<p>I have made a post before about transferring but some circumstances have changed. I am currently a freshman at UC Berkeley. I am an OOS. I am completely miserable here. The size is really overwhelming and I have very few friends. Originally, I was looking to transfer for Fall 2009 and stick it out the spring semester. Now I am thinking that might not be such a good idea for my health because being in this situation is taking a mental and emotional toll on me. My parents are suggesting that I take a semester off. My dad has suggested that I take community college classes or travel on my own a bit. I guess one of my biggest concerns about this is that it is going to look unfavorably for the transfer schools I apply to. I am planning to apply to some colleges that have D3 Womens Swimming. I have already emailed some of the coaches of these teams to see if they accept walk-ons and they do. Right now my top choice is Swarthmore, followed by Tufts. Also looking at Tufts, Smith, Bryn Mawr, and U Chicago (if the coach would allow me to walk on). I am interested in studying Sociology. Let me reiterate that my biggest concern is that if I withdraw from Cal next semester I will be hurting my chances of getting into the schools listed above as a transfer. I am definitely NOT staying here longer than another semester and I don't know what I should do.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>those are all very competitive schools that you mentioned...i don't know your stats, but if you really want to get out of there you might have to be prepared to go to a tad less competitive school even if you have really good stats</p>
<p>if your miserable where you are and youre sure that wont change, no reason to waste another semester of your college experience there, in my opinion...however, taking a semester off could be dangerous, depending on what you do...if you take a semester off to do something productive ie. an internship, than this could potentially help your chances as a transfer if you are able to spin it the right way on your application...if however you spend the semester in exile from your current school and it comes off as such, it could hurt your app.</p>
<p>good luck</p>
<p>Get out of Berkeley and get on with your life. It is not worth your time, trouble, or money to stay there for another semester.</p>
<p>Pick up the telephone and call Bryn Mawr. They might really like you.</p>
<p>I have to say I'm in the same boat as you, but hate going to school in general more than cal itself (although I'm not too big of a fan anyways). I was also thinking about taking a semester off, perhaps indefinitely if I enjoy it, but how does it work with Berkeley? What's the procedure?</p>
<p>Talk to an L&S adviser and they can give you a form for withdrawl. You can re-apply non-competitively after the semester(s) you take off.</p>