<p>I know you've probably seen posts like this one hundred times, but I was wondering when people make the decision to transfer. I am a freshman and my current school is very small (about 1,000 people), and most of the people if not almost all party all of the time. It is a small, private school so most of them also have money (I am on scholarships). I don't party and I don't drink and it's not because I am very religious (that's what most people assume) it's just not something I do. The illegality of underage drinking and drugs (rare, but it does happen) also bothers me. I know it doesn't bother most, but it bothers me. So far my classes are great, I love my professors and I am doing really well. They could be a little more challenging, but I am going to try to make up for that starting in the spring by taking 17 hours instead of 14. I am just feeling more and more depressed at my current school. I'm involved with some extracurriculars and other activities on campus, but I am just not meeting people that I have a lot or really anything in common with. Keep in mind I can't just transfer to any random school because my field of study is very specialized and considering that I want to stay in-state it is quite hard to find. I am currently looking at W&M and UVA, but it looks UVA may be more of a party school than W&M. Sorry for rambling and the long post. Any advice on when to transfer? Anyone else feel this way? Thanks for reading and for help.</p>
<p>For higher chances of admission, I'd complete at the least 60 semester units [90 quarter].</p>
<p>we are similar in many ways :), illegality also bothers me very much. Also, i am really against drinking, smoking and other illegal activities that are detrimental to people's health. I am currently at university of Toronto, which is gigantic! i am not enjoying it very much because of the large class size and loud noises in the city, I would prefer it much better to study in a small school where the campus actually feels like a school campus. We should switch :)
but anyway, if you want big, come to my school :)</p>
<p>I tell you when I think you should transfer. As long as you're happy enough where you are to get a good GPA, you should wait to transfer until you know a lot about how your school compares to other schools both academically and socially, and you're sure about where you want to go if accepted. If it's at the end of Sophomore year instead of Freshman, so be it. You can make the most of your decision in the end.</p>
<p>you should check out swathmore too-- huge focus on academics with less partying (although def some pot) if it fits what you want to study. It won't hurt to apply now so you will have options, but I would seriously wait. It takes a while to adjust and uva (wm too?) takes applications for every semester so you shouldn't feel stuck at your old school if you are still not sure. There is also drinking pretty much everywhere, my friend at wm gets blackout pretty often...</p>