<p>While I've had, overall, a very good experience at my chosen school for the past two years (hope I didn't jinx myself!) even despite a couple kind of big disappointments, there's one school, one I didn't even apply to (found it after app season was done) that has always held my interest, even though it lacks one of my majors. It is tiny compared to my school (student population in the hundreds verses 10,000+) and in an area of the country I essentially shyed away from, but there's something about it that makes me feel like it has some special quality that would have, had I found it in time, made it a big contender. I love my current school and would be absolutly, completely loath to trade away some of the experiences I've had here, but I can't help thinking of the tiny college as "the one that got away."</p>
<p>Anyone else have a college they consider "the one that got away"?</p>
<p>You're facing one of many of these kinds of situations (aka adult decisions) you'll find in the future. My take has always been to make decisions based on the best information that I have, and then move on. (There's a Mary Engelbreit card that I have on my desk.....it shows a girl on a pathway and she comes to a roadsign that reads "Your Life" in one direction and "No Longer an Option" in the other). Yes, there have been times in my life when I've made a change if something I was doing wasn't going well, but I have ALWAYS felt that there is very little value in regretting past decisions, or even in spending a whole lot of time wondering..."what if?" </p>
<p>My father-in-law was a wonderful man, I loved him dearly. However, he had a lot of regrets in his life, and that always me sad---the amount of time he spent living in the past. </p>
<p>I always have found it helpful to make a list of pros and cons, and try to evaluate decisions as objectively as possible. In your case, pros/cons of trying to transfer to the other school. It's only natural to wonder about what would have happened, but you should also evaluate all that you have experienced, and the people you've met, and the positives that you have gotten from your original decision. Beware of the "grass is always greener" syndrome. Good luck!</p>
<p>Once a decision is made leave it behind. If the choice did not fit look to the future and figure out how to learn from the process of making that choice and make it differently next time. You cannot go backwards, only forwards. If you live your life looking backwards you will never see the wonderful things ahead of you. Teach yourself now to let it go. It is a great life skill. </p>
<p>If there are things that are intriguing about the other school, look at what the next decision should be. If you want to transfer figure it out. If you decide not to transfer look at graduate work. Take the things that are attracting you and use them to make your next decision about where you will work. If it was a process you used to make your first decision i.e not enough research or waiting until the last minute, do more sooner next time. There are many paths you can take but longing for a decision not made is not a productive one or one that will lead to a happy and healthy life. .</p>
<p>Just to clarify: I'm happy with my choice and don't regret it. I was more wondering if anyone else had a school that, while they didn't attend it--or even apply--they really think highly of.</p>
<p>Sure, question-quest, many of us wonder about the road not taken. Some with regret, some merely with curiosity. And I actually don't think there's anything wrong with that; that kind of thinking can lead to a lot of self-discovery and self-knowledge. For example, you could try to figure out what is it about that other school that appeals to you: is it its size where you would get more attention and develop more intimate ties? (And if so, perhaps that's what you're missing now... maybe it's time to refocus on friendship) Is it its relative exoticism because it's in the part of the country you shied away from ? (And if so, perhaps you're ready to move to a different envirornment.) </p>
<p>In any case, this is probably just the first of many personal decisions you'll reflect on in the future. Some of them you'll regret, others you'll feel good about. The key is to be ABLE to make decisions, because sometimes the worst thing of all is having no choice at all.</p>
<p>You are posting on the parent's site. We have too many ones that got away in too many areas to reach back to our college days to dredge up others. Like everyone else is saying, you have to move forward, as we parents all have done. You may have better luck with current college kids.</p>
<p>Anecdote: Best friend from college joined me to attend our 25th reunion. He had one drink too many and talked with his old college girlfriend. He apologized for breaking up with her 26 years ago. She was gracious but it was very awkward. I talked to her about it the next day and she was flabbergasted. She is married to a great guy, has great kids and a great life. "The one that got away?" Let it go, man.</p>
<p>S is happy at his tiny liberal arts school. But truly he is much more of an engineering math/science geek. (One of his profs actually suggested that he transfer!) S doesn't have regrets, but I wish he would have taken one of several full rides he was offered. . .I wish we had the $$$ back!</p>
<p>(I'm wondering what school you're thinking of--it could be the one S attends!)</p>
<p>There was a point in college when I chose one major over another, very different major. I liked what I got my degree in and have no regrets about it. But choosing the other would have changed my life dramatically - it would have put me on a very different career path and I would not have met the man I eventually married and had children with. My life would have taken a whole different kind of course, and I do sometimes wonder what that would have been like.</p>