<p>I'm a freshman at Bucknell and I'm miserably lonely there. I'm going to give it another semester and see how I feel, but I'm not feeling very optimistic about it. I visited Susquehanna and could see myself going there if my math credits transfer and the math department's good. </p>
<p>The problem is that I really want to get into a prestigious grad school and I'm afraid transferring to a less prestigious, less selective college will hurt my chances.</p>
<p>I've been trying to make friends, but I can't. I've also been trying to tell myself to suck it up and that I shouldn't feel the way I am, but I just don't know how long I can take the loneliness. Should I just stick it out and put up with my loneliness for the next 3 1/2 years?</p>
<p>I want to stay close to home; I really like this general area. And SU is very similar to Bucknell facility-wise, but WITHOUT the overwhelmingly preppy atmosphere.</p>
<p>Actually, I did not have this problem in high school. In fact, I’ve been seeing a counselor (who, of course, has worked with other Bucknell students) and she agrees that this school has a different atmosphere than most. It’s the sort of thing you wouldn’t understand unless you actually experienced campus life there.She told me to keep an open mind about transferring.</p>
<p>Anyway, I was wondering if transferring to SU would negatively impact my chances of getting into a prestigious grad school.</p>
<p>People get into “prestigious” grad schools every year from places you have never heard of. SU would be perfectly fine, provided you put in the work once you are there. What gets you into grad school are (not necessarily in this order):
GPA in your major
Overall GPA
Work/research/internship/volunteer activities related to the grad program you want to pursue
GRE/LSAT/MCAT/other required exam score
Letters of recommendation from your professors
Your own statement of purpose</p>
<p>For lots of fun reading about grad admissions, pop over to the Grad School Forum.</p>
In math, you will want letters of recommendation from respected math professors. You will want to research the profs at SU and see if you will be working with some with good reputations in their fields. Also, look at REU’s or other summer opportunities (and be thinking “letters of rec”). The letters of recommendation- both what they say and who writes them- will have more weight in Math than in other fields, I am told.
Following up on the previous post, LOR’s are very important for math grad school, as are research opportunities. But a main question - how is SU so different demographically and socially? Looks like you may be happier at a school where there is more diversity in terms of outlook, values and ideas?
Back to math and grad school - top grad programs are also looking at whether undergrads have taken graduate courses. That will be difficult at a small LAC. Also, the math profs at LAC’s usually do not publish a lot of math research (math is one of the hardest disciplines to publish original research in), but guide students in research projects that can be valuable even if they don’t lead to publication. You will need to get into REU’s at every opportunity possible, and pursue whatever research opportunities are available at the college.
I would see a Bucknell degree in a much more favorable light than SU (my personal view) because Bucknell is much more selective to begin with. If you are a top tier math student, I would suggest you stay in Bucknell, and sort out your social issues, or transfer to a college with an active research math faculty - Penn State, Univ. Park or Temple or Lehigh. (I’m guessing you want to stay in the PA area - NE or Central)
A lower ranked college does not mean less opportunity. I think SU, if it fits you better, still has a great opportunity for grad school.
As I told the story before, I had dinner with a kid who was a math graduate from Elizabathtown, went to Lehigh for graduate school and was hired by Google right after he started the Lehigh program. This kid had a HS gpa of 2.4 but 800 on SAT math, basically he “failed” everything except math in HS. Obviously, he did very well in college.
stay at your school. if you can’t make a lot of friends at your current school, the new school would be the same. it’s you that has to change. don’t be afraid to communicate with others…