VT Freshman Thinking of Transferring to GMU

<p>I am currently a freshman at Virginia Tech. Tech is nice, but I am 4 hours away from Northern VA where my family is and I am missing them terribly. Also, I had always thought VT was my dream school so I went here without visiting first. The campus is way too big and all the buildings are grey stone which is depressing. Also, Blacksburg is a sketchy rural town that I don't like at all. I don't want to sound like a prick but I am from Northern Virginia and am not at all used to being 4 hours from home in SW Virginia. Thus, I am thinking of transferring to George Mason, which is about 20-30 minutes from home, plus it is much more suburban, and pretty close to D.C. which is cool. Also, I would be able to go home on weekends if I wanted, which is something that would be very cool. My GPA was a 3.0 this past fall..not bad but I know I could have done better. </p>

<p>I would be grateful for any and all advice on any of this...</p>

<p>Dude I think you and I are the same person. I go to VT too (freshman) and I underestimated the fact that Blacksburg is in the middle of nowhere. It didn't help that the friends I made all are from different states and hate the school as well. I live about 10 minutes from George Mason but I want to transfer to JMU because my parents wouldn't like me living with them for 3 more years while I attend GMU. It does suck that I could only get up to NoVa on break days because Blacksburg is an official waste of time and Christiansburg is a poor mans Manassas. Anyways, I think you have a good chance. The only reason I went to Tech is because I have heard of the Hokies football team before...I am an idiot.</p>

<p>Yea dude im thinkin all the same things..where do you live? I am in Ashburn, idk if you are familiar with that area but yea Blacksburg is like a dump compared to it haha. Honestly, I like VT, but the area sucks and I hate being so far from home..if only VT was in NoVa, that would be awesome..anyways, have you visited GMU? Ive only been once to a bball game so im not too familiar with it...what is the campus like, the people, classes, etc? Is there anything to do both on and off campus? </p>

<p>And yea I went to VT for all the wrong reasons..i heard nothing but great things about it and I wanted to go to a big public school..but now that im here its like this place isnt that great why does everyone love it so much?..but yea I regret not visiting before i accepted, otherwise i probably woulda gone to mason i bet..im gonna visit mason during spring break to check it out..</p>

<p>What are you majoring in? Before transferring, think about your major and if VT or GMU is a better fit. Sometimes you have to sacrifice things such as location for education. Keep in mind that VT is harder to get into than GMU for certain reasons.. </p>

<p>On the other hand, being a transfer to GMU myself, I really like it. I had a similar problem with being homesick and not liking my past college surroundings and the campus is nice. I don't think you get much student life here though unless you live on campus. I commute since I'm only 15 minutes away and since GMU is a HUGE college, it's hard to kind of meet people who you'll run into every day. It is very diverse though and the Northern VA location is great. Its nice being close to D.C again as well. </p>

<p>As for transferring, if you do decide to, it's not hard at all.</p>

<p>I am from Centreville really close to GMU and I grew up being around the campus a lot. When it comes to GMU campus life, it is mostly a commuter school, so half the people that go to class go right home after. It is a really diverse school and if I remember correctly they did just build a bunch of new dorms which is a plus. Im not too sure about the classes since I don't go there but I hear that they have a lot of distinguished professors in different fields. And you said you're from Ashburn so you basically know what you get in the NoVa area. Good thing about going to a school for the wrong reasons is that you can transfer to a school that offers a better fit, good luck in ur transfer and I hope I can get out of here as well.</p>

<p>Thank you all for your advice, I appreciate it.</p>