Transfering

Colleges and Universities A-Z Grinnell College
1

<p>I'm currently a second year at Grinnell and I was thinking about transferring, but I really am not sure how good my reasons are and I thought I would benefit from people who have more experience with Grinnell and college in general.</p>

<p>I'm not really sure how happy I am with Grinnell. The first thing about Grinnell that troubles me a little bit is the culture. I grew up in very conventional, middle class suburbia and that kind of culture has definitely influenced me. </p>

<p>I went to a high school where the honors section had mostly nerdy kids who happened to be athletic too. Most of these kids went on to state schools where all the guys wear polo shirts and khaki shorts and play ultimate frisbee on the quad all the time. I really watching professional sports - but I feel this has a very small following outside of the athletic teams at the college. At Grinnell, I have a very difficult time organizing a pick up game of football because everybody seems to hate playing football or seems too busy.</p>

<p>I listen to popular, mainstream music that I feel is perceived as crass, superficial stuff by most people at Grinnell. I dress in a style that you might call preppy on a campus where things like black rimmed glasses, scarves, and leggings are really common. </p>

<p>I think this bothers me because I am simply out of the comfort zone of the mainstream culture that I'm really accustomed to. I'm not ostracized by other people and I like to believe that I'm actually pretty well liked. I fit the quirky, awkward stereotype of Grinnell quite well.</p>

<p>I tell myself that it's good to accumulate new perspectives and interests rather than sticking to the same homogeneous and somewhat boring mainstream culture that I'm so used to. But I honestly don't know if I'm happy or if it matters - I say to myself that I can always go back to that culture after college because it's so prevalent anyways. Why not take the next couple years to see and experience a culture you're not used to?</p>

<p>Still, I really miss talking about things like music and sports. And it's not just me either, people are just so different that I rarely hear discussions about common interest in music, literature, or hobbies. It's definitely weird for me that I have that one or two friends on campus that I can have really in depth conversations about music or sports. But still, I've learned a lot about different parts of the country and even the world. Conversations at Grinnell certainly have that intellectual dimension that I just never had in high school. And for me, that was part of the reason why I chose Grinnell, so I can actually have some deep, intellectual conversation. </p>

<p>Although, it becomes somewhat obnoxious for me at times, even a little snobby for me. I say things like "bro" and "man" because it simply was part of my high school vernacular. I'm obviously not going to say those things in an essay, but I feel people slight my intelligence because it's part of my mannerisms. My roommate despises Harry Potter because he doesn't think it has literary merit. As a kid of that generation, I can tell you that I didn't pick it up at age nine expecting or wanting literary merit out of Harry Potter. Can people not enjoy things just for its entertainment value? I have another friend who hates popular mainstream movies and only watches bad movies because he enjoys satirizing it. I'm not sure I understand. </p>

<p>I'm just not sure if I'm as socially concerned as other kids at Grinnell either. I started out wanting to be a history major, but I'm not sure I like the limited selection typical of small colleges. The emphasis is also on social history. Yes, I agree that women and minority rights are important issues - but I still want to learn about things like military, political, and economic history. The treatment on those topics is really piecemeal. The history classes are very discussion based and you can imagine how hard it would be to steer the conversation away from anything not social history. </p>

<p>This might be an invalid concern, but I kind of wonder about how lasting my relationships at Grinnell will be. We're all spread out from different parts of the country. I always wonder what my social network would have liked if I chose to go to a state school in Illinois. I visited a friend at Illinois Wesleyan once. Everybody on his floor was from Illinois. I told his friends about the demographic at Grinnell and somebody responded that she knew "a girl from California." I guess that's why I started to appreciate the fact that I had close contact with guys from Brazil and India. </p>

<p>But still, it seems like all my high school friends need to do to see their college friends is to drive maybe forty five minutes out to X suburb of Chicago. I'd need a plane ticket to see some of my friends. Their relationships seem like they're going to be so much easier to maintain after college. </p>

