Transfer or Struggle?

Transfer Students
1

Hey guys, I’ll try to keep this short.

I am from the west coast and I currently go to NYU and am a Sophomore. I did not realize how out of water I would be on the east coast and was hit with severe depression and anxiety. To give a gauge of how severe this is, counselors have asked a few times if I would like to take medical leave. I do not wish to take medical leave because if I do, I know I would ultimately never return to college.

Currently, I have a 2.67 GPA. I desperately want to transfer to a school in California, but my parents will only allow me to if I transfer to a school of a same caliber - USC and the like, probably.

I know I have zero chance with my current GPA, so I would probably have to transfer as a junior. If I work hard, I would have a 3.0 GPA maximum. I am also willing to take classes at a CC to raise my GPA if necessary. However, even if I try these things, do I have any chance of getting in? If I do have a chance, what other procedures should I take? Would it be smarter for me to just tough it out?

Thank you!

2

Do your parents know how miserable you are? Would they be agreeable to a medical leave for one semester? If you carefully define the length of time you will take off, and you have a formal plan to return, you might be able to make that work.

Why are you so convinced that you would never go back and finish college if you took time off? Is there a job that you would take up that would not require ever completing a degree? Would you be in a situation that made future studies truly impossible?

3

@happymomof1 My parents are not agreeable to a medical leave.

Personally, I know that I would lose any remaining drive to finish my degree or any will to return to a place that has really hurt my mentally. I would like to, but I know it would do more harm than good.

4

Sadly NYU is a school with less emphasis on community than others. That can’t be helping to you at all. I’m sad that you’ve had this experience. Please rest assured that NYU and lower Manhattan is not representative of the rest of the East Coast. I hope that you find the sort of community that you need.

Living in NYC, I’m trying to think of other ways for you to create community for yourself while you’re still here. One of the tropes of NYC is that the first year is such a culture shock for many people that they really have a hard time. The second year it starts to get better. Often the things that shock and annoy new-comers are the very things that later energize them and make them find the city vibrant and stimulating. Manhattan really isn’t like the rest of the country. Even going uptown to quieter neighborhoods might help you find more quiet, community-based living in the City, and getting outside of the City a little might also help.

NYU and Columbia share a lot of events and cooperation. You may want to go uptown to events at Columbia/ Barnard, where it’s quieter and where there is a real neighborhood. There are also woods and trees, bird sanctuaries up that way, walks in the woods and a riverside walk. Look on the Events calendar on the columbia web page for things open to the public.

Maybe see if there are meetups that you could join. One nice thing about NYC is that there are so many people that even if you have a niche interest, you’ll find a group of people who share that interest–hiking, sci-fi, writing, food, arts, music. The city park system and library system also offer free events. They can get you out in places that you wouldn’t expect NYC to have. For example, there’s a guy who does wild foraging lectures in the parks; winter survivalist lectures; or maybe go owl watching at night in the autumn when you can see them on the bare trees.

See if you can find a groupon to do something like night kayaking on the Hudson.

If you feel the need to volunteer and don’t want to be overly organized about it, there’s a great opportunity every Saturday morning and Tuesday evening. You can help handicapped people work out. Just drop in. All handicaps are welcome; all athletic abilities welcome from walking a few blocks to sprinting marathons. The organization is called Achilles. You meet at the Engineer’s Gate in Central Park at 90th and 5th Avenue all year around and in all weather. They pair people up by what they want to do that day. The community is warm and inviting. http://www.achillesinternational.org/nyc-chapter/

If you’re religious, there are many churches and temples, many of which offer wonderful communities and outreach to the public. St John the Divine at 110th and Amsterdam has pleasant gardens with peacocks and on Sunday they offer a lovely vesper services in the afternoon. If you’re not religious, there are secular groups such as Secular Humanists.

Brooklyn has many neighborhoody neighborhoods. There’s also a thriving art scene at BogARt in Bushwick, with Roberta’s pizza nearby. On nights with openings, there’s a big party there where you can meet people and look at their art. – http://56bogartstreet.com/About.aspx

5

Here’s the events calendar for nyc parks – https://www.nycgovparks.org/events

Here are free events at Lincoln Center – http://atrium.lincolncenter.org/index.php/free-performances

Music performance at the Met while you look at the art at night – http://www.metmuseum.org/events/programs/met-live-arts (the met is pay what you wish and may be free for NYU students)

BAM has free events. Look at this link and arund the rest of their site-- http://www.bam.org/programs/bamcafe-live

TONY also lists free events each day – https://www.timeout.com/newyork/things-to-do/free-things-to-do-in-nyc

6

To my mind, for a calming day, you may want to go visit the Cloisters–pay what you wish ($1 okay) or possibly free for NYU students–

There are nice gardens, genuine Medieval castle/ cloisters re-assembled in the park and filled with Medieval art, a nice cafe. Take the A train (which you can get at West 4th street by the basketball pick-up courts) uptown to 190th Street. Take the elevator upstairs and walk north through the park.

Here are more detailed instructions–http://www.metmuseum.org/visit/met-cloisters

7

Your mental health is incredibly important, therefore I would consider transferring to USC or UC Berkeley. They may take into account your anxiety and depression and be a bit forgiving with their stats. Try reaching out to an admissions counselor at each and asking about your situation/admission chance.

8

@Dustyfeathers Thank you so much for your reply. I will definitely utilize them for the rest of my stay in New York.

@Wolverine251 Thank you for your reply! How would I go about asking them? Do I just something along the lines of “My grades have suffered from my mental health situation in New York. I was wondering if you take into consideration mental health circumstance when looking over an application?”

9

@endofthe I’m not sure what you should say specifically, but perhaps you could try briefly explaining your situation (the severity of your depression/anxiety and its reflection on your grades) and ask if/how the admissions office would take it into consideration. Best of luck! I hope everything works out well for you!

10

@endofthe Nothing is more important than your well being. I am a little surprised that your parents aren’t being more accommodating. Have you spoken to them? Can you stick it out another 3 weeks till the end of the semester? Then go back home and talk to them in person and be very honest with them, and explain just how miserable and depressed you are. Have your counselors call your parents and talk to them as well.