Hi all,
I am really caught in a pickle right now as to whether or not I should transfer schools. I currently go to the University of Wisconsin-Madison and am a freshman. I joined greek life my first semester (am in Pi Phi) and Wisconsin does have many of my potential majors making that not a reason to transfer. However, all of last semester and much of this semester I have found myself missing home (Colorado) very much which is abnormal since I am used to going away to summer camp and traveling on my own. I also just feel more anxious and don’t know if a big school is really the right fit for me. I have applied to transfer to several schools out East (UVA, UNC , Boston College) but am unsure if the reason I have been unhappy is due to the transition to college in general or this school specifically. Please let me know if you have advice in regards to weather or not transferring seems beneficial in my situation. Thank you!
You report feeling anxious and missing home. I would go to the counseling center to help sort this out before you make any decision to transfer.
Honestly before transferring I would just make sure to give it my best at my current school. Make sure to try things, meet more people (you never know maybe the people that will make you feel at home are still strangers), and seek help for the anxiety that you are going through, Good luck and remember to put yourself first.
You don’t have a decision to make yet (you need acceptances first!), so get on down to the counseling center- or if there are peer counselors in your dorm start there.
A true thing is that for many, many students, 2nd semester of 1st year (and/or 1st semester of 2nd year) is a let down: a lot of the excitement and new-ness of college has worn off, the weather is now full-on grizzly winter / slow spring (especially this year, when winter just won’t quit!) and the classwork is often that bit harder (full disclosure from somebody who has taught year long or 101-102 classes: the second term is usually designed to be harder).
The reality of how long college is, how much work, and how much hum-drum managing of life is required (room draws, registering for classes, organizing meetings/study groups/etc, laundry, organizing meals, etc) starts to bite.
Going away to summer camp is simply different: shorter, more focused on doing things just for the doing of them, fewer responsibilities, and of course better weather!
It is interesting that, in a period of homesickness you applied to go to schools farther away from home, not closer, and I suspect that it is not a coincidence that the names of the schools you applied to transfer to are fancier than the one you are in: by any chance, was UWi-M a safety / not your dream school? b/c it can be hard to bloom where you are planted if you still resent (to any degree) that you aren’t someplace else.