Hello,
So I am currently a freshman nursing student at UMass Boston and I have been constantly thinking about transferring schools next year for reasons, 1. No housing on campus for upperclassmen, 2. Lack of student life especially on the weekends it’s a ghost town basically, 3. Doesn’t feel like a traditional college experience mostly older students commuting with busy lives. 4. Too close to home about 20 miles away. 5. Not many clubs or activities at the school I’m interested in. It’s been three weeks so far at my school and I wondering if it’s worth it to actually transfer next year. UMass Boston was not originally the first choice school I wanted to go to but I chose it for the price, had a good nursing program here, and the new dorms. Our school had just built dorms here this year and but it’s for freshmen only unless if you are an upper class RA. I’m not sure if this school is truly the best fit for me. It isn’t the environment I’m looking for. It’s not like what it used to be while I was in high school. I do like the professors and the classes here though and I am doing pretty well. I like how there’s a lot of diversity at this school but most people come here to study and then leave when classes are over for them. When I am a sophomore, I have the choice to live off-campus or commute but then living off-campus, there is nothing really to do over the weekends as a whole school community and when I am commuting, I probably will feel lonely on weekends since all my other friends from my hometown will be having fun in college while I am just at home studying and looking on social media of what people are doing. Most people at our school living in dorms just party at an off-campus apartment over the weekends which is not my thing. I do have a few friends at the school who I talk to and hang out now but I don’t know how our relationships will be like next year when we don’t live in the dorms. I like how there’s a great amount of student life while I’m living in the dorms here but then, it’ll all be gone when I’m not living in it next year. I wanted to go to a college with a good amount of student life, have a band, nursing program, and have the traditional college campus feeling where most people live at school instead of most people commuting. I just somewhat felt like I picked the wrong school just because my parents wanted me here. I mostly wanted to go here just because of the new dorms. Some schools I have been accepted to during my senior year were UMass Lowell, UNH, Quinnipiac, and U of Scranton which had all everything I wanted for in a college and felt like those schools I fit in going there. I chose UMB over them just because of the price and it’s much cheaper than all of the other schools I got accepted to. UMass Amherst was actually my top choice but I got waitlisted in it and can’t transfer into nursing there. I do really like UMass Boston but it’s not really the environment I’m looking for. I see myself fit better at other schools. I am not a party person but I do want to get more involved on campus with activities I like such as band which UMB doesn’t have and have the opportunity to live on or off campus at a school with a decent student life. I want to go to a school which is not like a suitcase school where most people go home on the weekends and have decent student life on weekends like having sporting events or concerts or get along social groups. I just feel like I am missing out on a lot as a student in college since my school is mostly a commuter school. I wonder what schools in the New England area that fit the needs of what I want in a college that is cheap, affordable for my family, and has a nursing program preferably in an area with hospitals for clinicals. I’m paying about 16k a year to come to UMB so I’m looking for schools around that price. I’m thinking UMass Lowell would be better for me for the price and the students’ activities there. Any response to this thread would be appreciated and want to see if anyone else has gone through an experience like this and how they overcome it.
If you want a direct admit nursing program, this could well be the only affordable option. Consider that. How can you make your four years more fulfilling? For example, can you help start up a student band?
That is kind of a wall of text. But I’d say a few things:
- College is not like high school. Expecting that it will be isn’t reasonable.
- Social media is deceptive. Some of your friends aren’t having as much fun as it looks like. And some are having too much fun and will flunk out. Remember the main reason you are at college.
- Lots of colleges don’t have campus housing guaranteed after freshman year. There are usually a lot of apartments right around campus. Maybe you are stressed because you haven’t found friends yet you’d want to get at apartment with. But you’ve only been there 3 weeks. Give it more time.
@intparent I know there’s a lot of apartments right around our campus but I feel as if I’m more stressed that I don’t know where I want the apartment at and how much I want to actually pay the rent a month since apartments are expensive around here. I don’t know who I am gonna room with as well either.
I think you are getting ahead of yourself. Focus on getting good grades and meeting people this semester. When you get to winter break, take a checkpoint then an decide whether to fill out transfer applications if you are not more settled in. And even then, you can wait to see how you feel if/when your transfer acceptances come in. Lots of students aren’t very happy first semester, but a lot of them meet more people and get more comfortable at their schools. You could be one of them, but spending your first semester with one foot out the door already makes it less likely.
@intparent I like really do not want to transfer out of the school I’m at now for next year since I can see it’ll be a hassle of writing college applications, sending transcripts, application fees, seeing the requirements of nursing courses at the other schools from mine, and seeing if all my application supplements went through. There’s just this part of me thinking that this school isn’t the best fit for me or feeling that I’ve chosen the wrong school to go to. I’m trying my best this semester to make it work out for the whole four years here. I chose to come here for many reasons.