<p>I'm in the same boat. All of my friends here at VT are like "why are you leaving a #11 engineering institution for a #30-somethin??". Frankly, I've come up with a two line sentence to answer it, and its been working thus far. Don't let anyone else make the decision for you. Use people to get feedback, but ultimately, do what makes you happy. Being happy will make you more successful wherever you are. Unless its your parents making a fuss (which is the case for me), no one else should have any impact on your decision. Especially since you have sound reasons for wanting to transfer (i'm the same thing: i want electives).</p>