Unsure About My Decision

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Currently I will be attending my sophomore year at Purdue University. Unfortunately, I feel like this school isn't exactly the perfect fit for me, and this is causing my academics to be less than ideal. Both of my older siblings had attended Purdue and had a wonderful time, so during my high school years I was always in West Lafayette and had wonderful experiences with the school. I believe these pre-collegiate experiences hastened my decision making in choosing to attend Purdue. </p>

<p>On the bridge of beginning my sophomore year, I have come to the realization that if this year is anything like the last, I will transfer. I feel that when you are at college you should be comfortable with your decision and shouldn't be considering transferring...this thought is easily a weekly occurrence for me though. (I will be attending the school the whole year, as well as looking into going Greek to see if that will improve my experiences with Purdue)</p>

<p>With this is mind, I'm unsure of which schools to look into heavily and discover the transfer process, and would really love nice input from anyone with thoughts to share. My main aspects when looking at a school are as follows:</p>

<p>-Biological Sciences Program: I love Purdue's program, you don't became specialized until your junior year, so you have two years of academics to figure out which one of eight majors is the perfect fit for you, I would love to know if any other schools have something similar</p>

<p>-Location: I'm from the Chicago and ideally would like to remain in the Midwest (1-2 hour flight time home, would prefer no more than 6 hour drive one way). The furthest away I feel comfortable with is Kansas/Kansas state/Vanderbilt.</p>

<p>-College Size: I know I want to attend a large college that's 20k+ and is within the D1 division of sports, and I'd prefer they do have all main sports (No Marquette)</p>

<p>-College Town: One of the main issues I have with Purdue is that it's in no way a college town...it's Purdue University in the middle of nowheresville Indiana with nothing around, combine that with only having 4-5 reputable bars on campus, it's not for me. Along with that, I know something like Wisconsin-Madison or Iowa isn't for me either, in which the whole town is dominated by the college. </p>

<p>-Greeklife: As I mentioned, I will be trying to go Greek at Purdue. I really want to go through with this because I know it will be a great help in terms of obtaining a career down the road. I'd really like to attend a college with a reputable greek life.</p>

<p>If anyone has any schools that they think would fit this profile, I'd really like to take an in-depth look at them. Currently I'm looking at Vandy, Michigan, and K-State.</p>

2

<p>So what is it about Purdue that makes you unhappy?</p>

3

<p>It’s hard for me to explain. It has to do with the atmosphere of the school, whenever I visited my older siblings I only got a small viewing of the college (what I had thought was the whole thing). After attending for two semesters, I realize it’s not my fit, the campus doesn’t seem happy and friendly, the staff don’t seem very attentive or caring (which I expect from a large university, but still). </p>

<p>The best way I can explain it is when I was talking to my cousin, he mentioned he never thought I’d attend Purdue, he saw it as a nice fit for my siblings, but never for me, that I’d want something more, more engaging and enjoyable, and on this I completely agree.</p>

4

<p>I’m not clear about what you are looking for in a college town. On one hand you don’t like West Lafayette or Madison or Iowa City and on the other you are considering Ann Arbor which is basically the same. If anything, Madison, is the least like a college town as it is the state capital.</p>

<p>The big D1 schools in the midwest are all pretty much in college towns with the exception of Pittsburgh, Ohio State, Minnesota, and Northwestern (and I am sure I have missed one or more others).</p>

5

<p>I can only comment on what I’ve experienced, and based on my experiences I really enjoy Aggieville in Kansas State, ideally something similarly is what I want. West Lafayette is basically just Purdue’s academic building, there’s a small 1 block area that’s Chauncey Square with a very limited selection of business/bars/etc. In terms of Madison and Iowa City, it felt like everyone there was there to just party and had no care about academics. I’m looking for a college that has an area where majority of the students will go on the weekends, but it’s not completely obnoxious, there’s some level of reservation. </p>

6

<p>“In terms of Madison and Iowa City, it felt like everyone there was there to just party and had no care about academics”</p>

<p>Yeah, that’s not true in Madison at all. It’s a good-size town with other industries besides the university. Tons of outdoor life, too.</p>

7

<p>I feel like you are all over the map here…</p>

<p>You don’t like West Lafayette because it is “in the middle of nowheresville Indiana with nothing around”. How is this different than Manhattan and KSU?</p>

<p>You are afraid of WI and Iowa because of the party scene…but then you complain that Purdue ‘only’ has 4-5 ‘reputable’ bars? Do you want a party scene or not? Just how many bars do you need?</p>

<p>Then you say…“I’m looking for a college that has an area where majority of the students will go on the weekends, but it’s not completely obnoxious, there’s some level of reservation.” The majority of the students at Iowa DO NOT go to the bars on the weekends. Lots do and it can be pretty wild at WI and Iowa, but don’t go to the wild places. Go to the low key bars or hang with friends.</p>

<p>Aggieville has a nice collection of bars, restaurants, and shops and is pretty nice. Perhaps it is the friendly, low-key atmosphere that you really like and the fact that it is smaller than Purdue.maybe you prefer a school without a huge contingent of uptight city/suburban folks? More laid back?</p>

<p>If you want super friendly and low-key, I can’t see how Vanderbilt or Michigan would work for you. Wisconsin might.</p>

<p>Greek life at Iowa is sparse. </p>

<p>If you like Kansas State, you might also like Nebraska or Iowa State. Although, the Ames campus town area only has about 4-5 reputable bars, but they have a robust Greek system. Iowa State has about the friendliest people we have encountered and is very similar to KSU. </p>

8

<p>I agree that I’m entirely all the over the map, but you brought up a great point Haystack, I really enjoyed the atmosphere at kstate, and what possibly made it stand out was that there was a nice collections of shops and bars and such, but with half the attendance at Purdue, the area seemed much bigger and more accepting which made it quite comfortable for me. </p>

<p>I’ll take an indepth look at Vandy, Michigan, Nebraska, and Iowa State, and further look into Kstate, although their academics didn’t impress me too much.</p>