<p>Hello. I just finished my freshmen year at Dartmouth and am on a medical leave due to depression and anxiety. After doing some reflection, I've figured that Dartmouth had a lot to do with the worsening on my mental state. Therefore, I am now considering transferring and would like some advice as to where to look into, given my stats and situation.</p>
<p>Stats and Dems:
UG GPA: 3.63
HS GPA: 4.0
ACT: 33
Lower-class biracial girl from Oklahoma. Very active with extracurricular's in high school, but not very active in college.</p>
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<p>Problems with Dartmouth:
- The community was WAY too intimate. Living all my life in a small town, I thought I would be more comfortable in one but I thought wrong. I felt as though I always lacked privacy. I didn't like the feeling of not being able to go to the dining halls for food without running into and most likely being drawn into a conversation by 2-3 kids I know. Also, I felt like too many people tried to get to know me too fast.
- The community as a whole had too many overly ambitious people. Everyone wanted to either make a lot of money, or save the world. There weren't enough people who were mostly going to college to learn skills to get a decent, fairly enjoyable job.
- Although they tried to be inclusive, the unbalanced ratio of rich kids to poor kids was rough. I felt out of place when I couldn't afford all the name brand clothes and felt a lot of negative feelings whenever I either went to a floor dinner at a restaurant (and just buckled down and paid) or whenever I had to decline.
- I chose Dartmouth partially because my best friend/ex went as well. This I am regretting somewhat. Although he is still my best friend and he greatly helped me when my depression got bad, I feel that going to school with him put a damper on the way I was supposed to acclimate to college by greatly interfering with my social balance. He's very extroverted, and I'm introverted, and with the new constant available access to each other (we lived 30 mins apart back home) we ended up hanging out WAY more than we did in high school, which threw me off and consequently contributed to my depression as much as it helped.
- Dartmouth is too unnecessarily hard. As a rule of thumb, I like practical learning and hate most things theoretical or subjective. Too many of Dartmouth's courses fell among the latter two.
- Too many small, intimate classes with emphasis on group participation and active interaction. I don't like feeling obligated to get to know my classmates beyond the level of vague acquaintances. I also don't like it when all my classes have a large portion of their grade determined by participation points.
- Doesn't offer Nursing (which I am now highly considering for a major)</p>
<p>Things I liked:
- Great teachers. I felt like they cared and were very supportive.
- Great opportunities, lots of variety in classes, which is good for my many interests.
- I liked the nature, I love being in a place where I can be reasonably close to a good sunrise and hear the song birds over a cup of coffee in the morning.
- Accepting, tolerant student body (or at least compared to Oklahoma it is)</p>
<p>Things I'm looking for in a potential school to transfer to:
-The things I liked about Dartmouth
- I want to avoid the more conservative schools like many of the ones in Oklahoma and the South
- I want to avoid small schools if it means they don't offer Nursing (but I don't want a school that specializes only in nursing either, as I have many interests)
- I've learned I don't mind living in cities, and actually kind of like it, but I don't want to live in a huge city( <700,000 is preferred)
- Being from the South, manners, politeness, courtesy, and friendliness are very important to me in a way, however, I like a place with people that aren't socially pushy. Like if we're neighbors, I'll wave to you and do small favors for you, but I'm not going to invite you to a event or barbecue every weekend unless we've known each other for a WHILE (and even then, like once every two months). Basically, I like people who hold doors open, wave, and say please and thank you, but who won't ask to hang out after talking to you for just a couple of hours.
- Although snow is a pain, I can handle it. I would prefer if it didn't stick around all winter though. I am also not a big fan of the heat (I deal better with cold than hot weather)
- I want a school that's homebody friendly, preferably with plenty of single dorms or apartment options.
- I want a somewhat less academically intense school and want a community with more like minded individuals (I'm going to college predominately to get a job, smart, but not overly 'intellectual' people)
- Socioeconomic diversity
- A good Nursing Program is a must.</p>
<p>Other considerations
- As long as my scholarship (Gates) holds true, cost isn't really a determining factor.
- I have interests in Medicine, Art (Visual, Music, Dancing, pretty much all art), Computers, Psychology, Japanese, and Video Games and would prefer places that have classes or at least clubs to pursue these interests.
- Also a school with good mental health service access based on precedent.
- I don't care about prestige, but I want good programs that will prepare me for graduate school if I decide someday to go.
- I want to avoid Oklahoma.
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<p>Basically, I looking for some schools to consider and trying to decide if transferring is a good option, or if anyone has advice on how to make my college experience at Dartmouth manageable (although being forced to do postbac nursing isn't very appealing financially). I don't want to transfer just to end up in the same boat again, it's too taxing and expensive, but I think a change of venue might be beneficial. Currently, University of Washington Seattle is all that is on my list, and I want to find other schools I should consider along with it. Any advice is greatly appreciated! </p>