<p>I’ll be short and sweet: Transferring was a huge mistake and, though I’ve decided to suck it up and make the best of it, coming to Penn and being an Ivy Leaguer was so much more intriguing when I was at USC.</p>
<p>Moral of the story: Constantly reevaluate yourself and your goals. Consider why you are leaving and what you plan to accomplish elsewhere, as often the greatest resources and tools are closer than you think. The best advice I can give to transfer hopefuls is: </p>
<li><p>Be happy with what you have and be aware of what opportunities are available to you where you are currently, because they will not likely follow you. </p></li>
<li><p>Research and visit schools. It’s expensive and time-consuming, but as they say, caveat emptor.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>you know, sometimes I wish I could go to an Ivy League school, but then I think about how it would be too much of a culture shock for me, and i might end up backfiring all over my future.</p>
<p>wayward, you’re probably not offering to go into specifics, but I’m a prospective USC transfer student (just applied) and I’m wondering why you decided to transfer out (anything specific to USC?) and what it is that stands out at USC especially in lights of your new experiences at PENN?</p>
<p>im sorry to hear that wayward =/ but im sure youll get used to it, and with an open mind youll learn to like it
dont forget, its an investment in your future, an ivy leaguer is an ivy leaguer youll always get a lot of respect for it
try to do well and just live life and i hope everything works out… otherwise, tell them to call me and ill take ur spot ;D</p>
<p>I’m also curious about your experience, wayward_trojan. I was considering applying to UPenn but decided not to based on an inkling that I won’t like it.</p>
<p>Wayward,
Sometimes colleges that have students that have transferred out allow those students to return. Not many, but some do. You might want to look into it if you are not feeling your new school. How long have you been there? Sometimes it takes more than a semester or year to gauge how your experience is going to be.
What’s going on? It seems you have a big support group here and we all want to make sure that you are happy wherever you are.
Let us know.</p>
<p>No way! You are possibly the last person on here I’d expect to hear this from!</p>
<p>I’m wondering what’s happening, and hoping it’s temporary. Penn had always been my Mecca, and I know how hard you’ve worked to make it there. Tell us what’s up?</p>
<p>wayward,
I’m so sorry to hear that you haven’t found what you need at Penn. I know you felt like you’d already taken advantage of most of the opportunities at USC and thought that you’d be able to do more with your music by transferring. Hang in there, it might just take a little more time at Penn to open up some doors and find the resources you need.</p>
<p>Wow, that’s incredible you transferred from USC to UPenn. I’d love to go to both of those universities (more going to UPenn though) since Business is my major.</p>
<p>Wow! I’m so pleased there’s such an interest in my thread :)</p>
<p>At any rate, the Penn music program is trash. The theory courses are taught by people who frankly have no conservatory credentials and the orchestra is conducted by someone who should be working at the Einstein’s across the street. The general education courses I’ve taken are FANTASTIC, but the TAs evaluate the students and the profs are never around.</p>
<p>As for the culture, I have to admit, the average student is pretty bright! There are duds here just like everywhere, but the level of work is very consistent. I do sometimes pine for Dartmouth, but being so close to my boyfriend (who’s finishing at Juilliard and then moving in with me!) is an immeasurable pro that outweighs so many other things. </p>
<p>I think I’ll be fine, I just need to suck it up for law school and just make peace. On the bright side, my classes seem really excellent next semester :)</p>
<p>Sounds fantastic. Best of luck, and hopefully I will be seeing you at Penn next year. Enjoy your next semester and keep us updated on your academics/ music/ student life as a transfer student.</p>
<p>Sounds like you’ve got your head on straight and are finding many positive parts along with the disappointments. You can never know 100% if a change is going to be better or not, so you just have to do your research and go with your gut, you did that so you should never feel badly. A musician/lawyer, that sounds like a great combo! Best of luck in the future, keep in touch!</p>
<p>Trojan, I had no idea you were majoring music! I’m applying as a music major, hoping to pursue composition/econ double major. I’m sorry to hear about the theory classes. I hope that won’t be the case with me if I get in… I mean, theory is theory, right? There’s little a professor can do to make it any more exciting. It is a little sad though, because the music department here at Binghamton is actually great, and while we aren’t on par with some of the conservatories (nor are we a conservatory), our conductor hails from the Yale School of Music and the majority of the faculty is fantastic.</p>
