HI, if anyone could give me some insight on a dilemma I am having it would be appreciated.
I am in my first year of college, and I had to go to a university that I did not want to go to and commute due to financial troubles. For my sophomore year my parents said I can transfer to the school that was my top choice. However, I am very conflicted because at the school that I am currently at I have a near perfect GPA, and I have a great academic standing, and the opportunity to graduate a year early. If I transfer, I will fall behind, as all of my credits will not transfer and because the school that I want to go to is a bit more academically challenging.
I do not know what to do and wanted some advice. What do you guys think I should do? I am very unhappy at the college that I am currently enrolled in because I do not like the atmosphere and never wanted to go here…the only good thing is my academic standing. I believe that I can be happier at the other school, but I will most likely fall behind academically.
THANKS A LOT for reading
It is a bit hard to say without knowing the schools and without knowing your major.
Generally, if you attend a “pretty good but not top” school and get very good grades, this is likely to give you a very good chance at a very strong graduate school. This of course is particularly true if you don’t run out of money during your undergrad years. If you are commuting from home, and if you can graduate a year early, then these should both help quite a bit with the financial end of things.
Rather than transferring, you might therefore want to at least consider the option of staying where you are, graduating with a great GPA and low debt, and then consider your first choice school for a master’s.
The problem with transferring is with the expense of losing credits. Adding another year to college is very costly and there are limits on how much in student loans you can take out. When everything is said and done, the other school isn’t offering you any more than a bachelors degree.
Most of us don’t get into our first school of choice. My wife got into Yale, but went to UT-Austin instead when they found out Yale was too expensive. It’s a good thing she didn’t go there, because I’m not smart enough to go to Yale 
Happiness is a choice.
Choosing a college is kind of like dating. If you obsess over the guy with muscles that likes you as a friend, that’s going to be weird. Go for the one that loves you back