<p>I'm thinking of transferring colleges. I'm currently a student at William & Mary, and I'm thinking of transferring to George Mason. I made a list of pros and cons:</p>
<p>William & Mary Pros:</p>
<ol>
<li>It's an academic powerhouse.</li>
<li>It has excellent networking.</li>
<li>I'm familiar with the campus and the people.</li>
<li>The campus itself is beautiful, along with the surrounding area.</li>
<li>I like the closeness of the community.</li>
<li>Both of my majors have strong programs.</li>
<li>There are a lot of on-campus activities and clubs.</li>
</ol>
<p>William & Mary Cons:</p>
<ol>
<li>I should have gone to George Mason initially, due to health reasons. (I have Celiac's Disease, and, two weeks ago, was diagnosed with reactive hypoglycemia. It is VERY hard to be at an academically rigorous school while being sick.)</li>
<li>Academically, it's much harder than it should be, and it's a high-stress environment.</li>
<li>My major programs are limited, including not much class selection. (It's a smaller school.)</li>
<li>I hate being sick when I'm so far away from home.</li>
<li>I hate the lack of dorms that I can choose from, including no singles until Senior year.</li>
<li>I just don't love the school. I dread having to be here.</li>
<li>I'm really bored there, and I have almost no social life. (It's really cliquey. I also acknowledge that this one is fixable, but it's generally hard to make friends here.)</li>
<li>I don't have any close friends, or people that I can rely on, give or take one or two.</li>
<li>I will be absolutely miserable after graduation if I stay. I know I will be mentally and physically drained.</li>
<li>I prefer my hometown and city to where my college is located.</li>
<li>Being away from home stresses my parents out and creates more of a rift in their marriage.</li>
<li>My GPA is far lower than it could or should be.</li>
<li>Your undergraduate college doesn't really matter when it comes to salaries for jobs.</li>
<li>I can't get around my college's area well without a car. I'm constantly spending money on taxis.</li>
<li>I spend a lot of money at my current college just trying to get by. ($300.00 or more a month, for food, dorm supplies, etc.)</li>
<li>The administration is evil.</li>
<li>It's expensive to go to the school to begin with. (I would save about $10,000.00 by going to George Mason, which I could use towards grad school, rent for when I move, etc.)</li>
</ol>
<p>George Mason Pros:</p>
<ol>
<li>It's a fresh start.</li>
<li>The academics are much easier.</li>
<li>There are more clubs to join because it's a larger school.</li>
<li>I can go to the doctor's or physical therapy when I need to because I would be close by. (I can only go once every other month or so while at college.)</li>
<li>They still have good networking because of their size.</li>
<li>My parents would do my grocery shopping for me, meaning less money spent on food.</li>
<li>It's an up and coming school academically.</li>
<li>My best friend would be there, along with her college friends, who already like me, so I would already have an established group to join.</li>
<li>Their computer science program is fantastic, so if I worked with computers after graduation, (which I am considering), the name would be recognized.</li>
<li>There are more people, so I would make more friends.</li>
<li>I would have my best friend and her friends to work out with, and I would generally be healthier.</li>
<li>There is MUCH better housing, and I would almost be guaranteed a single.</li>
<li>There is better food there, and more gluten-free options. </li>
<li>I would be near D.C., so I could go clubbing on the weekends, or out exploring the city. Also, internships would be more readily available.</li>
<li>I would still be independent because I would live on campus.</li>
<li>My parents would be much less stressed and could work on repairing their marriage. (They're currently going through a rocky point of their marriage.)</li>
<li>My GPA would sky rocket.</li>
<li>My parents TEND to be right on these sort of things, so I feel like I would regret not listening to them.</li>
<li>I would be far less tense and stressed.</li>
<li>I would save money, and I could make money by working for my grandfather, since he would be nearby. ($70.00 a week for just doing his laundry.)</li>
<li>My parents wouldn't move from my childhood home if I went to my potential transfer college.</li>
<li>I could come home easily if I needed to. (I live 20 minutes away from it, compared to three hours away from William & Mary.)</li>
<li>I would have a car.</li>
<li>There are more class opportunities.</li>
</ol>
<p>George Mason Cons:</p>
<ol>
<li>Their psychology and sociology programs aren't quite as strong. (I'm double majoring.)</li>
<li>If I decided to go to grad school, it's reputation isn't as strong as William & Mary's.</li>
<li>I would have to go to community college next semester, and possibly during the summer, since my transfer credits are iffy.</li>
<li>I really love William & Mary's surrounding area, their traditions, and the animal shelter that I volunteer at that's near my college campus. I would really miss all of that.</li>
</ol>
<p>I'm heavily leaning towards transferring because I think I would be SO much happier. At the same time, people would KILL to be at the college I am right now, and I feel almost stupid giving the spot up. Yet, I'm absolutely miserable when I'm here. Does transferring sound like the right decision?</p>