not happy here at my college. far too easy

Transfer Students
1

<p>I am a freshman at DePaul University in the honors program. I am really not liking it here. I understand it has only been a month, yet I feel very very strongly towards transferring out after this year, and I am definitely not the only one. First of all, I feel very isolated here at this college. People here are not that friendly, and the majority of students are partiers. This is not exactly my thing. I have made some good friends here, but the social life is not what I'm looking for in a college. I also feel that the intellectual levels of the students here are too spread out. I am looking for a college that chooses its students for the person they are, and the character they have, and I dont feel that DePaul does this. I would prefer to also go back to the east coast, because I am missing it too much. I am at this university mainly because I had many issues at home that I had to deal with in high school, and I had graduated with around a 3.2 or 3.3 GPA (1 AP, 18 honors classes). I am also biracial (half African American, and half white). So basically I came to Chicago (I am originally from Boston), because I needed to get away from my home life that was suppressing my ability to achieve an adequate academic performance. I have noticed that being away from home has definitely allowed me to showcase my academic abilities and increase my motivation. Which is another reason that I would really like to transfer. I have great grades in all my classes here at DePaul (straight As), and will continue to get a 4.0 for the rest of this year.</p>

<p>I find my classes here to be very very easy and not challenging at all. I have classes only twice a week, and my workload is like a half an hour if that for homework. So basically I only have like an hour a week of homework if that. I feel like this school is such a waste of money. I understand that it has only been a month, however that is not just the case. The classes in general here at just very easy. My high school back in Massachusetts was more difficult than it is here at DePaul, and they baby us far too much at this university in our classes.</p>

<p>I am such a changed person from high school, and I feel so motivated and DePaul does not seem to satisfy my needs academically.</p>

<p>My current courses:</p>

<p>Honors Explore Chicago Social Reform (required course)</p>

<p>Honors World Literature (Required Course for the honors program)</p>

<p>Beginning Arabic 101 </p>

<p>LSP 120 (quantitative reasoning and computer literacy) (I was supposed to be in Honors 180, data analysis and statistics, and I placed out of LSP 120, however they said that they made a mistake and have put me in this LSP 120 class by accident, and by now it is too late to switch out)</p>

<p>Another big reason that I would like to transfer is that I am a poly sci major, however I really wish I could be an international relations major but DePaul does not offer this as a major. I hope to go into a career in international law. </p>

<p>In terms of extracurricular activities, I started a chapter of an organization here at DePaul that I was president of in high school for two years and that I also have two national positions with.(one of the positions is being the national fundraising coordinator for the organization, and the other position is a regional organizer in charge of Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Illinois and all the high school and college chapters of the organization in these states such as at Northwestern, Swarthmore, Yale, ect.) This organization relates a lot to the career I want to have in international law. My ACT is very low at a 26, (32 reading, 27 writing, and 23 math and science). I can definitely retake this for a higher score. (For this ACT test anyway I was not even trying my hardest. I kind of lost focus and motivation after the second section)</p>

<p>These are the schools I hope to transfer to and my reasoning behind it:</p>

<p>Wellesley (strong international relations interdepartmental major. also Albright institute of global affairs)
Tufts (strong IR program, also my father used to work here, family members have graduated here, and I know some professors)
Brandeis (My father worked here as well for a while in the biochem department---even though that has nothing to do with what I am going to study---, and my aunt had graduated here. I also know professors here)
UPenn (strong IR program)
Brown (IR program, and I like the flexibility of the curriculum)
Georgetown (strong international policy program)
Yale (offers Jackson institute of global affairs to upperclassmen)
Columbia University
Northwestern</p>

2

<p>If you want a more challenging school, go for it. Depaul is an okay school, but its evident that it’s not fulfilling your academic needs. I suggest you to strongly consider The University of Chicago and Northwestern because it won’t be such a hassle with any moving issues. However, it is your choice, and you get to decide where you best belong.</p>

<p>Best of Luck!! (:</p>

3

<p>Keep in mind that you will need a VERY strong college transcript to be competitive at Northwestern or UChicago. Take a look at older threads. It’s possible, but you have to essentially be perfect, which is next to impossible. I’m in a similar boat. Good luck.</p>

4

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<p>You never even gave it a month, you were asking for Chances in July.</p>

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<p>You can feel strongly, determined, whatever, it’s still 4 yrs of 3.3 vs. 1 semester of 4.0 at an academically weak school by your own admission.</p>

5

<p>“So basically I only have like an hour a week of homework if that.”</p>

<p>For each class, or altogether?</p>

<p>Unless you have had several years of Arabic in high school or you possess a truly rare linguistic talent, I cannot imagine that less than half an hour each day is enough time to be spending on Arabic. Mastery of a second language requires continuous diligent practice. In my experience, an hour each day would be the minimum for a Romance or Germanic language. Arabic would easily require more than an hour.</p>