<p>The other part of Grinnell that really unnerves me is the academic rigor. I sometimes wonder if this academic experience comes at the cost of the social opportunities I might have at other schools with similar academic reputations. I've just heard Grinnell has such a heavy workload - I wonder if people at other prestigious schools have time to do all their activities, homework, and sleep too! </p>

<p>My GPA is really unimpressive - it's barely a 3.0 after three semesters. Truth be told, I'm not even sure if I can transfer to anywhere competitive with that GPA. I don't have the best work ethic I'll admit, but I do all my homework (including reading) and contribute regularly in class. It's just really difficult for me. I tell my relatives about the difficulty, but they just have this perception that liberal arts colleges are inferior to big name universities to Northwestern and Notre Dame - so therefore, they can't possibly have comparable academic rigor to a school people have actually heard of.</p>

<p>The "prestige" of Grinnell really frustrates me. None of my friends know where it is and because of it, they simply dismiss it as some kind of ******** institution. My friends have slipped in jokes about how I'm going to be so unemployable after college. I entertained thoughts about being an economics major, just to do something practical (at a college where we lack professional programs like accounting or nursing), but I just really don't have the interest for it. Instead, I'm likely going to graduate as history major with an unimpressive GPA. My friends would tell me that as a liberal arts major, I could probably do go on to do law school or academia. </p>

<p>I don't want to do either. I always envisioned myself starting in a generic office job, working way up, and eventually going back to raising a family in a middle class suburb. I know it's not a very exciting dream, but I sometimes truly wonder if it will be viable with my circumstances. Why would I get hired in place of some business major from University of Illinois anyways? I'm a little skeptical about the spiel that liberal arts majors are so good at critical analysis and communicating their ideas. Is the implication then that kids from other colleges are mindless, rote memorization drones who are incapable of writing business memos? </p>

<p>I'm just scared mindlessly about my career opportunities. My parents definitely don't believe in me anymore. I really don't feel like retorting anymore when people say I'm not learning practical skills. My friends are all going into engineering or health science - there's really nothing I can tell them about why I might end up being successful. I go to a school where "success" is largely measured by how much you do for social justice. It's very noble, but I want a boring, conventional job out of college that pay the bills. I don't want to end up as the McDonalds cashier who can talk about existentialism. </p>

<p>I'm asking myself - are my career objectives and social expectations in line with Grinnell? I want to say yes and that I can adapt to all of my troubles, but I just am not sure if I'll end up saying that I regret choosing Grinnell in the first place. I apologize for the long windedness of this...but it's a really difficult and complex issue for me. Any input and feedback would be gladly appreciated.</p>

2

<p>You write really well. That in itself is a big job qualification. Go ahead and apply to other schools if you want. I don’t think there are "better " schools than Grinnell, but there might be better fits for you. My son wanted an unconventional place and found it at Grinnell. It’s ok if you’re looking for something else.</p>

3

<p>I’ll give you my perspective:</p>

<p>I come from an extremely lower-middle class family (probably lower class and not middle).</p>

<p>I applied to a lot of different schools I liked. One of the schools I’m applying to is Grinnell. I would be extremely happy to get in, not just because I’m an international student, but because I could give my best.</p>

<p>You were given a chance.</p>

<p>Now, the surroundings may not work out for you, but my take on undergraduate years is that those years are meant for you to build <em>yourself</em> up as a person, and take as many opportunities as you can.</p>

<p>If you think you can’t do that at Grinnell, then maybe you should transfer, then again, maybe you shouldn’t.</p>

<p>But remember : a LOT of people would trade places with you just to get a shot at improving their life and try their best.</p>

4

<p>Thanks for the feedback!</p>

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<p>Thank you. You speak from much more experience than I do, but it just seems to me that writing is not that uncommon of a skill. Maybe that’s the residual of going to school where writing has such an emphasis. </p>

