Withdraw from a 4 year university????

Hi I’m currently a freshman attending a 4 year uni and I really don’t like the environment here. The only reason that I came to this college was because I was admitted to only 2 colleges and the other one was worse. I feel like I am totally unmotivated and depressed. I want to transfer to a community college and give myself a second chance to get into a more elite university that I really dreamed of. What do you guys suggest? Staying or leaving?

Is the community college you’re considering more academically rigorous than where you are now?
Do you understand that the transfer admissions rate for the most elite schools is even lower than the freshman acceptance rate?
Have you tried talking to counseling about your unhappiness? Sometimes people change schools but their unhappiness comes along to the new school, too.

It might help if you give us more information, such as what university are you at and what university would you rather be attending.

However, on the most part the difference between the many very good universities and the few “elite” universities is grossly exaggerated. Also, it is relatively common for students to do very well as “pretty good” universities and then go on to graduate school at the most elite universities.

Guessing a bit due to lack of information, your best chance to ever attend an “elite” university is probably to do very well where you are now, and then go on to graduate school at a highly ranked school.

We might be able to give more accurate information if you can tell us where you are, and what your SAT and unweighted high school GPA were.

@DadTwoGirls @AroundHere Tks for the reply! I’m currently studying at umd and my cumulative gpa is 3.9 last semester. I didn’t do well in high school and community colleges don’t care about your SAT and high school stats so that’s why I want to start again over there. My plan is to go to a California cc and transfer to an UC.

UMCP is a very good school. If I were you I would stay there and not think of going to community college. You have lots of opportunities available there. Don’t throw that away.

What colleges did you apply to?
Which did you get in?
Which didn’t you get in?

Transfers don’t get merit scholarships.

Talk to somebody in the counseling center about all of this.

Malcolm Gladwell says it is better to be a big fish in a small pond…you have the chance to stand out.
http://www.businessinsider.com/malcolm-gladwells-david-and-goliath-2013-10

Do your parents live in California?
If not, it is not easy to get in state residency. You would to live in California a year before you start any classes and live there and not go “home” for the summer.
https://www.ucop.edu/residency/establishing-residency.html

I agree that UMD - CP is a very good school and from prior posts it looks like you are in the CS program which is quite strong. If you are miserable then I can’t imagine how unhappy you would be at a CC. Please recognize that if you do well and put your all into UMD you can have a very good college experience and should have many wonderful opportunities available both during and after college.

Also keep in mind that elite colleges take very few transfer students so your odds of transferring in from a CC (or even from UMD) are slim. If you focus on transferring instead of making the most of UMD it will stand in the way of your making meaningful friendships, developing relationships with professors, and getting involved on campus. I’d stay at UMD with the intent of remaining all four years. It is fine to throw in a couple of transfer applications but don’t count on it working out.

Think about what is making you unhappy at UMD and if it is in your power to change some of those things moving forward. If you decide to be miserable at UMD then there is a chance that you could be miserable wherever you go. If you are truly “depressed and unmotivated” perhaps you should seek out help at the counseling center.

Your plan to transfer from UMD to a UC is not a good one. Going from a large east coast state flagship university to a large west coast state flagship university is probably not going to change your student experience very much. The detour through a community college (which will probably not be as academically strong as UMD) makes a bad plan worse. You could give up a spot at a very good university and have no guarantee of acceptance somewhere better for you.

My advice would be to spend time working on adapting to where you are. Every university has a freshman support plan with different kinds of resources you can take advantage of. Make sure you are using everything you can. If it doesn’t work out by the end of the third semester, take a good hard look at what you need, visit campuses, and transfer from UMD to a school that would meet you needs. (I’m worried that you haven’t really thought through your needs since your current plan is a school like UMD, just in a different location.)

Sometimes students don’t understand how to make the transition to college – this video explains some of the things that students should know when they feel lost –
https://youtu.be/MftaGHKt3V0

aye, that’s the rub. Your dreams of UCSD have been crushed and you are finding it hard to love the one who loves you.

And I get it: College Park, MD is no San Diego, CA.

But:

  1. the CS programs are equally ranked, so although you may feel that UCSD is ‘more elite’, for your subject it is not.
  2. you will be a viable candidate for better internships sooner if you stay put
  3. going from UMd to a CC is going backwards and could end up extending the time you need to finish your degree
  4. crucially, at SD CS is an impacted (oversubscribed) major, and you have to be accepted into it - and there is no guarantee that you will be. At CP you are already in.

If you’re studying computer science, prestige won’t make a bit of difference. Bachelors degrees, especially in Computer Science, are pretty well standardized and very employable out of college. Also, going out of state is about triple the cost of tuition. Unless your parents can pay the massive tuition or are willing to co-sign large private student loans(VERY bad idea), it’s going to be out of reach anyway.

I didn’t get my first pick in college either, but I’m doing well as a computer professional. If you’re feeling depressed, it could simply be depression. That’s very common with college students. A few regular therapy sessions can make a world of difference in just a couple of months. I would take a visit to the health center.