot cheaper than AU lol who gave me no money. Ive also heard public schools for transfer are a lot better and easier to get into compared to private</p>

<p>Have you considered USC? They’re a private school so they don’t take residency into account for admissions or financial aid. The school actually cares about their students too and the networking is amazing.</p>

<p>“The only reason I went to AU was because it was the cheapest”</p>

<p>Is it cheap because of your financial aid package, or is it cheap because it is the least expensive and your family is full-pay? Most places do not have good aid for transfer students, so if money is an issue you need to know what the bottom line is right now. Your best option may be to transfer to a SUNY and whip through your program as quickly as possible, then move to the West Coast after you graduate.</p>