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<p>Yeah, I have a few international friends at Grinnell and they have recounted to me how it is very difficult to go to school in America, but yet how it is such an opportunity. I really do admire that, but like you said, I guess my uneasiness has to do with my surroundings. My parents were not college educated and to them, intellectual growth has very little importance compared to acquiring practical job skills in terms of what to get out of college. But as you said, I always hoped Grinnell would make me grow as a person and present opportunities too. </p>

<p>I think the question I really want to ask right now is - what kind of opportunities does Grinnell open me up to? But honestly, outside of very intense intellectual development and the virtue of having a college degree, I don’t know if Grinnell presents an opportunity for me than a random state university. The way my parents and friends are treating me now, it certainly doesn’t seem like it. </p>

<p>I’m certain that Grinnell has already made me a better thinker and communicator, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to translate that into a job straight after college. I’m not entirely sure that Grinnell is developing me into a person whose career path I want to take. We produce a lot of PHDs and lawyers, like any good liberal arts school, but like I said, I’ve always wanted a very conventional, middle class lifestyle. I definitely value the intellectual development that I wouldn’t receive at some other schools, but like I said, I want to pay the bills and afford some luxuries as well. And I just don’t know if Grinnell was the best path to take in pursuit of that goal.</p>

5

<p>Well, if your friends make fun of you because of what college you go to, those aren’t very grown up friends, are they?</p>

<p>What about studying abroad programs? I’ve heard Grinnell offers lots of those?</p>

6

<p>I think you are presenting two very different issues here, and you should really separate them and decide what is most important to making your decision. The first is a future life; for this, I would go to the Career Center (or whatever they call it) and talk to them. Be honest, and see what they tell you. Also, ask them about the geographic distribution of where alumni go after college. This way, you will have data to confirm your fears or to erase them.</p>

<p>In terms of social fit, this is a different issue. Maybe you should do an overnight at a state school and see how you feel about the people and the social life. You may find that it makes you feel more comfortable, or it may make you appreciate some of the more intellectual aspects of Grinnell. </p>

<p>I don’t know how preppy you dress, but the times I’ve been to Grinnell, I didn’t notice that much of a hipster look at all. It seemed most of the guys dresses in jeans and sweatshirts. My overall impression was that people dressed to be comfortable, and not to make an impression.</p>

<p>FWIW, my S loves Harry Potter! And watches all kinds of movies, is not an athlete, but loves to watch sports on tv, and cheers on his roommate at his games. </p>

<p>The thing about Grinnell I’ve noticed, though, is that because it is small, there are not always going to be many people sharing a particular interest, so that may explain some of the frustration you’re feeling, too. </p>

<p>I am not clear as to whether people are outright dissing you for your tastes, or whether your frustration comes just from what you perceive are other people’s views. (are people really coming down on you for appearing to be less intelligent, or do you just assume they don’t respect you for how you speak?). </p>

<p>Good luck to you.</p>

7

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<p>I am originally from Iowa and never heard of Grinnell until I moved to Upstate New York after college. However, Grinnell has a fine reputation as a liberal arts college and landing in the Colleges that Change Lives book helps. Reading your post, it seems as though you are struggling with the idea of a liberal arts education. Young people have a hard time understanding that a solid liberal arts education–including fine writing and speaking skills–is preparing them for many different jobs. It is especially difficult when their friends are studying engineering, nursing, or some other major that has a fairly clear career path.</p>

<p>My motherly advice would be to try to look beyond the black glasses and leggings and get involved in some activities on campus that interest you. When you get to know people on other than a superficial level, they might be a bit more like you than you think. Also, choose your spring classes carefully and try to get a couple that you think will be really fun. Those Iowa winters are long, so if you can get busier, you will be happier. </p>

<p>I would not discourage you from looking around at transfer options, but don’t spend too much time with the process. If you get into the mindset that you are leaving, you will find it hard to do anything at Grinnell. I wish you luck.</p>

