[Personal/long] I need some perspective on transferring

Transfer Students
1

<p>Hey guys. I'm having some trouble deciding my transfer path. Currently I'm a freshman in my spring quarter in a Top 50 school. I'm miserable here; the school is just a horrible fit for me. I won't get into details because they aren't very important but just understand that I'm not exaggerating when I say I'm miserable. I never wanted to go to this school in the first place, but I received a full scholarship and couldn't pass it up for my parents' financial sake. But since attending, I've spiraled into unbearable depression and was taken into psychiatric care. All of this made me feel crazy because everyone else in the school seems so happy. Although my personal problems definitely played a major part, I've concluded it's the environment that really triggers all my mental problems. (When I went away off campus during breaks, I was happy) I need to get out of here.</p>

<p>Anyway, all of these factors led to me staying in bed all day and missing a lot of class. My classes were not very difficult, but with my crippling depression I couldn't get myself to focus or study. I even ended up skipping a couple of my midterms because I couldn't gather the confidence to leave my dorm. My fall quarter I somehow managed to pull of a 3.6 but my condition exacerbated in Winter quarter where I got a 2.6. Now I'm standing at a horrible (for my standards) GPA of 3.1.</p>

<p>The only thing keeping me going is the idea that I won't be trapped here for long if I can transfer out, but my GPA is really beginning to destroy that hope. It doesn't seem like I can transfer into a university I'd be happy at anymore. I guess what is so frustrating is that I know my current GPA doesn't reflect my true capabilities, but there isn't much I can do to change it. </p>

<p>Here is some background information.</p>

<p>High School:
3.9 GPA
Graduated in the top 10
Fantastic EC's
Accepted to UC Berkeley, UCLA, UMichigan, Dartmouth, American University (the school I'm currently attending is not listed)</p>

<p>College:
3.1 GPA
Very minor EC's
Congressional internship at Capitol Hill (Probably the only thing I have going for me)</p>

<p>I made the wrong choice with selecting the current school I'm attending, but at this point what can I do? Now, I wouldn't be accepted into any of the colleges I got into out of high school. Some other schools I'd (ideally) like to transfer to are USC, NYU, and Georgetown. </p>

<p>Should I not even bother applying to schools of that caliber? </p>

<p>Any type of honest advice is welcome, no matter how pessimistic it may sound. I'm completely lost. I had such high hopes for myself in high school and now it seems like I'll never be able to accomplish those dreams. I've considered taking a year off, but I think that will make me feel even worse about myself.</p>

<p>I'm sorry for posting such a heavy message, but CC has truly been such a fantastic community and I really don't know where else to go with this. Thanks everyone.</p>

2

<p>First and foremost, you need to take care of yourself. While I understand that being at a school that doesn’t work for you can affect your state of mind, dissatisfaction with the school should not affect you this much. So, I have to question whether just a change of college is going to make you and your grades better. I know you don’t want to hear this, but college will always be there, you need to get your circumstances straightened out, you need to develop the skills to be resilient and cope when a situation is difficult. Believe me transferring is not a silver bullet, you will need to cultivate a group of friends and you will need to figure out a new college system when other students have been there a year or two.</p>

<p>You say that you don’t want to take a year off, but transfer deadlines for next fall have passed for most selective colleges. Since finances are a concern, NYU should not be on your list as they are know to give very poor FA. USC has some merit for transfer, but I’m afraid that they are likely not realistic given your gpa.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>High hopes and dreams are just that, they’re good to have but they are not reality most of the time for most people. You need to take some time off, talk to your parents, friends, and health professionals,and prepare yourself for the longer term rather than rushing to other schools and either dealing with the disappointment of not being accepted or bringing with you the problems that you have at the current one.</p>