<p>Disclaimer: This is a long and rambling post. I want everyone to know that most of the things described in this message are my fault. This is more about disillusionment and my stupidity than any actual flaws of UM itself, I'm sure. I am just trying to articulate some things to figure out where to go from here. Please don't take this as me just trying to take down U of M for no reason, as I really want to/was expecting to love being at this school. </p>
<p>I live right by Michigan State. My parents went there, my brother goes there, and just about all of my friends go there too. I always thought that I'd be joining them until around 11th grade when a friend took me to Zingermanns. I had never even been to Ann Arbor, but this trip got me into researching U of M. I fell in love with the campus, the athletic traditions, the academic quality...it became my goal. Every waking moment was consumed with UM. It seemed like a perfect fit. I visited again, fell in love, and applied as a reach, not expecting to get in. Getting in early action was one of the best moments of my life. </p>
<p>I was also admitted to the MSU Honors College as part of James Madison College, the poli-sci program there. I knew it would be tough leaving home, but I loved the city of Ann Arbor and U of M itself. From a personal development standpoint, I knew it would benefit me in the long run to go out of my comfort zone a little bit, so I did. Going against my family's wishes, I wanted to come here, but was worried about going into too much debt to do so. I would have gotten half tuition at MSU, but UM matched that with their grant money. I chose to enroll here.</p>
<p>Well, after looking through Maize colored goggles for the past 1.5 years, it's been a huge letdown so far. I don't hate it necessarily, and there have been some fun times, but I am constantly finding myself wishing that I was at MSU with my family, friends, and people more like me. Where I'm living (Oxford) is just awful. It is not like anything I thought college would be like, where cliques didn't matter, people cared about studying, and everyone was open to meeting new people. </p>
<p>I live in with roommates who are very nice but the complete opposite of me. I am the classic third wheel. Everyone in Oxford seems to spend all their time at frat parties (we're in fraternity row basically) and all my friends (just a few high school friends and some guys I met orientation) live on the other side of campus. It's a huge pain, and I hate it. I try to introduce myself to people and make new friends, but most people just kind of ignore me or we talk for 5 minutes and never see each other again. </p>
<p>I have people to hang out with and everything, but I keep comparing things to how they would be at MSU and I feel like I've made a huge mistake passing up Honors there and JMC. Honestly most of the people I've met and the area I've been around are how I expected things to be at MSU, not here. I hate it. All my friends who are like me have had no trouble meeting lots of people so far and really love it. I really don't. </p>
<p>I am trying to get involved in some clubs to meet people as classes aren't working out. I'm in a few upper level courses due to having AP prereqs and people seem to ignore me even when I say hello. It seems beyond cliqish here. </p>
<p>I feel like I'm losing motivation to do my classwork and that I'm becoming a little depressed. This just isn't the place I thought it was and I'm regretting my decision to come here. I am going to try to ride it out for the year, but that almost seems like the harder thing to do. If I call up MSU now there is a chance they could take me back I could be back in Honors and everything. Otherwise I would just be an even more lost student there regretting my decision.</p>
<p>I really had an identity crisis when I found myself getting ****ed at the students at the first football game while sort of trying to stop myself from cheering for Air Force to upset UM!</p>
<p>tl;dr I'm regretting my decision to come here and I'm wishing I was at MSU. I have a nice group of friends but it's small and I'm really not enjoying the setup of the campus here from the food to the buses to Oxford. It all seems really subpar and I feel like I've let my chance at a perfect college experience go. If I can't get into the HC right away I have to do a bunch of prereqs and stuff I would have gotten out of had I just made the "Right" decision before hand. Is this a natural letdown that I caused with unrealistic expectations that I just need to ride out or should I begin getting ready to transfer? </p>
<p>I'm miserable, that's all, and I realize how ridiculous this sounds less than 2 weeks in.</p>
<p>I'm just starting to panic.</p>