8

<p>coincidentally, Grinnell has just posted a link to an interview with the new president, Dr. Kington, in which he discusses the role of a liberal arts education in preparing students for careers and the decisions the college has made not to go preprofessional in its programs.</p>

<p>[News:</a> Defending the Liberal Arts College - Inside Higher Ed](<a href=“http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/01/04/podcast_interview_with_new_president_of_grinnell]News:”>http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/01/04/podcast_interview_with_new_president_of_grinnell)</p>

<p>here’s the relevant part:
While some liberal arts colleges are adding more business or career-oriented majors, Kington doesn’t favor such an approach for Grinnell. He noted that the college has debated the idea many times over the years, going back to when land-grant universities were created with a more practical orientation than that of liberal arts colleges. But with “people living longer and having multiple careers,” Kington said he believes students are better off with writing and other communication skills, quantitative literacy and “a broad understanding of the world and how it got there,” plus the imagination to think about how the world might improve than they would be with a more career-oriented undergraduate experience.</p>

<p>New graduates of liberal arts colleges may “have fewer technical skills as they walk out the door,” but they will be better suited for careers “in the long run,” he said.</p>

9

<p>I just listened to the podcast and, to paraphrase what I heard, he also said that who knows what jobs will even look like in twenty years? The people who can assimilate information and adapt to new ideas are the ones who will be better off in a changing world.</p>

10

<p>Are you going in to major debt by attending Grinnell vs your state U? As far as academics go, yes, Grinnell is really challenging. My son manages to get his work done, have a social life, a job (only a few hours a week) and get a little sleep, but he went in very well prepared. I know that a lot of other students are struggling but there are support services too. And yes, the Career Development office. I’ll admit, I dropped out of my LAC and went to nursing school back in the 70s. My Dad was dying and I wanted a concrete job skill. I don’t regret it, but I do have big holes in my general education that I try to fill by reading a lot.</p>

<p>There’s no downside to putting in a transfer application. If you apply to your state U, I hope you can spend some time on campus before deciding whether to attend. Certainly there is a wider selection of courses at a big U. You could go online and look at what your state U offers. But keep an open mind about Grinnell too in the coming semester and get as much out of your classes (and your fellow students) as you can.</p>

11

<p>It sounds like there are several issues for you: The first is fit - sounds like you haven’t really found it thus far at Grinnell. It is telling that you are still putting so much weight on the opinions of your high school friends, and your parents, all of whom seem to have a set of values somewhat different from those espoused at Grinnell. By sophomore year, most college students no longer consider this group to be their primary point of reference. My suggestion would be to either invest more deeply in Grinnell by getting involved in the activities on campus and be less concerned about what your high school friends think, or to seriously look at transferring so there is less dissonance. </p>

<p>The second is issue is concern about your career prospects once you graduate: Go to the career center and the nonprofit mgt. program and check out all the resources for internships during the school year and over the summer. Find alums who have jobs in your areas of interest and make a plan to do informational interviewing with them. A quality education is a good start, but internships, the alumni networking, and the jobs you get during college all have a critical impact on your employability afterwards. Do not wait until your senior year to discover that there were lots of resources and opportunities that you didn’t take advantage of. </p>

<p>Third, if prestige or name recognition in the non-academic community is critical to you, then indeed Grinnell may not be a great choice. The academic and professional community know Grinnell well and respect it highly. Your high school friends may not, and you have to decide how much that matters to you.</p>

<p>Finally, it sounds like you are a bit disappointed in your own academic performance and are hurt that your parents don’t appreciate how rigorous Grinnell is academically. Not much you can do about the latter, but the former you can address by working closely with the faculty and especially, developing relationships with a few of them. Your grades may not be great right now, and the classes in history may not be as focused on the areas you are most interested in, but try setting up an independent research project on a topic you enjoy. You are clearly thoughtful and articulate. It sounds like you value the intellectual experiences you are having, so treasure those and find more. (And ignore the pretentious ‘harry potter isn’t literature’ posturing. People who need to put down other people’s taste in entertainment are just insecure and pompous.)</p>

