I’m transferring this semester to GWU as a second semester freshman. I just arrived and am having strong second thoughts. Current students: what do you think about the school? Should I stay or leave?
Why did you want to leave your original college/university?
Why did you opt to transfer?
While you’re waiting for someone to illuminate why you chose that school, I’m more inclined to follow @happymomof1 and take a closer look at what you’re missing from college in general instead of focusing on what you might be missing from any specific place. Because after two cases of dissatisfaction in a matter of months I kind of think you’re a more significant factor than either institution.
You’ve got over a semester at a a couple of places under your belt. You’ve seen Higher Learning and have an idea what it consists of, so slow down and take a long look. What were you expecting? What do you want now? What’s the gap, and can any school fill that? If you didn’t make enough friends or you didn’t like a major as much as you thought then the particular school won’t make a difference. You need to attack those from your end. But if it’s too expensive, or you are surrounded by too many Trump/Bernie partisans (pick your own poison) or you need to be closer to home then solve that problem. But it sounds like you need a better grip on what you want college to be before you start moving around again.
In lieu of any details, I would suggest giving GWU a real chance. Make an effort to engage in the community: join some clubs, introduce yourself to someone in a class once a week, and if you’re still not feeling it in another month maybe contact counselling services and see if they can help you figure out what you want in life. Counselling isn’t simply there to fix broken stuff, it’s to provide a place to talk about things that are not working for you. Don’t worry about not having a “real” problem; they’d much rather you came in with a weak reason than stayed away with a substantial one. And they usually have cookies. 
@happymomof1 There are several reasons why I left my first institution. While I loved my classes and professors, I realized there is so much more that I wanted from college that my first institution was not offering me. It was “suburban,” but there were very few places to walk to… I felt isolated and stuck. I did not have a lot to do. I also did not like the program for my major. I am studying political science, and I felt like I did not have enough opportunities there (not a lot of clubs, no school-year internships, very few major classes taught each semester). I also found the classes to be overly easy. I want to be at a college where there is always something to do. I felt like if I stayed at my first university, I would not grow as a person. I almost felt like I was regressing my first semester! Here are my concerns about GWU: 1) It is so expensive. I don’t know if it is worth its price tag. 2) GWU doesn’t offer the “traditional” college experience. 3) If I change my mind about my major, this is absolutely not the right or the best place to be. 4) I feel like I could be attending a more prestigious university. (I did extremely well in high school and feel like admissions did not work my way the first time, and I got a 4.0 at my first institution.) I have the ability to defer my acceptance at GWU for a semester, go home, take some time to figure out what I want to do, and possibly apply to a few more institutions. That being said, I’m scared that I will be extremely depressed and bored if I go home. Thoughts?
The grass is always greener. You can’t keep jumping around. Buckle down and make the most of where you are.
@jcollege72 Why are you having second thoughts? You are really close to the capital of the USA. Washington DC has many places and always something to do.
Why did you apply to GWU if it’s expensive?
One semester of 4.0 in a university is not at all unusual. Being able to keep this up for four years is. Classes will typically get more difficult when you get into your third and fourth year.
What you are running into is probably my biggest concern about students transferring: If you are going to transfer, then you need to be very sure that you are going to like where you are going to because you can’t just keep changing schools every semester. Jumping around looking for prestige seems like a particularly bad idea.
The one thing that you said about GW that makes sense to me as a legitimate concern is “It is so expensive”. Whether it is worth the price tag depends to a large extent on whether your family can afford it. I wouldn’t take on any debt to get a degree in political science.
Other than that, I agree with @intparent’s statement: “Buckle down and make the most of where you are.”.
Well, you knew #1-3 before applying to GWU, so what has changed? And #4 doesn’t matter much anyway. Lots of people feel like they could have done better, but college (or a job, or any situation) isn’t about what you deserve but what you make of it.
If you’re afraid of being “depressed and bored” at home, then this may be about more than GW,
I say you stay and give it a fair chance.
" I have the ability to defer my acceptance at GWU for a semester, go home, take some time to figure out what I want to do, and possibly apply to a few more institutions. That being said, I’m scared that I will be extremely depressed and bored if I go home. Thoughts?"
Actually, my advice would be to defer enrollment, go home, and clear your head. If you have depression issues, home is where you should be working on them because you won’t have to deal with classes on top of depression.
I also happen to think that a little boredom can be a good thing. As you work through your anti-boredom strategies (Job? Regular gym membership? Learn to cook? Paint your mom’s living room and fix that shelving that is falling down in the family room?) you can also reflect on your goals. For a Poli Sci person, this year is a good one to be out of school and hitting the political volunteer circuit. There will be lots and lots of volunteer work, and possibly some paid gigs as well for all the state and local elections.
@StPaulDad 's input was spot-on and you should take heed. It absolutely sounds like you have some things you need to work out (possibly commitment issues), but I think you’re making excuses about GW as your 1-3 (like @PurpleTitan said) you should have known if you did ANY sort of research about the university before you transferred.
In the end, if you want to study political science, GW is the place to be. You’re going to get awesome exposure to people that make made a mark in the field, and a plethora of internship/club opportunities you won’t get elsewhere. Even if you change your mind about your studies, there are a lot of other great programs at GW in which you can capitalize on the internship opportunities to where you’ll be set after graduation.
@jcollege72 Can you elaborate more on your goals and career plans? Even attending an Ivy league school can be a waste of money if you feel that the school is not meeting your needs. No place is perfect. But at the same time there are so many factors such as your career goals, ideas and political beliefs and how well those align with the philosophy of the school. I completely understand your desire to attend a more prestigious school. What major are you and what school are you in at George Washington? The engineering school? The business school?
I think one of the major issues is that I always wanted to go to Georgetown. Part of me wonders if I should have just stuck it out for another semester at my first institution and tried to transfer there… too late now I suppose. I guess I could go home and try for Georgetown again, but would I even have a chance? Especially if they know I took a gap semester?
No. Your odds of transferring there are infinitesimal. Stop looking longingly at G’Town. You are in DC at a school with strong Poli Sci chops and the opportunity for internships there. Focus where you are. Put on blinders. Pretend G’Town doesn’t exist. Heck, show them up – if you think they should have accepted you and didn’t, then prove otherwise with your performance in GWU and subsequent career accomplishments.
@jcollege Do you have any specific career goals and plans? Georgetown is dope and I can relate to wanting to go there…are you interested in grad school? Rumour has it Georgetown loves GW students that do well and want to come there for grad school. That’s at least what I would suggest- find ways to keep yourself challenged at G.W and makes friends with the smarter students and apply to Georgetown for grad school.