<p>
[quote]
So..if I want to enjoy myself I should go to skidmore, but if I want more respect from my degree I should stay at bc?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>No. It doesnt matter where you get your degree from! go where your heart tells you! you could go to a crappy school, get a high LSAT score and possibly end up at Harvard! So dont trip! just go where you would feel better!</p>
<p>I agree. In this case, I just don't think the differences are immense enough to continue at your current college if you truly want to transfer for legit reasons. BC is a better college than Skidmore, but it's not like your going from BC to Sam Houston State University. You'll still get a great education; work hard, have fun.</p>
<p>I'm going home this weekend and hopefully ill stop by skidmore for awhile...maybe being there can clear my mind a bit....thanks for the help everyone, i appreciate it.</p>
<p>thats a good idea! make sure that you feel better @ skid than BC...if not, then maybe you should question whether or not you should stay.</p>
<p>well...I visited skidmore yesterday. I think its definately the place for me. I saw the new dining facilities and saw some of the dorms. Although I basically grew up there, I really miss it a lot. I think I have a good shot at getting into the honors forum, which brings a decent chance at getting a single dorm (which I would really like). So all in all....I'm going to transfer to Skidmore, and hope for the honors forum. The only problem is.....I really wish I could be there now..:(
Another few months here...ahhhh</p>
<p>Good luck at Skidmore, we will miss you here at Chestnut Hill...whoever you are.</p>
<p>Thanks, I hope this process will go smoothly, or else I may be back here next year...</p>
<p>
[quote]
"I could theoretically be accepted to Harvard, hate it, and decide to attend Northwestern instead. I would be making the better choice for my personal situation, but not the better academic choice."
[/quote]
</p>
<p>You wouldn't be making the better academic choice. If you hate a place it's going to influence your academics, I promise. Name recognition is not universally indicative of academic quality. </p>
<p>The 2006 fields medalists teach at UCLA, Princeton, and University of Paris. Recent Nobel Prizes in Economics were awarded to faculty at Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, University of Maryland, UCSD, and NYU. Brilliance is by no means concentrated to the "top" five colleges in America.</p>
<p>
[quote]
You wouldn't be making the better academic choice. If you hate a place it's going to influence your academics, I promise. Name recognition is not universally indicative of academic quality.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That is a good point, but not something I am refuting. If you choose to turn down Harvard, you are turning down a number of academic opportunities as well as the fact that it's <em>Harvard</em>, which will follow you everywhere you go. If you couldn't perform as well in that environment, obviously you will be better at a better fit school, but ideally one would be able to perform well at the best school they can attend; i.e. Harvard is the best academic choice in this situation.</p>
<p>This is why many people that may want to transfer out of Harvard (from what I've read in the Crimson) don't. They just can't turn it down, even if it isn't where they want/should be.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Brilliance is by no means concentrated to the "top" five colleges in America.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Again, that is not a point I was trying to make. I agree with you there, certainly as I will not be attending a top 5 college and hope to succeed in life anyways.</p>
<p>I appreciate all the help and input from everyone on this. I hope it all works out in the end.</p>
<p>
if you have a good friend that you trust, it helps to speak with them
</p>
<p>This is a good idea, but don't talk to a "good friend" who goes to either the school you are leaving or the school you are transferring to - talk to someone who is objective and unbiased.</p>
<p><em>hugs</em>LM</p>
<p>littlemusic- I agree that it may be a good idea not to speak with a person at the school you are leaving. However, I would disagree with you on the other point, depending upon your relationship with that person. The person I have spent the most time talking to about this actually does attend the school I am considering transferring to, and I have found this very helpful for a few reasons, such as:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>That person has been very patient with me whenever I have had questions on the school, and has provided a great deal of assistance with understanding the school's various requirements and providing insight to the school's programs and policies.</p></li>
<li><p>I have had the opportunity to meet a number of people at the school and see what some of the people there are like.</p></li>
<li><p>I was able to go to her classes with her for a day, which allowed me to see firsthand what the school had to offer, as well as to see what the profs and the students are like.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Although this is by no means a comprehensive list, these are a few of the reasons that I have found it helpful speaking to my friend.</p>
