Transfer Student Woes, tips/advice? Please help

Hi CC folks. I recently transferred from a small but well known LAC to a large private university. I was doing exceptionally well at my old school in all realms (social, academic, extracurricular) but I wasn’t a fan of the location (small town/suburban) and I felt like it did not have the name brand recognition I was looking for. I now go to school in a large city, but ironically, it feels like there is too much going on. Looking back now I realize I probably should have applied to a school in a small city or hip college town but I could not find any that piqued my interest.

About a month after arriving at my new school, despite forming good relationships with my professors, making friends, and participating in extracurriculars, my mild depression became almost unbearable. Although I was hoping for more academic rigor when I transferred, I never expected my classes to be this challenging. I am not in danger of failing any classes but I am nowhere near the straight A student I once was. My already low self-esteem plummeted even further when I started receiving mediocre marks in some of my courses. I continue to receive these average marks, even after meeting with professors during office hours and spending hours on assignments. I am not passionate about my major but I do not like any of the other majors that my school offers. I am looking into transferring again but I am not sure my GPA is strong enough to get into any decent schools. I might like to add, however, that my school IS renowned for grading deflation.

Am I simply depressed or am I still in the wrong place? I dealt with minor depression at my old school but it has never been this bad. Nothing else has changed except the environment. I am in treatment for my depression, but even still, my treatment isn’t doing much good in combination with the high-pressure environment at my new school. Should I consider going back to my old school or maybe even think about transferring to another university? Is college just not for some people?

All advice is greatly appreciated.

PS. Please no comments about me being lazy or needing time to “adjust”. I am a hard worker but I do not want to spend 24/7 studying. I came to college so I could grow in a multitude of ways and I find it almost impossible to have a healthy balance at my current institution.

Well if depression is a history for you… it is probably just an imbalance in chemicals. Sometimes anti-psychotic medicines are used for depression and they work well for people that have trouble with other meds. Have you asked your psychiatrist to try some stronger pills for depression? If the depression is getting to you I would advise to cut down to part-time student (which will affect your scholarship and other financial aid), but self care and self pace is necessary so the depression doesn’t get so bad that it causes your grades to plummet. I remember after my physical illness and surgery I jump immediately back into full load school work… and I did great first semester back, but second semester I failed a class or two. I was taking 3 courses each course just being 7 weeks long…so was a lot to handle plus it was heavy science/mathematics. Take care of yourself… I wouldn’t leave your university… I would just cut down on work load until the depression is under control with therapy and medicine. Hope this advice was helpful and I hope I didn’t come off judgmental. Just sharing something I learned from my mistakes. In addition I would advise investing in a tutor… I went into a deep depression after my surgery and I had trouble paying attention.