Transferring from UF to UCF

<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>

<p>Can you find people at UF that don’t like to party? UCF probably has the same partying situation.</p>

<p>I’ve found a few, but it’s difficult and really limiting. Do you have experience at either school? I need help comparing them from someone with personal experience at one or the other or both. </p>

<p>UCF has the same party situation and the same basic location problems. However you could look into USF and see if you could transfer into their honors college, see if they have transfer scholarships - with a 3.8 from UF, USF should be able to provide you with some money making it cheaper.
Contact some colleges such as UMiami to see whether you’d qualify for aid (still the same problem for parties, but you’d be closer to the beach).
I think you’d be bored at community college if you have a 3.8 at UF.
A solution for you at UF would be to try and get into the Honors College. Since you have 3.8 you should qualify. You’d meet more people who are interested in other things than parties and it may make your life easier.</p>

<p>Wow. You would rather leave the best school in Florida to go to a third-tier university like UCF? Smh. With over 50k students and about 7k freshmen you can’t find those who don’t party. Lol. </p>