<p>I'm a freshman at VT this year and I honestly don't think it's the right place for me. Don't get me wrong, most people are nice and the campus is beautiful and all, but I just don't feel at home and I've decided to transfer to some schools in Virginia. I am applying to William and Mary, U of Richmond, and UVA (don't kill me) for sure, but I'm scared that I won't be accepted to any of them. So I was thinking that I should apply at GMU as a back up. However I know that GMU is pretty far behind Tech as in rankings and name recognition goes so I'm not sure this is the right decision for my future. However I am a business major (currently marketing but thinking about switching to accounting) so it wouldn't be as bad if I were an engineering major. Do you guys think it would be really dumb in terms of future job placement to transfer? Thanks!</p>
<p>Hi jenster,</p>
<p>I don’t think that transferring is going to affect your chances of getting a job, but it may delay your timing in graduating and pursuing that job. Have you looked into the classes you have taken so far and your ability to transfer your credits? Being a freshman, you most likely have taken very basic core requirements (not into your business major yet), so hopefully you should be able to transfer them if you did well grade wise. </p>
<p>But, you may have to reconfigure some things, add a semester or two, if certain classes in your major need prerequisites and you are unable to immediately fit them into your schedule because of the need to retake any VT courses that did not transfer equally. I would take time to call the business (academic) department of each of these schools and discuss your transcripts and what your options are, how long it will take you to graduate and factor in those costs. </p>
<p>You haven’t told us your stats (HS grades/College GPA) yet, so it is hard to say what your chances at acceptance will be. The University of Richmond is very expensive as you probably know, so if you are having to add more time to your education it will be much more costly than the state schools you mentioned. GMU is a great school for business majors with a lot of potential for internships and co-ops; don’t discount it because of its overall ranking. Some students find transferring into schools to be easier than applying right out of high school, so you may get into more places than you think.</p>
<p>I am sorry you haven’t been able to find your niche at VT, but if you feel that you will be happier elsewhere, it is best to transfer now at the end of your freshman year than later. Just do your homework regarding the costs of making this decision and be well-informed.
Best of luck to you wherever you end up!</p>
<p>You should ask yourself why you don’t “feel at home”. Is the school too big? Are you home-sick or do you feel that you don’t fit in with the other students? How do you know that you will feel at home at W&M, UVA or GMU? Make sure you really know what you are looking for before you make this decision.</p>
<p>BTW - if you are instate I would add JMU to your list but delete U of Richmond (too expensive versus comparable in-state options)</p>
<p>Jenster918, </p>
<p>It is very important to feel like you “belong” or “fit in” where you go to school. Your happiness definitely is factor in your success. I would like to add a few other thoughts to the above posters:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>If possible, you should visit the schools that you are interested in and meet with a counselor. This will show you are really interested in the school and you should leave with a clear picture of what credits will transfer. It is very important to make sure you will not be missing a pre-req for a second year class. If you are missing a pre-req, you should confirm that that the class is offered in summer school and there is space for you to enroll. </p></li>
<li><p>You should find out what programs are available to transfer students before making your final decision. During freshman years, many students form strong friendships. You may find that your friends from high school have made new friends either through their classes or their residence hall. </p></li>
<li><p>What are your housing options at the new school? Is there on campus housing for transfer students? Will you have to find an apartment? Who will be your roommate? Your friends from high school may already have roommates selected. Some localities have limits on how many unrelated people can live in the same house or apartment, so you may not have the option to move in with those friends even if they have space. </p></li>
<li><p>It may help you to assess why you want to transfer and what you really are hoping to find at a new college if you can talk to someone who knows your interests and capabilities such as a former high school teacher. That person also may have additional insights about the colleges that you are evaluating. </p></li>
<li><p>It is good to look around and assess your options. Before you make the decision to transfer, you should be sure that the “grass really is greener” at another school. You probably saw your former high school friends over winter break. Make sure those friends didn’t inflate their assessments of how good things are at their college. Also, it is very cold in Blacksburg right now (I was there this weekend and it was 19 degrees this morning.) There is a reason why some people refer to Blacksburg as Bleaksburg during the winter months. In less than a month, it will be Spring Break. Next year, you will be a Sophomore and you can purchase season tickets for the home football games. You will have completed most of the general education classes. You will be taking more classes in your major. You will have more opportunities to get to know the professors in your major. You may be living off campus in an apartment or townhouse versus a cramped freshman dorm room with the bathroom at the end of the hall. The future may be a lot brighter than it looks today. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Good luck, Jenster918, as you assess your opportunities and make this important decision.</p>
<p>^ Really good points VTAlumandMom. I hope he/she considers all the factors you discussed.</p>
<p>As everyone has mentioned, the “feeling at home” problem you’ve got is one you need to answer before deciding. VT is probably the “easiest” school to fit into out of all the schools you listed.</p>
<p>GMU is a commuter school, it’s very disjointed and doesn’t have much school spirit.</p>
<p>JMU is the most similar to Tech in terms of student body</p>
<p>Richmond/UVA tend to be very elitist, if you don’t like the southern aristocracy/I’m better than you/my dad works on Wall St type you might want to talk to students at those campuses about the environment in the business school.</p>
<p>I was a marketing major at Tech, and the business schools at UVA/UR are dominated by Greek Life and the above mentalities I mentioned. Since you’re a freshman you really have no idea what each business major requires and probably don’t have a lot of experience in the fields. So you’re going to need to check the pre-reqs at all the schools you look at how they track out with each major, for example at VT you don’t really get into Mktg classes until 2nd semester of your junior year.</p>
<p>I would encourage the OP to visit the campuses and make judgements for themselves as to the culture at each school. For the most part there’s been excellent advice, especially about identifying first what their not happy with, as well as meeting with someone at each school to find out just what classes would transfer. The point that sophomore year is often much more ‘comfortable’ is also very valid.</p>
<p>I would encourage adult cc members to refrain from making sweeping generalizations about schools you haven’t attended or had a child attend. People are perfectly capable of researching fit on their own and deciding what they’re comfortable with. What is completely offsetting to one may be someone else’s ‘fit’. Different strokes. </p>
<p>Best of luck to the OP.</p>