<p>I hope you decide to stay at Grinnell because I think you will find your place there if you commit to making it your community. But if you choose to go, do it because you made a conscious choice that you wanted something different for yourself, rather than because others (at Grinnell or at home) didn’t value your choices.</p>

12

<p>Great advice so far!</p>

<p>Re: keeping in touch with friends after graduation, I think Grinnellians run into each other regularly all over the world, but if you want to go back to Illinois to live and work in a conventional sort of job (nothing wrong with that and it’s great that you are learning more about yourself and your priorities and wishes–that’s one of the things college is great for!) you might find that you develop connections and friendships that will work better for you at your state U. I must say, I find myself rather irritated at times about Grinnell’s lack of name recognition in this part of the country, even though I know that’s a bit immature of me. I think the new president intends to work on that, so we shall see. As I said earlier, no downside to putting in transfer apps. Then you will feel you have options at the end of the year. Having options might make your wishes clearer to you. The parents who come to this site are mostly huge Grinnell-boosters, but you see that even we recognize it’s not the best fit for everyone.</p>

<p>My son says a surprising number of his friends have parents who are college professors. This speaks to Grinnell’s prestige in the academic community, but also might explain why you feel a little out of synch. I know my son’s roomie second year was first generation college and I could tell that he often didn’t understand references in conversations with his friends. He was as smart as anyone and probably had oceans of experiences his friends might never have had, but the dinner-time conversations in his family were probably very different from what some of these other students had experienced and he hadn’t had the travel opportunities of some of his friends, etc. Grinnell works at getting all kinds of diversity, including economic and I’m sure there are plenty of first generation college students there, but Grinnell is such a small school that any given demographic is still a small number. The roomie was great about asking when he didn’t understand something, but I could tell it was more work for him to feel a part of things.</p>

<p>BTW, my son and I love Harry Potter too! Love, love love; can’t wait to go to the theme park. No it’s not great literature, but it is an amazing creation of a magical world that will stand the test of time and has gotten a lot of kids (and adults) reading more. Great entertainment and a great use of language in her names of magical creatures and characters! Funny too and interesting that she could make a scary world feel like a place to escape to. Maybe it is great literature. I’ve read all of the books multiple times and am still delighted over and over.</p>

13

<p>Empowered, you did an impressive job of articulating a complex and nuanced situation. Congratulations for that.</p>

<p>My objective advice based on what you said is that it’s probably best to look at transferring. A friend’s son was in love with Grinnell until his overnight stay, when he came away feeling like there were a lot of nerds and a lot of partiers, but not a lot of regular, mainstream kids like himself in between. It sounds like your experience has been similar. Grinnell has so many great things going for it that it’s easy to fall in love with the place and not pick up on some of the more subtle but important aspects of the school until you’ve spent more time there. The point was driven home quickly for him when he couldn’t find anyone who wanted to watch the World Series with him. He went to Carleton instead and loves it.</p>

<p>You would have no trouble transferring from Grinnell into any number of good schools, even with a 3.0. Your friends might not have heard of Grinnell, but any college you would be thinking of going to (especially in Illinois) knows and respects Grinnell.</p>

<p>Good luck whatever you decide.</p>

14

<p>I too would consider transferring in your situation.</p>

15

<p>I have to agree. I’ve read this thread a few times and it sounds more and more like a transfer might be in order. The OP has so many valid concerns. At least do the apps.</p>

16

<p>I’ve been trying to figure out how to approach a response to this for a while. And even with thinking about it I doubt my response will be sufficient for the broad array of (warranted) concerns you’ve brought up.</p>

