<p>I transferred after first year from a prestigious university in Canada (trinity college at the university of toronto) to a small and relatively unknown school in the UK (university of St Andrews). I had a rough time in first year both academically and socially and thought the "grass would be greener" on the other side. Now I'm doing much better in both academically and socially, but I still regret transferring because I feel like I let myself down and am attending a lesser-ranked university. Has anyone else experienced this? And do you think I made the right decision or not? Is it better to tough it out at a more prestigious school or thrive at a lesser-ranked school? I obsess about the decision constantly and don't know what to think. </p>
<p>in the US, prestige of alma mater is less important, perhaps not important at all except in some rare cases, but internationally I’m told that prestige of alma mater has more weight. Around here, St. Andrews is thought to be a pretty fine school. I don’t know Trinity College. So I don’t think you made any grave error, but I live in the States and have a high opinion of St. Andrews.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your reply jkeil911, that’s very comforting! Glad to hear it. </p>
<p>Whats important is that YOU are happy and can excel at the institution. Whether it is prestige or not is subjective. Very few employees will look at your undergraduate degree once you are in the society, perhaps only the first job recruiter will care.</p>
<p>Well U of Toronto is very well known but St. Andrews is a very highly ranked school and comes up on top 5 lists for UK schools all the time, so this is not a prestige issue. If you are obsessing about prestige it is unfounded. Even the ‘man on the street’ know of St. Andrews from Prince William and Katherine went there. It is smaller with less grads spread around so not surprising if not as many people know it. They are just two completely different experiences as far as location, size, and I’m pretty sure St. Andrews follows the 4 year liberal arts model not sure what your college in Toronto was like. </p>
<p>The main thing is that you are graduated and it doesn’t matter near as much what school you go to. I’d think somewhere you are socially and academically doing better is by far preferred. Most people don’t get the chance to compare and pick to be in the place that suits them better. So you are lucky to see both sides and find you are at the better fit for you. Yet it doesn’t make you happy or confident in your choice. So do they have counsellors to talk to about possible psychological problems or depression screening?</p>
<p>Thank you BrownParent, I appreciate your insight. You are right, I should appreciate the privilege of being able to transfer and improve my university experience. I see that now. And I am slowly coming to terms with the fact that this is almost certainly a problem with me, and not my university choices in themselves. I will keep your advice in mind and perhaps look into counselling, and hopefully that helps. Thanks again, I appreciate your time and help!</p>
<p>Thank you artloversplus, very true! I will keep that in mind. </p>