<p>
</p>
<p>yes - the school is a state school. she just needs to transfer her stafford loan and check to see if she can get her PA grant back. </p>
<p>BCEagle - possibly - there are more choices for her clinicals. This is the main reason I am open to the idea.</p>
<p>justamomof 4…</p>
<p>What is a PA grant? Is that something from Pennsylvania? or something else?</p>
<p>Is she going to or from a state school (or both).</p>
<p>PHEAA grant from the state of PA. She could not use her grant since she is currently out of state. Once she comes back to PA she will get it. hopefully. if there is any money left.</p>
<p>Weekends - she has only stayed at school for one complete weekend - she called on Sat night and told me she was never staying a weekend again. There was nothing to do.</p>
<p>my S transferred this semester after 1 year. He had a difficult time initially. We suggested that he stick it out a year because we felt there was a good chance that he would end up being happy. Eventually he made a nice group of friends but realized that the program he was interested in was also too small, with fewer opportunities. He began his transfer applications (to 6 schools-ugh!) during christmas break and continued through the first couple of months of 2nd semester. He had a very full courseload and was quite stressed by the process. We did help out a bit by arranging to have test scores sent and doing other administrative type duties. It seems that your daughters reasons for tranferring are valid and probably won’t change much with time. IMHO encourage your daughter to transfer now rather later. My S is very happy at his new school and is excited about all it offers in his major and clearly feels that it was the best decision he made ( although not an easy one).
Good luck to your D. She sounds like she has a good head on her shoulders and knows what will work best for her.</p>
<p>
A small program in a small school can feel isolating. When all of mine were looking at schools I had them think long and hard about going to a small school whose entire undergraduate class was hardly larger than their HS graduating class (600). We discussed what that meant, pros and cons. None decided to apply to something really small. DD is at the smallest at a little larger than her HS. A small program, however, can still be a very good one in a larger school. The large school gives the extra variety and interests while the small program can give the individual attention. So to those looking, look at the program and school for what they offer separately.</p>
<p>Your point is well noted - singersmom07. When she applied last fall - her intended major was nursing. The school she is at has a fairly large nursing program with many opportunities. However, her interests changed in the spring - she is now interested in another health care major and while the school has the major it is very new and very small. I thought there might be a benefit of less competition. Not.</p>
<p>My D’s situation was much like bunksmom’s. She was not happy from the start–also many locals, plus party atmosphere and disappointing academic atmosphere (teaching was fine, fellow students were disengaged.) there was little chance any of that was going to change. I also helped with administrative stuff–I didn’t need any proof she was serious, and it was far easier for me to get transcripts, SAT scores, etc.</p>
<p>She ws much more able to identify what she wanted and had a wonderful experience the second time around. Just full of regret that she only got 3 years at the transfer school.</p>
<p>Garland… >>> My D’s situation was much like bunksmom’s. She was not happy from the start–also many locals, plus party atmosphere and disappointing academic atmosphere (teaching was fine, fellow students were disengaged.) <<<</p>
<p>I can totally understand the situation that you’ve described. I, too, was concerned that the “party atmosphere” that exists at so many schools these days, would be a “turn off” to my rather shy and serious son. For him, being in the honors residence hall has somewhat insulated him from the rowdier kids that can be found in the frat houses and the dorms that are near frat row.</p>
<p>Certainly students and parents need to take into account what percentage of the students are either local or go home every weekend. If an “out of the area” student still wants to attend such a school, I would suggest getting a weekend part-time job to keep “loneliness” at bay and to be a source for weekend friendships and things to do.</p>
<p>Mine is transfering after one semester. My feeling is, why prolong the inevitable? And I don’t think it’s bailing out, or not necessarily. I was concerned at first that her decision was impulsive and over-emotional, but as I have talked to her about it over time, I have realized how thoroughly she has thought this through and how sound her reasoning is. (This was a real concern because some of her logic has not been all that great.) I’m much more comfortable with her decision now. The reins are in her hands, though. If she wants to do this, she’s got to do the footwork, and so far it seems that she is. One of the things that has surprised me the most about her college experience so far, has been her degree of organization. This girl who has struggled with time and materials her whole life has become an organizational whiz. Not to say that she’s not struggling emotionally with being at her current school. She is, and sometimes a lot. But there’s a simultaneous purposefulness that has impressed me. A bad experience has led to some good character develpment.</p>
<p>Heron~ that is so very true in our case also. “A bad experience has led to some good character develpment.” Very difficult to live through, but probably very beneficial as life lessons in the end.</p>
<p>Kitty – Yeah, it has really %^*#ed to live through it!</p>
<p>Just a footnote about “suitcase” schools- The US News and World Report Ultimate Guide to Colleges ( a huge book!) lists the percentage a students who stay on campus during the weekend. This can be found in the Campus Life section of each college entry. I live 5 minutes from a SUNY school which is a big commuter school. Of those who do board about 50% go home on weekends.</p>
<p>Until recently, I had never heard the term “suitcase schools.” If I had a kid who went to one, and my kid wasn’t going to be coming home on weekends, then I would encourage my kid to get a part-time weekend job so that he/she wouldn’t become lonely AND that job would be another souce of friends.</p>
<p>Bunksmom, thanks for that information. I am going to check that out as I don’t want my kid to wind up in OP’s daughters shoes next fall.</p>
<p>Way back when, I transferred schools after one year. I knew halfway through the first semester that I would not be staying, but wasn’t in a position to transfer at that point because I had a job and needed that income and I just couldn’t research schools and get everything together that quickly. My situation seems a little similar to what your D is going through, except I was living at home and realizing I wanted to be away (as opposed to being away with kids who were closer to home). I ended up transferring at the end of the year to a school a couple hours away. The new school wasn’t as well known or as hard to get into (although I was leaving my first school with a 4.0 so getting into a comparable school wasn’t an issue), but I was so much happier there and I got into a top ten law school out of the second school, so its lesser reputation wasn’t ultimately an issue. Sometimes you just KNOW right away, and I think the reason your D has cited is something that is unlikely to change.</p>
<p>If your d did all the work of contacting the other school and financially you will not take a hit, then let her do it. Yes, she may decide to return to the other one in the fall but. let her do it. I did that exact thing and i just wasnt’ ready for being far away. When I did go back to the original choice, I was ready and loved it.</p>
<p>I attended a “suitcase school” a few decades ago. It was hard and I wish I’d transfered.</p>
<p>bunksmom, Thank you so much for sharing that information. I will add that to the list of things my son needs to check out.</p>
<p>Heron, I read posts about your daughter earlier because my freshman daughter sounded similar. She became more and more depressed, begging me to let her withdraw. She wasn’t studying, and said she hated it at the big U where she was. We pleaded with her to keep studying and stick it out to end of semester, but her depressed state worried me so that we let her withdraw before last withdrawal date. She is registering for another school second semester.
Hope we made the right decision. You’re right, it has been **!!~!! for us and I’m still not sure what we did was best, but sometimes you just have to go with your motherly gut feeling.</p>
<p>^
bunksmom–what SUNY?</p>
<p>Guessing Stony Brook?</p>