Has anyone transferred or known anyone who has transferred from Stanford to another college? My experience this year has been far from positive and I am strongly considering it at this point. The social and academic environment at this school has been both overwhelming, exhausting, and don’t reflect the message I received at the beginning of the year/during admit weekend. Has anyone else shared this same experience?
I wouldn’t worry about what anyone else is doing. If you aren’t happy, you should do what is best for you. But the grass is always greener, and transferring may not solve your problems. It can be hard to break in socially at a new school after frosh year.
Hopefully you have decent grades after 1st semester. Keep it up (or step it up) this semester. You can put in applications, and then decide whether to accept any offers you get.
I got my masters at Stanford, and didn’t know anyone who transferred away from Stanford. I do know a few other people who graduated from there. It has been a very long time since I was there. My recollection is that I studied nearly all of the time and loved it. I remember putting in six straight hours of homework many Saturdays and Sundays. However, I was older. I had taken a couple of years off after getting my bachelor’s degree. For that reason I knew what I wanted to study and knew why I was willing to work that hard in order to study towards my master’s. I can see that if I had gone there straight out of high school then it might have been too much.
I do recall meeting one person who appeared to be overwhelmed by the academic and social pressures at Stanford. She was much younger and dropped the course that we had in common.
Is it just too much at once?
The other thing that I recalled was that even as a graduate students some of the classes were relatively large. I can see that a smaller school would have smaller classes.
I think that you need to think hard about what you would want different in a school before making a jump to somewhere else.
I know of people who transferred from Harvard to other schools (Berkeley, Stanford) after Freshman year, and both were happier at the new school. There’s always a question of fit. And if you’re full-pay and less than thrilled, you might legitimately wonder if it makes sense to suffer through Stanford for $70K/yr when you might be happier at $35K/yr at a UC school or somewhere else. However, you also have to ask whether part of your dissatisfaction is due to pressure that you’re putting on yourself. And you should also ask yourself whether staying at Stanford, even if you’re not really happy, could help you attain your goals better than transferring away would. You should definitely start talking to people–counselors, upperclassmen in your major, professors, etc–to get some perspective on what you have to gain/lose with your choice.
Also, if you decide to transfer or just take time off, try to structure is so that Stanford considers it a leave of absence–then you could go back if you change your mind.
Have you taken your overall misery in to the counseling center? That place is full of experts who have helped other students sort out their lives.
If you aren’t happy at your college, it doesn’t matter if it’s Podunk U or Stanford. I suggest getting a few transfer apps ready (they are due, for the most part, in a month) and see what happens when and if you get accepted. You are smart to think of this now, because you will need time to get prof recs, ask your high school to send stuff, etc… By May, you will probably have a very clear idea of how you feel about your college. Just be sure you really feel that going to a different college is the right solution. I would avoid putting in apps to colleges that are known to be competitive and intense. It seems to me that you might benefit from a college that has a more low-key environment, where you can feel comfortable. That might be a public, an LAC, or a respected mid-sized college known for being collaborative.
If you are seriously considering transferring out, you might want to create a post in the college search and selection forum, explaining your current status and what you might be looking for. Being at Stanford is going to be an advantage in transferring, I imagine. Good luck!
@Lindagaf: I agree with everything that the above poster has written.
However, I would love to know more about you, major area of study, career goals, what you expected Stanford to be like & what disappoints you. Obviously if it is just due to academic pressure then Brown University should be considered.
WOW ! Just read your other thread. You should be able to transfer to any school in the Ivy League. Princeton just started accepting transfers. Not sure if transfers are eligible for merit aid or school need based aid.
Figure out what is not to your liking, find some target schools & enjoy the results.
Remember it is important that you spend quality time creating your letter of explanation showing why you want to transfer out of your current university & why the targeted school is better for your needs, wants & goals.
Good luck to you. Very impressive background !
I know a couple of current students who felt a bit out of sorts at Stanford as underclassmen. They worried that they were the admissions mistake, they felt like everyone else was more socially adept (although to an outsider, they appeared to be so as well), they struggled to find activities given that there are world class athletes, musicians, etc. And all of them felt like they were the ONLY unhappy person there.
I think you need to be very clear about what the new school must provide and certainty that it does as well as clarity that Stanford cannot meet these needs.
Prepare to get slammed with workload if you transfer to schools in the NE. I transferred to Stanford from a large state school in the SE and find the course load here EASIER. One of my transfer cohort peers came from Princeton with a 3.8 and is coasting to a 4.0 on the Farm. Just be cautious of where you elect to go - the hardest part about grades at Stanford is getting in. Alternatively changes majors to something like STS and you’ll find life a lot more pleasant than the life of a CS major.
I guess some majors at Stanford can be exhausting or overwhelming but I don’t quite understand what it means when the OP says the social environment is exhausting or overwhelming. Just trying to understand. Does anyone know what this means? I was thinking that OP’s experience in South Dakota may differ quite a bit from Stanford. My impression of Stanford from my many visits there is that you can find your own people there because of a variety of people, and there is definitely a techie feel in the general campus because although non-STEM courses and professors are good, a lot of STEM interested kids working on programming. I wasn’t impressed with the quality of eateries at the Tressider Student Union though.
@martychondria What did you decide to do with respect to transferring?
Hi, I’m really sorry that you don’t enjoy Stanford. You’re not the only one. My sister’s best friend goes to Stanford, and has been miserable. I don’t think she’s decided to transfer though. However, she says the general atmosphere of extreme social pressure has been causing relapses in her anorexia nervosa. So I can understand if the environment is stressful. If it makes you feel better, I can empathize with your position, because I’ve decided to transfer away from a prestigious school to a less prestigious school, though the university in question is less prestigious than Stanford. I was a University of Southern California Student, but I’ve decided to transfer to the American University of Paris abroad, because a crime was committed against me as a USC student, but the administration handled the situation horribly, and I couldn’t bring myself to continue going to school where I couldn’t trust my safety or the leadership. Prestige doesn’t matter as much as the sanctity of your mental health, and emotional well-being. You deserve going to a place that makes you feel safe, treasured, socially cared for, and intellectually stimulated. If you don’t feel Stanford is a particularly collaborative and pro-social environment where you’re being supportive, transferring might be the best option, and anyone who cares about the prestige of where you went to undergrad or what you “left behind” is sorely mistaken about what matters in life. You and your health have to come first. You deserve to be gratified and fulfilled by your education. Even if the university you transfer to isn’t as prestigious, your happiness is ultimately what will propel you to greener pastures as far as healthy relationships, wonderful graduate schools, great research opportunities, and successful career openings. Transferring has been the best decision I could’ve made, and when I opened my acceptance email, I felt all the trauma and disappointment melt from my body. If you’ve undergone something truly traumatizing or scary or wounding, even if it’s just chronic wearing down of your defenses, I wouldn’t decline to transfer just for prestige purposes. You need to take care of yourself.