<p>I should say first, to qualify all of this: This is going to be long, and I love parenthetical statements. I am currently a junior at Grinnell, I empathize with you in certain regards - concern over the applicability of a Grinnell education to a career, specifically - and I also considered transferring much of my first and second year. I expect to enter the workforce out of school, as opposed to the ever popular graduate school/fellowship route many Grinnellians take. Even though I’m not trying to talk you into any decision, you should still take all of this with a grain (probably more than grain. Several grains.) of salt, just as you should with all advice you’re given. And I’m going to be a little critical, but I don’t mean it in a disrespectful way - I think everyone should be pushed a little on decisions of this magnitude, and I’ve found I make the best choices when people question me. Ultimately I think you should do what makes you happy. And now with my qualification out of the way:</p>

<p>I’m not going to spend a lot of time (or any, I guess) on explaining why a liberal arts education is a good idea. I’m not qualified. That’s a battle other people are fighting, and it has only intensified since what happened at SUNY-Albany (deep cuts to the humanities). The beloved phrase of LACs is “critical thinking,” and the idea is that a broader understanding of the world will make you more well-rounded, which will directly correspond to adaptability in the labor market. Whether or not that’s true isn’t for me to say - you have to decide whether or not you value the education you’re getting.</p>

<p>The problem is that it’s super difficult to measure the utility gained (I’m an economics major, so… I apologize) from a lot of the soft skills you’re developing at Grinnell. Which is probably why the debate over liberal arts v. vocational schooling is so hyperbolic and divorced from crazy things like “facts” or “evidence.” And if your parents and friends aren’t familiar with certain institutions and the benefits of a liberal arts education, they’re not going to understand Grinnell, and you’re unlikely to convince them no matter how eloquent you are. So again, it comes down to you deciding whether or not you think the education is worth it.</p>

<p>I’ve spent more than a couple years considering this - I was debating between elite LACs and larger, more vocational institutions (granted, they were private and more in a liberal arts mold anyway) before I even took my SATs. And I debated it after looking through Grinnell’s curriculum, and I debated it after getting here, and I continued to debate it up until the end of my second year. These are my thoughts:</p>

<p>Grinnell is undoubtedly at an extreme, even for LACs, in terms of a curriculum that is staunchly anti-vocation. I think it’s getting better, but that’s not the issue - there are plenty of schools where you’re not going to have access to “business-y” classes. In my opinion, the biggest issue here is a failure of Grinnell to intelligently leverage their alumni, many of whom are successful in a wide variety of fields, to provide opportunities to current students. There’s also the issue that our career development office has been understaffed for far too long (this will be rectified next year). This has led to the impression among most students I know (which is inaccurate) that Grinnellians don’t end up in elite business careers, and the perception (this is debatable, but those with the most criticisms are often those who have done the least work with the office/in their career search) that our career development office under-performs compared to our peer institutions.</p>

<p>(For what it’s worth, our current president and our incoming career development director are well aware of the alumni bit, and changes are coming. I also think the incoming director is going to be a huge positive for Grinnell.)</p>

<p>But I recognize you don’t necessarily want to go work for Bain or Goldman Sachs, and that your aspirations for a career have more to do with a solid position and job security.</p>

<p>From everything I have personally experienced (I worked for several years before deciding to attend college), read, and been told, work experience defines you significantly more than your major ever will once you’re in the workforce. At worst, if there’s a field you’re interested in that absolutely requires a specific major, and say it happens to be economics (it never will - I have never seen a job in my life that only requires economics without opening the door to either math, finance, business, MIS, or someone who’s taken econometrics and math econ), you’re probably three years of work experience and possibly some college classes removed from being able to slowly transition into that field. You’re also not going to be putting your GPA on your resume after your first job (if at all, depending on what you’re doing). Most people aren’t working at 50 in something totally compatible with what they majored in when they were 20.</p>

<p>Even if Grinnell is not predisposed to more ‘business-oriented’ outcomes for their students, there’s something here no one talks about and I have no idea why. That thing is “asking.” Only a few students here have learned how to ask for things. Grinnell has tremendous resources, and if you ask for something, you usually get it (in my experience, anyway). You’re a sophomore, and while you’re not going to be going for certain internships because of that, you can still get something solid. You’re pushing it by starting the process this late, but there are plenty of opportunities out there, some of which are only open to Grinnell students.</p>

