Hi, I am currently attending a small private Christian college in Mississippi and I am absolutely miserable. I want to finish out this year and then transfer, I just can’t decide what is the best option for me. I went to a small private Christian high school for 12 years and this college feels exactly the same. That’s definitely one of the reasons that I’m unhappy because I thought college would be a change which it isn’t for me. Another big reason that nothing has changed is that I’m still living at home at commuting. That makes it so hard to meet people especially because I’m really shy anyway. And the people here seem only to stick to the people they met at orientation or who lives in their dorm hall. I’m definitely involved, I’m on the newspaper and yearbook and am in a sorority and the Honors program. No matter how much I tell myself that some people would kill to have what I do, I just can’t shake the feeling that I don’t belong there. I need to live for enough away from home that I can live on campus because my parents will absolutely not let me otherwise and I feel I really need to immerse myself in that “college experience.” There is another college in my town that is a lot bigger which is what I feel I need but it would still be the same social situation and I would still be unhappy at home. The main problem is this: when I was searching for a college in high school, I fell in love with Rhodes College and it still has my heart. I feel like no matter where I go I will compare it to there even though it is a similar small college. I’m so afraid that it will be exactly like where I am only worse because I will be a transfer student and lose an amazing scholarship that I have at my college now. I need a change because I am absolutely miserable and I feel dead inside where I am. I need to change something or I can not survive.
You need to talk with your parents about how much they can afford to pay for your education. Until you know what they can pay, you won’t know if you can transfer.
Did you apply to Rhodes last year? Were you admitted? Was the financial aid package affordable? If you did apply, and the aid package wasn’t affordable for your family, then there is no reason to think that it might be affordable this time around.
Right now my parents aren’t paying anything for my college and I’m actually getting refunds back that I can use for Rhodes tuition. I was admitted to Rhodes and received over a half scholarship just for academics. I was stuck between money and following my dreams last year. I chose money and it was the worst decision of my life. I’m hoping this time around I can do better.
You might owe taxes on some of your scholarship money because you are receiving more than what is needed to cover tuition and fees. So pop over to the Financial Aid Forum and ask for advice on determining the correct amount to hang onto.
Merit scholarships are rarely offered to transfer students. So don’t expect to get that same kind of offer from Rhodes if you apply for transfer.
Okay look the money isn’t the issue, that is not the point of what I wrote. I don’t care about money. I wanted people’s opinions on what to do for my mental sanity because I am breaking apart and I feel trapped. I do not care about the scholarships, I can pay for my education.
If money is no object, then there is no reason to not apply to Rhodes or any other place that is interesting to you. Contact Rhodes and the other places where you were admitted last year, ask about re-activating your old application, and see if there is any chance you could be admitted for next semester. Sometimes that kind of thing is possible.