I am in the second semester of my freshman year at the University of Cincinnati. However, I live four hours away. The only way home is a bus ride, which is over five hours typically, and I can only bring a small amount of stuff with me. I am having a hard time being so far away, and often feel very alone. I have not had trouble finding friends, as I do have quite a few, but I still can’t feel comfortable. I really want a college education, and UC is great for my major. But every day is rough and it seems like I’m barely getting through each day. I want to look into possibly transferring to a college that’s closer, where I can still see my family and my friends, but I feel like I’m failing or giving up. Is it normal for me to feel like this? Is this something I can get over or would transferring be a reasonable thing to look into?
Run, do not walk, to the counseling center at UC. Talk with the counselors there about your adaptation process. They have seen everything, and will have good ideas for you. They will be able to help you work through the decision about applying for transfer. Their whole job is to help students find their own best pathways.
I agree that you should talk to someone at the counseling center. This is something that they will have seen before. They can help you.
Going off to university is a huge transition for everyone. Many students find the transition difficult.
My feeling is that you want to get used to having your life right now being on campus. You are getting a good education. You are making friends on campus, and over time will get to know them better. Also, over time you will find that you know your way around campus. I would try to only go home where you have a significant break involving at least a week off from classes. Texting home can of course be far more frequent (we still hear from one daughter every day, and from the other daughter several times a week).
Even if my daughters has been on campus 20 minutes from home I still would have recommended that they only come home for Christmas and over the summer and optionally for one week breaks (such as February break). If you only go home when you have a full week break then a 4 hour drive is not so bad – and you might be able to get a parent to drive you or find a student who has a car and lives near your parents. I recall multiple drives to get a daughter from school when she had a car load of stuff that needed to come with her.