Hi Everyone,
I am a Freshman at the George Washington University originally from Berkeley, CA.
I grew up an athlete in California but because of various injuries, I had to stop competing at my level. I was pretty upset about this rapid change in my life and decided, fairly spontaneously, I should try something completely different from what I had back in California. My test scores were also not great and GW went test optional so it jumped up on my list. I quickly regretted that decision upon arrival in the nation’s capital. As strange, arrogant, close minded, and hard to comprehend as it may sound; I am a California boy. When I say California boy, I mean I’m used to the beautiful weather and being able to go out and surf or ski whenever I wanted. Having physical activity in my life is something that I need to be happy. I play a lot of recreational basketball here but that is about it. Since I am not able to get out and do these things I love so much I often find myself extremely depressed and just wishing I was back home or at least somewhere in California. It is not a matter of being homesick either because I went to boarding school from a young age. I have also had a bit of an issue finding my group of friends. It is not as though I haven’t tried as well. I joined a fraternity and am constantly reaching out to people to try to explore and venture out of the city but no one here will really follow me. I find a lot of the people here to be superficial or outright fake. My life out here is very different from what I had back in California and I often find myself depressed and in a slump and just trying to find a way to get back home. I am currently sitting at a 3.1 GPA but I have been taking fairly difficult classes with a rigorous schedule. I think my mindset has been pushing me down slightly and I’m not doing as well as I should. I will hopefully finish my freshman year with 25-28 credit hours.
Now for the advice section:
George Washington University is a great school and it offers what I tentatively want to study being; Political Science or Sociology, and Organization Science. The university is expensive but I am here on substantial scholarships. That being said I am extremely unhappy here.
If I do transfer my list of schools would be UC San Diego, UC Santa Barabara, UC Irvine, UCLA, Or UC Berkeley which I know would be a bit of a stretch. The only non-UC I would consider is Cal Poly San Louis Obispo.
I am really torn between leaving after this semester, end of my freshman year, and going to a California Community College and transferring to one of these schools after I reach the credit requirement or staying at GW and trying to transfer or even possibly just embracing it and trying to make it through these next three years. I’ve had mixed advice saying that it will be the same amount of difficulty to transfer from a two-year or GW or it will be harder or even easier. I am yet to talk to someone who has been down the path before. My main concern is that I transfer to a CC and I am unable to get into a university that is as good as where I go now but at times, I feel unhappy enough to take a shot at it.
Any information and advice you can give me would help a ton. I would love to hear specific information, stories, and advice. Please be as specific as possible.
Thank you for all of your help,
Domenic
If you went to a California CC you can do a TAG program with one of the UCs
http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/transfer/guarantee/