<p>I’m perplexed, admittedly. You appear to be operating under the assumption that going to Generic U will magically land you in a middle-class lifestyle, when in reality no matter where you go to school you’re going to have to land internships to have something on your resume if you want to be competitive in today’s job market. You can transfer and major in business administration somewhere, but if you’re competing with another graduate who double majored in art history and sociology you’re not going to get the job if they’ve been doing that work the last two summers and have recommendations and contacts. Have you talked to the Career Development Office yet? Gone through the list of Grinnell-specific internships on their website (I don’t think that’s the best resource, but it’s a place to start)? Ignoring concerns of culture and social climate, had you been going to another school, would you have been doing anything different at this point? Grinnell will fund almost any unpaid internship opportunity, and the application deadline for their grant is April (which is very, very late). Do you know what “conventional, middle class lifestyle” job you want? Have you contacted any companies locally? Friends of the family, people you know, who’d be willing to take you on as an intern? If you think there are certain skills you want to develop, and you’re currently working in the dining hall, have you considered being added to the community service/work study job waiting list? Applying to the technology corps? Working phonathon and getting involved with the alumni association? Working for career development as a peer mentor? Working for the cashier, or the registrar, or the library, or as a dispatcher for security? Working at the info desk? Working for conference ops? Ever get involved with the Social Entrepreneurs of Grinnell, or the Student Endowment Investment Committee, or a student government committee, or any major group relating to business? All of these things would, theoretically, give you something to put on a resume that’s probably closer to what you want to have on it than what you’d have on it for working in the dining hall.</p>

<p>I admit that I am taking liberties here, because you haven’t actually said what it is you have and haven’t done on campus, but I think a flaw in where your logic appears to be going is the assumption that a degree from any other school, without making any other changes, will generate the outcome you want. “I want to pay the bills and afford some luxuries as well.” Okay, and another school might have a big job fair that Grinnell doesn’t have (Grinnell has SLAC). Would you have anything to show them on your resume? Would you have a resume? Would you have gone to the career development sessions on developing interviewing skills at a different school?</p>

<p>You’re talking about fear a lot, and if you’re going to make a good decision, fear has to go away. I’ve never seen anyone make a truly informed decision when fear played a role in what they were doing. Not to be FDR and go all “the only thing we have to fear…” on you, but you’re saying you’re really worried about a career after Grinnell. And you think it might be better somewhere else. And it may very well be the case. But before you change your college life as you know it, before you reinvest in another campus with people you don’t know, work to get the lay of the land, figure out a schedule, figure out what credits will transfer, and do the eight million other things you’re going to have to do, have you been able to find concrete reasons why you think it would be better somewhere else? If you can find a why, you should ask yourself if that why can be dealt with at Grinnell in a way that is satisfactory to you. If it can’t, that’s when you should transfer.</p>

<p>Grinnell is open. So open that it sometimes appears not to have a tremendous amount of formal structure. And that’s great for some people, and not for others. Yesterday I had lunch with a former alum who has an MBA and works in finance in Des Moines, last week my advisor randomly dropped the possibility of doing research on entrepreneurship in my lap and got me in touch with a former student of his who works as a management consultant, and I regularly email back and forth with another alum who works in consulting in Chicago. No one came to me. I’ve talked to my advisor about what I want to do with my future and I’ve shared my concerns with him. I’ve talked to others about it. I have a back-up internship at a fairly prestigious governmental organization this summer if things don’t pan out for my other applications because a staff remember I’ve been in touch with since the beginning of my time here remembered I was interested in business.</p>

