Thinking about transferring from the University of Pittsburgh

Transfer Students
1

This is my first time putting something on here because I really need advice… Currently I am about to finish up my freshman year at the University of Pittsburgh and throughout the year I have constantly found myself unhappy. Please let me know what you think about my impressions and reasons for wanting to transfer.

Before I confirmed my decision to attend the University of Pittsburgh, I visited three times. The first time was for a campus tour and I remember telling my parents afterward that I felt the students were not very energetic or happy here. I noticed that students would walk around either alone or with one other person. The class I attended was quiet, students didn’t sit with each other, and the class was devoid of participation. My parents reassured me that it was April, perhaps students were busy studying for finals. I agreed that that was a possibility and moved on. My next visit was for the admitted students day and I had the same exact impression: students, even potential freshman! did not really talk with each other, alot of the admitted students didn’t show up for many of the scheduled events. Again, I voiced my concern to my parents that I was getting this vibe from the student population. However, I was going to get full tuition from the University so my parents were really pushing for me to go. When I confirmed my decision, I arrived at Pitt for freshman orientation. Again, I felt the exact same thing… When I would walk into a room of waiting students, all of them were on their phone! We were supposed to stay in the dorms overnight but I know some freshman who went back to their parents’ hotel! It was very quiet that night as well. My floor went to bed at 11 pm and there were no nightly activities.

After being here for almost a full school year, my impressions haven’t changed. I haven’t found many friends or made many connections though I’ve tried. I joined many clubs, all of which only had about 10 members, I talked to my advisor, joined a sorority, and although it has gotten better, to me the student body just seems so “meh” here! Many people didn’t even show up to the football games! I am really interested in politics and so I asked the political advisor here if there were some clubs I could get into to meet people who were also passionate about it, and he told me that there wasnt much… that his best advice was for me to just find a group of friends… I just don’t feel energized here… and I fear that its making me depressed. My friends from out of state have visited and have noticed similar things. Some students that I know are already transferring, or at least considering it. I never really saw myself being in this position, but I don’t know what to do. Transferring would be a big step for me… especially since it involves leaving behind full tuition and a sorority.
Please let me know what you think. Thank you so much for reading all of that.

2

I am experiencing the exact same thing at my current uni. So trust me when I say - I feel you!
I’m not going to name my university but let me share with you a little bit about my educational background. I went to this international school in the UK for my IB and guess what? It was the most freaking amazing two years of my life. It is not quite accurate to call it an international school because it’s not just a school - it’s a movement. I met a lot of passionate kids who could literally change the world from their laptops and they are basically very keen to learn about other people. It was normal to have critical and heated discussions over the dining table; be it about religion or politics. Fast forward to the present day; I came back home, enrolled at this “international” university and am currently struggling to be contented with this place. So right now, I am in the process of applying to some unis as a transfer applicant. I would give a big YES for transferring but what I’m wondering is, would your parents be able to financially support you should you not receive any (or adequate) financial aid from your uni? If money is not the problem, then by all means, my friend. University should be a phase in our lives where we get to explore, challenge and push ourselves to the limit. Meet new people who could inspire us and hopefully be inspired too at the end of the day. And so, if these aren’t what you’re getting and you’re not quite happy about it AND you have tried your best to make the best out of the situation that you’re currently in, then you know what you gotta do. Hope this helps and all the best with your future endeavor =)