<p>This is my second time posting this (I also posted it on the transfer discussion board), sorry guys, but I am really desperate for advice!!</p>
<p>I am a freshman at UF but have not enjoyed being here so far. I really am not looking forward to coming back, and I'm considering transferring to UCF or community college. With this decision being so stressful, I'm not sure I am completely thinking straight because I am so overwhelmed. Do you guys think my list of reasons to transfer is valid? Or should I stay at UF? Sorry this is so long, if you want to just skim it, that's fine, any advice is helpful!! :)</p>
<ol>
<li>Financial Aid - I'm not getting as much federal aid next year as I did this year, making it barely affordable to go to UF. I have just enough money to stay at UF for the next 3 years, but nothing left over. I am pretty strongly set against taking out loans because I want to go to grad school. I don't think UCF would be that much cheaper, but I could finish my AA at community college and then transfer to UCF.</li>
<li>Campus Life - I don't like the student life at UF, too many people are focused on parties and I feel like sooo much of campus involvement revolves around greek life. I'm not interested in either, so it just seems annoying to me.</li>
<li>Off-campus Life - I absolutely cannot stand Gainesville. I have realized that living in a small town far away from the beach is not for me. I feel trapped in such a small town and I don't even have a car to go further than where the campus bus can take me. With that said, if I save money by getting an AA and then going to UCF, I would be able to afford a car, which is something I want really bad.</li>
<li>UF is a lot farther from my hometown than UCF, and I really regret going to school so far away. I miss my family and friends, and it's not really homesickness because I would just like to be able to visit more often, not actually move back home. I know people say you'll get over missing home, but I don't see anything wrong with wanting to be closer to my family and friends.</li>
</ol>
<p>My concerns about transferring:
1. If I apply to grad school, will it look bad that I transferred 1 or 2 times? I don't want them to think I switched to community college because UF was too challenging for me. I have maintained a 3.8 at UF, so this isn't a matter of academic troubles.
2. Moving back home - I was so excited to move away from home and go to college, and while I do miss my family, I think it could be really hard to move back home. However, it seems silly to rent an apartment in my own hometown to go to community college when I could save thousands of dollars living rent-free at home.
3. Is UCF really going to be a different experience for me? What if I go through all the trouble of transferring, and then don't like UCF just as much as I don't like UF? That would be really disappointing.
4. I will have 47 credits done at the end of this semester, and I'm worried the community college / UCF won't take some of my credits and I'll end up having to spend more time in school, and won't actually save any money. </p>