6

<p>I think you have to stay in DePaul for at least a year before you even think of transfer. Right now, if you apply, your highschool record will be looked upon closely, with 3.3 gpa, you have no chance. You need to proof yourself at college level before the better schools will even consider you. Everyone can say, “I will”, but unless there is evidence, you are only good with your past.</p>

7

<p>These are all the required courses, and the most difficult ones offered for freshman at DePaul, with the exception of the math class, in which I clearly stated that I was placed into the wrong class. </p>

<p>I did say that I am staying here for A YEAR. I am not planning on leaving DePaul before that. I am not transferring just for a more prestigious name. I am transferring for a stronger program in the area of my study. </p>

<p>I probably never should have posted here. Everyone seems to be negatively responding to what I have to say.</p>

8

<p>It is not unusual for a freshman to find classes to be easy the first few weeks or even the first year of college. Note it has been only 4 weeks and many professors are not trying to weed out freshmen students in those first weeks. </p>

<p>You may be singing an entirely different tune in the spring or by next fall as you transition out of freshman “intro” classes.</p>

<p>If you try to transfer right away, you are stuck with your HS grades and SAT/ACT scores. Even if you improve your ACT score, your HS gpa drags you down. In other words, even a semester of good grades at DePaul won’t be enough to offset that.</p>

<p>If you wait another year, then your transfer will be based almost entirely on your college record. So stay focused and earn that 4.0 or something close. </p>

<p>Don’t get too cocky, either. There is a huge difference between week 4 and week 12 in the semester system. Often those first few weeks are fluff and then all of a sudden all the papers become due, the pace picks up, etc. One thinks they are doing great in a essay-based class and then get back a paper or a midterm with a much lower grade than expected and no time or other projects to lift the grade. Etc.</p>

<p>We’re not being negative, we are sharing our collective experiences–our own and that of our children, or for those of us that are teachers and professors, those of our students. You clearly under-performed in HS, though your 3.3 gpa and the 26 ACT are a match… and while you probably can pull a 4.0 in college, you haven’t done it yet. </p>

<p>Realize any reservations you are reading about your performance and potential on these boards is pretty much the SAME reservations that an adcom committee at an elite college will give your application. In other words, real world feedback.</p>

<p>You are at the “show me” part of your life now… retake that ACT and get the better score. Stick at your classes and get that 4.0. Your plan is good, you just need to see it out.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

9

<p>I understand exactly where you’re coming from. I disagree with some posters that you shouldn’t be thinking about transferring yet. If, for whatever reason, you knew that DePaul isn’t the school for you in July (I assume you visited campus then and spoke with some students, maybe even gone to orientation), by all means, start thinking about where you want to transfer as early as possible. This isn’t because of a dissatisfaction with DePaul or anything like that, but to make sure all your credits transfer wherever you need to go.</p>

<p>Picking a school because it isn’t “challenging enough” is a slippery slope. You can get an excellent education at most any college in the U.S. I met a transfer not too long ago that was in the same situation as you, unchallenged by her previous college (ironically, she also wanted to study IR). Having transferred, she wants to return to her old college (where, compared to her current school, the classes are much more challenging).</p>

10

<p>I know what it’s like - I attended a community college for a year, and then an academically weak private university for a year, had decent grades (3.5-3.67) - then I transferred to a selective private college and my grades went way, way up. The courses were more challenging and I actually wanted to learn, so although it doesn’t seem to make sense, my grades, research motivation, etc. went up when I found a school that met my intellectual needs.</p>

<p>If DePaul doesn’t have the major you would like, then get out of there. Unless you can “create” that major, there is no reason for you to settle for something less than what you want to do. However, there is a good chance they don’t offer relevant courses if they don’t offer the major, so it may not even work if you create that major. I understand where other people are coming from saying that you didn’t give the school a chance, but only you can know if it is a good fit. Sure, a more “prestigious” school may not even be as challenging as where you are at now, but that’s not to say you won’t enjoy it there more in a major that you actually want to study. </p>

<p>Keep up your grades and get to know your profs in preparation for transfer. Visit the schools you would like to go to. Chat with students there. Make a very well-informed decision so that if you do leave, you are not in the same (or worse) boat as you are now.</p>

<p>As a side note, don’t consider the “party” scene so heavily when looking at schools. Most schools have that going on, though some are worse than others. Look at what you want out of your education - even at the biggest party school you will still find friends who are like you, and as long as you are happy academically, you’ll be just fine.</p>

11

<p>bumppppppp</p>