Wost College Experience Ever

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I'm finishing up my first semester at a college right outside of Boston that I'm sure nearly nobody knows. I lived off-campus with a best friend from high school and my boyfriend, and I can tell already it was a huge mistake. The friend had to move back home because he couldn't make rent and my boyfriend and I both hate our separate schools and are pretty sure that no matter where we transfer we're living on-campus next year. I have not one friend in college. My school is so flaky with activities that I don't find out about meetings until about an hour before they happen, and I live about an hour away by T, so I didn't join anything. I'm not incredibly sure why I went here except because they were a 4 year school who gave me financial aid. I've completely blown my first semester, I was so ridiculously stressed out about my living situation most of the time that I did poorly and rarely went to class. I never sleep and I'm miserable where I am. I've been harassing the poor counseling center at my school to try and get some help but I am not getting what I need.</p>

<p>My question is, I visited a friend's school and realized what I should have been doing all along. I need to go to a school where I'll be happy and I just don't know where that is.</p>

<p>I'm looking for a school that's accepting of transfer students and will take somebody with a pretty poor first year of college. I can do better next semester, but I'm telling you, the grades aren't good.</p>

<p>I'm looking for a campus. A nice campus where there are lots of places to hang out. I'm looking for something academically diverse that offers psych, communications, biology, computer-related majors - anything like that.</p>

<p>I'm not sure where exactly I want to go, but right now I'm looking at all of Eastern Massachusetts, southern Maine and maybe New Hampshire. I live in Maine and would really like to be able to visit without taking a half hour T ride, 4-hour bus ride and one hour car ride.</p>

<p>I don't know. I'm just really miserable at school and I wanted to come back to CC to see if anybody could help.</p>

2

<p>what you’re feeling is actually pretty normal for college freshmen. if you really hate it so much, then you should transfer ASAP, but you need to figure out if you can make changes to accomodate the school or if the school is just totally wrong for you. </p>

<p>Sounds like you’re looking for a traditional college campus, with some size (4000+), shouldn’t be hard. there’s too many to list, simple google search will get you at least 20 schools.</p>

3

<p>Many schools require a minimum of 3.0 to accept transfer students. While your misery seems to be related to your school, it may well dwell within you. Freshmen are confronted with all sorts of issues when the arrive in college, whether living on or off campus. Its a huge transition from high school. Some simply are not ready for that change. </p>

<p>Here is what I would do if I were you. Demand your health center provide you some counseling. If they wont, then report them to the Dean for Students immediately. Latch onto a professor who will take the time to have coffee with you and become a mentor…and help you work through this.</p>

<p>Finals are coming, so buckle down, do your reading and get your papers in. You can maybe survive the semester with excellent finals and good papers. </p>

<p>Depression is a serious illness and needs to be addressed. Lack of sleep and poor eating habits are signs of depression, but also make it much worse. Get some sleep and eat properly. </p>

<p>Dump the boyfriend. He is doing you no favors.</p>

<p>If you have a substance abuse problem, or alcohol abuse problem, seek treatment immediately.</p>

<p>If you cannot salvage the semester, then instead of transfering, think about withdrawing for a semester and taking a leave of absence. DONT sit at home in your parents basement, as that will only make the problem worse. Instead, sign up for a volunteer group with your church and do something positive: working in Latin America with poor people, working in the inner city, helping disadvantaged kids, working in a Humane Society, helping rebuild sections of New Orleans (that work is still going on), etc. Helping others will help YOU. Sort out your thoughts. But pick something you enjoy doing.</p>

<p>There is no shame in saying you werent ready for the college experience. Now just fix it but working on what is going on inside of you. Jumping from school to school is not the answer (yes, it helps some kids…but often if they dont address their own problems they just continue to struggle.)</p>

<p>And see your family physician if you have a depression problem that is more than just the ordinary blues and school adjustment stuff.</p>

<p>Finally, many kids go through this. But you can fix it if you TRY. Many get their act together by the Spring and recover. </p>

<p>I NEVER recommend living with friends and boyfriends in college, particularly in freshmen year. I don’t recommend living off campus freshmen and even sophomore year. A whole different set of problems happen…</p>

<p>Now pull up your socks, put a smile on your face, get the help you need and the advice you need from a professor/mentor and get on with it.</p>

<p>All is not lost. You can do this.</p>

4

<p>Kaylee - You definitely need to live on campus and participate. College is a set of relationships, and no relationship survives solely on the basis of intermittent formal meetings (commuting in and out to class). However, a really bad semester academically won’t make it easy to transfer. Throwing everything you’ve got into your spring semester courses may be necessary to pull up your GPA so that you have some transfer options. You could do that at either your present school or a community college.</p>

5

<p>^^^ Very good advice from ghostbuster.</p>

6

<p>I NEVER recommend living with friends and boyfriends in college, particularly in freshmen year. I don’t recommend living off campus freshmen and even sophomore year. A whole different set of problems happen…</p>

<p>I agree. It’s almost a recipe for disaster/unhappiness.</p>

7

<p>Actually, living with the boyfriend, although an accident, has turned out surprisingly well. Living off-campus, however, SUCKS. We both hate it.</p>

<p>Thanks for the advice, guys, keep it coming.</p>

8

<p>Can you get on campus for the next semester?</p>

9

<p>How much time is left in this semester? I would shelve the transfer issue for the next few weeks and pour on the academic effort to salvage whatever you can of this semester’s grades.</p>

10

<p>A lot of colleges have programs where they will accept just about anybody as a night, evening, weekend, summer, or part-time student. They are called different things at different schools, so you might have to search a little bit for them. You usually won’t be able to live on-campus while you’re in one of these programs, but they would be a good way get your grades up and see if you like the school and want to attend as a regular full-time student.</p>

11

<p>Is your GPA too low for a transfer to your state flagship? You’ll get the best financial deal there. This going to sound harsh, but look at your record from a school administration standpoint -why would a private offer you money? The only grades they’ll see in making their decision are the ones from your first semester.</p>

<p>You may be looking at a two-year commitment to your current college in order to raise your GPA.</p>

<p>Put a bandage on the bleeding, get the best grades you can this semester and next. Everything else should get pushed into the background.</p>

12

<p>

</p>

<p>With only one semester of university, high school grades are likely to still be considered for transfer admissions.</p>

<p>Even so, I agree that you should try to keep your grades as high as possible.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>