<p>Hey, I'm graduating high school this week, but I've been mentally ill (depression and related stuff) for as long as I can remember until this January. After I "woke up" I realized how much of a mistake it was for me not to apply to any colleges this year and NEVER to investigate my options. I'll be going to the University of Georgia next year, and it looks great, but I think there could be a better school out there for me and would like to get some information on transferring--how to get scholarship money, how different colleges treat transfer students, etc. I've never heard of transferring in a situation like mine--classmates who plan to do so usually want to transfer to UGA or another state school, but I want to look at a wide range of options before making a decision (if it's even feasible at all).</p>
<p>First of all, I'd like to move to a city. I'd really like to go to a better all-around college, but since that seems unlikely, I'd like to be near a lot of different people and opportunities. Mainly, I think I'll still be around people who are mostly a lot less intelligent than me. My talent search (age 12) SAT score was higher than the norm of the Honors students. I'm a National Merit Scholar, but I'm a lot smarter than you have to be to meet that cut-off. I didn't realize that I might actually have academic potential until after spending a little bit of time on the Siemans network and seeing that I accomplished the same thing as the other SAAP winners despite being out of my mind with depression and anxiety, never doing my homework, etc. Anyway, I'd thought about shopping around to transfer from UGA before, but when I read that we could only sign up for 2 Honors courses next semester, it really changed the way I thought. I might be wrong and UGA might be the perfect place (and I might not be able to handle a more challenging university), but I definitely want to at least have explored the transfer option--and I think that, academics aside, I'd prefer living in a city. </p>
<p>Heh, and what is my question behind all this? I really just want to know where to start. I'm seeking intellectual stimulation and proximity to ideas and creativity that don't seem painfully repetitive. I know I can find that at UGA, but I can probably find more of it elsewhere. Plus, I don't want to settle for less than I can get people to give me when it comes to academics.</p>