Took full ride but now wondering if it was worth it...

<p>I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this, I'm new to this site.</p>

<p>I've seen some posts on here debating whether or not to take a full ride at a state school or pay more somewhere else. I took the full ride at a state school, am in the honors program but am regretting my decision. I switched majors and am now doing something I don't really enjoy and am not good at but was fed up with easy classes and students that didn't care. I have had some research opportunities but found the professors weren't very interested. Even though I am friends with mostly honors kids, I have found them to be not very ambitious. Even though I am grateful for the scholarship, do you think I should try to transfer?</p>

<p>You didn’t mention how long you have been attending school but if you have been attending for less than a year, I would definitely stick it out a bit longer before transferring. It can take a lot of time to find friends who have the same values as you but trust me there are other students who attend state universities who are intelligent and are ambitious. Try to join clubs where you might expect to find students like you. Also, I wouldn’t recommend switching to a major you dislike simply because you are fed up with the students who don’t care. If you dont find the classes challenging enough perhaps you can do some extra research work outside of class with a professor. You will just want to transfer more if you let yourself suffer. I wish you the best of luck.</p>

<p>It would be helpful to know what your current and previous majors are/were.</p>

<p>I too took a full-ride at a state school and don’t regret it in the least. Then again, everyone’s different and my circumstances may be vastly different than yours.</p>

<p>I graduated high school with 24 credit hours, not AP courses either, I had the opportunity to take classes at our local community college instead of staying all day at high school. Also, last year (my freshman year) I took 5 political science courses and have taken 2 this past semester, so I only have 4 of those classes left to take for the rest of my 2 1/2 years here. I also have realized that I only have to take 12 hours for my remaining time here, and finding enough classes to fill that time may prove difficult. </p>

<p>Now, from what I just said, I may resemble those other students whom you labeled as not ambitious, and while my academic schedule may seem lax now, I devote the remainder of my time to other things that help “round me out.”</p>

<p>I’m currently the President of my fraternity. Never before have I been given the vast amount of responsibility that this position entails. I am also Philanthropy/Community Service Chairman of the Inter-Fraternity Council. This means that I oversee the volunteer-work and charitable fundraising for the 11 IFC organizations at my university.</p>

<p>The positions that I hold within my fraternity and the Greek system as a whole have helped to teach me the social and leadership skills that a classroom education is ill equipped to impart on students.</p>

<p>Now, this is not to say that you should go Greek or anything of the sort, but what I’m trying to convey is that you should try to focus on and get highly involved with things outside the traditional academic arenas. You obviously had the qualifications to be awarded this scholarship, so I don’t doubt your intellectual credentials, but you have to challenge yourself. </p>

<p>I want to pursue a career in law and eventually in politics, two areas in which finely honed social, interpersonal, and leadership skills are necessary. Which is why Greek life is a perfect fit for me, but whatever your future goals are, you could get heavily involved in preparing your skills while in college. </p>

<p>Overall though, I think that you are looking to the university to quench your thirst, but perhaps you’re thirstier than most and therefore need to adventure out to find other sources of water instead of just the one that the university provides outright. (I hope that metaphor made sense, I’m pretty tired and might be slightly out of it.)</p>

<p>I’m the kind of person who needs to do things on my own in addition to regular classes, and I’m lucky that I’ve found the perfect outlet for that need. At the same time though, many people are dumbstruck when they find out that the President of a social fraternity is also an honors student and is attending the university on a full-ride Presidential Scholarship. So, don’t think that you’re limited in your options of extracurriculars just because you’re an honors student, feel free to break down the stereotypes.</p>

<p>Wow, thanks. I was a communication major (wanted to work in advertising/PR) and switched to business. I have a good internship this summer with a Big 4, so career-wise I guess I’m fine even if I don’t end up sticking with business. I’ve met nice people in the business group I’ve joined, but have been disappointed with the literary journal and ethnic student society. It seemed like everyone already knew each other or weren’t interested in making new friends. Interesting to hear about Greek life being a good fit - it’s a huge presence at my school, but I’ve never really been involved.</p>