I’ve been considering transferring, but I cannot decide if I should or not.
Some context about myself:
I currently go to a US News top 10 university. I’m not on financial aid, and finances are not an issue for my family. I’m an American citizen, but I grew up mostly abroad due to my parents’ job.
I dislike college… a lot. I go to a very “prestigious” university and as I near the end of my first-year, I still have a 4.0 GPA, and I have no struggles with my classes. I enjoy my classes; I have a decent group of friends that I enjoy; I have no general issues, but I cannot shake this feeling that I dislike college. Initially, I thought it might be be because I don’t go to an incredibly urban school, and I grew up in large cities (Paris, Medellín, Mexico City, Kolkata, Belo Horizonte, and a few others), but I don’t think that’s it because I don’t leave campus a lot anyway. Then I thought maybe I have not found the right friends, but I like my friends here. I thought maybe the academics, but I do well in my classes, enjoy them, and I talk to my profs frequently, and I like my profs.
The thing I don’t like about US University is how babied I feel. I grew up quite independently and in major cities, and I lived alone for some time too (I finished high school in the southern hemisphere, so I had a lot of time before starting university in the US, so I went off on my own). US University feels like a step down from that, like I’m doing nothing. I also cannot stand the ignorance in many US Universities, and maybe the US as a whole. I dislike that it feels like most Americans (and many int’l students as well) are so focused on getting a job to improve their own lives. I cannot comprehend that. While I grew up quite well off, the only thing I can think about is how I feel like I’m wasting my time getting an education when I should be back in one of the many countries I lived in helping all those many people I saw struggling. I completely intend on going back to one of the countries I grew up in (sans France) to try and improve the living conditions, but I feel like I’m doing nothing in college by living in luxury and lounging around just studying, and studying for what? I do now know. I know this sounds kind of strange, but I get incredibly irritated about things like this.
I’ve been considering transferring, but will that even accomplish anything? I’ve been considering starting university somewhere else in the world where I might have more freedom, but is that even worth it considering I go to a very prestigious US school and another school cannot likely offer me the same opportunity?
I don’t think I know what I’m doing at all in university. I cannot find the significance to being here, and I feel uncomfortable here despite “everything going right.”