<p>There is one benefit to Grinnell that I say with a tremendous amount of confidence you will not find at a larger school: you can get what you want easier because you’re competing with fewer kids for greater resources, and so many of the students here are not predisposed to trying to get a job. Grinnell does not often reject applications for research. The smaller student:faculty/staff ratios equate to more networking, better recommendations, and better advising. But you have to go get what you want. It’s there at Grinnell (which surprised the hell out of me, by the way) - and it’s not there everywhere.</p>

<p>That said, I firmly believe in submitting transfer applications, because I think having a plethora of options is the best possible scenario for anyone. But if you’re making this decision to go to another school because you’re worried and it feels more comfortable, you need to get to why it feels more comfortable. More traditional is not a synonym for “career.” Plenty of people go to law school rather than entering the workforce because law school feels more comfortable, because they know they have somewhere to go and they know what a collegiate environment feels like. In reality, they’re making an incredibly poor financial decision if they aren’t completely dedicated to practicing law. Leaving Grinnell for a larger school, you’ll have less potential for close relationships with professors who can help you later. Honestly, you will have less access to money. What you may or may not have more access to, depending on the school, is job fairs, and a field of study that may be more directly applicable to business.</p>

<p>I chose that transferring wasn’t worth it (sorry if I ruined the ending). Part of that was because of the difficulty I would have establishing new relationships over a period of two years that would be as beneficial to me as relationships I had the potential to develop over four years. Part of it was doubt I would be able to get into a good “position” in two years within the community. Part of it was the ease of staying at Grinnell (never a good reason). Part of it was because I wanted to study classics more, and maybe do research on the Scottish Enlightenment and economic history. Ultimately, I stayed in Grinnell because of a realization that I had access to so much more than I thought I did and, if I used that, I’d end up where I wanted to be anyway, with closer relationships and a more interesting background.</p>

<p>You should do what’s best for you. That’s what happened to me, and we’re not the same person. I wish you the best of luck.</p>

<p>The only other thing I have to comment on is the climate bit, and I’ll keep this short since everything else was exceedingly long: I love professional basketball and all sports, I like crappy pop music, and over 200 students were in line when student government was handing out free Harry Potter tickets. A bunch of kids dressed up as wizards. I saw it three times with people from Grinnell, and I don’t even like Harry Potter. And I can’t stand hipsters. So… I think you need new friends.</p>

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<p>Great post, Tetrishead!</p>

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<p>Maybe if you added a math minor? Statistics is very applicable to business. Perhaps statistics-oriented math instead of “hard science” math? From what I hear majoring in math, undergraduate, leads to a lot of opportunities for future grad school and/or employment in computer science, insurance/actuary, even finance/accounting.</p>

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<p>“I chose that transferring wasn’t worth it (sorry if I ruined the ending). Part of that was because of the difficulty I would have establishing new relationships over a period of two years that would be as beneficial to me as relationships I had the potential to develop over four years.”" (etc)</p>

<p>D1 felt the same way,at another LAC, and chose not to transfer. This turned out to be a bad decision, she regrets having stayed there.</p>

<p>D2 decided to take the risk and transfer out of her LAC. She established better relationships at her new U immediately, and has been ecstatically happy there. She has spent part of winter break interviewing at things set up through her university, and is very hopeful of appropriate employment after graduation. D1, on the other hand, is floating at sub-subsistence, for a few years now, with no real prospects.</p>

<p>Of course, neither of these outcomes is inevitable, or necessarily typical for that matter. But based on my family’s experiences I have become decidedly pro-transfer in such situations.</p>

<p>In a sense, first two years at LAC with smaller intro courses, + next two at university with more advanced level course offerings, cherry-picks the best of both worlds, IMO.</p>

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<p>comment on tetrishead’s post (and advice to OP): s/he said that s/he is an econ major. Study econometrics. Does GC have econometrics? I know an econ major fr swarthmore - another highly ranked LAC - who is not even yet graduated and had two good job offers. econometrics, the new plastics. :slight_smile: , and it is something one can get at a good LAC.</p>