<p>However, I do not completely disagree with your statement- I would agree that it would be best to speak with someone who is objective. Fortunately for me, my friend has remained nearly completely objective throughout the numerous times we have spoken about this, especially considering the nature of our relationship, and I have not found anything she has said to be incorrect when I have looked it up elsewhere or seen what she has said for myself.</p>
<p>So, in short, I would agree that it is best to speak with someone whom you can trust to be objective. However, I would not necessarily agree that it is absolutely necessary to avoid speaking with someone who goes to the school you are transferring to (and, while I cannot speak on this, I would assume that, if you are speaking with someone whom you trust and is willing to think of your interests and needs, he or she would respect your decisions and be willing to listen or discuss it with you- I know that if my friend and I attended the same school rather than different schools, I would likely still be discussing this with her, although she would likely not have proven as helpful on the above points, although this would be expected, as she would not have had any insight into the other school).</p>
<p>I have to admit, I have spoken with a lot people about my transferring, and the people I have talked have been helpful, but not THAT helpful. Since my dad and brother are at skidmore, they are pretty biased towards it. My friends at BC really don't provide much advice or info, but they don't blame me for wanting to go when I give them reasons. Most of my other friends basically say "why are you leaving BC its better than skidmore", but then again they just encourage me to do what will make me happy. So I guess I'm not really sure. I have discussed with many people though and I've gotten a fair amount of viewpoints, so I guess thats good.</p>
<p>Also over the past few weeks I've discovered more reasons why I really should be at skidmore. The fact that I could actually go abroad and study the major I want while also taking lots of electives in classes that really interest me. Skidmore would accept all of my APs (unlike BC) and would accept all of my transfer credits. So I think personally and academically I am making the right choice. </p>
<p>I've basically made this decision myself, but I've thought about it a lot. As of right now, I'd say I'm 100% about skidmore next year. Hopefully BC will give me a yearlong leave of absence just in case I still want to come back.</p>
<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>
<p>High five, shoebox- I know what you mean. While I haven't spoken with anybody at my current school about my interest in pursuing a transfer, yet, I know the feeling regarding your parents- my parents were not the most receptive when they finally found out that I wanted to transfer either, and still do not seem to understand or agree with my plan for the coming months.</p>
<p>Hey, I'm in the same situation as you guys - in my case I'm (hopefully) transferring from Princeton to Harvey Mudd. I'm a sophomore so I think I've been here long enough to know how much I dislike it. I made the decision with the help of my parents (who both went to Princeton but have heard the whole process of how wretched the experience has been) and my boyfriend (who graduated from college already). </p>
<p>Most of my Princeton friends understand (though I am going to miss them and they me), but when I told some acquaintances about it, they got into this whole discussion of how essentially it matters less what happens here, it's more that the alumni network, name recognition, prestige etc. is so strong that it's madness to transfer. That just sealed the deal for me; the unapologetic insistence upon judging by the most crass possible criteria sickens me. I want to be someplace where the efficient cause of people going there is that they want to learn something.</p>
<p>Personally, even though Princeton is #1 in US News and all that bull, I am transferring because I think I will be trading up academically. I am embarrassed by how much I paid so far for two years of courses which I think are worth essentially nothing.</p>
<p>It feels good to know I'm not the only one. Here at BC its outrageous how much tuition is compared to what i've gotten this first year. I've only had one professor out of 11 classes. Anyway, I'll be working on my skidmore app, and recs this weekend so it'll be great once I get those done!</p>
<p>Wow, highberh. I'm impressed that you toughed it out for the two years.</p>
<p>And good luck with your transfer (and good luck to caddyshack and shoebox, too, of course)!</p>
<p>Yeah, good luck to everyone! Aw man, I can't believe I'm writing college essays again :\ what a crock.</p>
<p>Well, I don't know about you, but at least now I'm feeling more inspired to write them than I was last year as a freshman applicant.</p>
<p>Plus, at least now we see what we want or need in a college, which I've found is helping me.</p>