Does a Perfect College Exist?

College Search & Lists
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So I am very unhappy at my current institution as a journalism major. I am at a large 30,000 student state school with a large emphasis on sports. Currently, I am a journalism major. I was named as one of the top 10 incoming students.

I don’t enjoy the party atmosphere, the multitude of dilemmas from the administration of such a large school (these have been validated by professors I’ve spoken to), and the lack of dedication from the student body. This is not to say that there aren’t intelligent students and that they won’t go on to have high-paying and/or successful careers. However, I haven’t encountered real passion or changemakers here.

A few other issues are the intense rigor of the journalism curriculum, which leaves hardly any room for other electives or exploration and the fact that most instructors are master’s students or just visiting professionals, rather than professors. The professors who do exist mostly don’t have office hours. The class sizes were described as 15-20 people. In reality, I am in mostly lecture halls despite taking specialized upper-level classes for most of my current classes.

Even within the journalism news desk I work for, I have noticed that people will be paired to work on pressing articles that have due dates based around an upcoming event (ex: articles about an upcoming city council vote need to be published several days before the city council meeting). They will procrastinate until the last minute before writing their articles.

I complain to others in my life and I am just told that nobody is actually content within their school. There is no such thing as the perfect school. I have been told that anybody who claims they are happy at their school is just lying.

Is this true? It is advertised that college is the best time of your life, but this hasn’t been my experience. Were you guys happy with your college experience?

Anyway, I am seeking to transfer if the financial aid turns out favorably. However, I was wondering if there is a school that fits what I actually want:

-An Environmental Public Policy program or similar environmental interdisciplinary program
-Students who are passionate, driven, and supportive of each other
-Maybe a slightly book-loving community?
-Doesn’t have to be in the city, but is close enough to a large city that there are good internship opportunities
-Students body of 4-10 thousand students. More or less is fine, but this is preferred.
-The largest emphasis is not sports.
-Professors are esteemed in their field and want to help students learn and thrive
-Small class sizes that mostly rely on open discussion
-A community that both enjoys learning and wants to use their learning to impact others
-An collaborative and interdisciplinary environment
-Students are not huge partiers, but there are opportunities to have fun (coffee shops, concerts, museums, travel, etc.)
-Being near some nature/camping opportunities would be nice!
-I have no preference on geographical region. However, I am from the Midwest originally and determined that I hate the muggy swamp heat of St. Louis where I grew up.
-Preferrably a more open curriculum. I really want to learn more about data science, philosophy, literature, sociology, etc.

I know this is a lot, and I am very particular. But is there a place for me? I have a Common App fee waiver.

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How much financial aid do you need? Your biggest obstacle could be this. At most places, transfer students get less financial aid than incoming freshmen.

It also sounds like you want to not do journalism. Is that correct? Are there any public universities in your home state where you could find most of what you are looking for?

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Since many of your complaints involve the journalism major you are in, have you considered changing major to environmental public policy, data science, philosophy, literature, sociology, or other major of interest at your current school? You may want to investigate whether the students and departments of those other majors are more to your liking than the students and department for journalism.

If you do want to transfer to another school, your college course work and grades are highly important in admission as a transfer student. If you will be transferring as a sophomore (instead of junior), your high school record will also be significant. If you have an application fee waiver, you may also need to check on affordability.

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For this, consider colleges strong in both of these areas:

Schools with notably flexible curricula include Amherst, Smith, Hamilton, Grinnell and Brown.

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I have a kid that goes to a private that he loves. But he spent some serious time talking to people before he picked the place. Incidentally it checks most of the boxes you list above. Unfortunately they don’t take any regular transfers. You can also find a better home for yourself if you spend time figuring out which school fits you better by talking to people at those schools and visiting. But this is a time intensive process that is harder to do when you are already in college. At a first cut you may want to check out the privates or the small handful of small publics (eg William and Mary). Financial aid will remain the binding constraint – what you are asking for costs more money than the large public you currently attend.

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Is this your first semester freshman year? If so, I like the suggestion of trying other areas that interest you at your current school. You just might find your tribe there.

Are you a member of any smaller clubs or groups where you can feel more camaraderie than you are currently feeling?

If you were a top entering student…does your large school have an honors college? Are you part of that?

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Yes to all questions asked.

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Which school is it? I can always try my hand at it.

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My school doesn’t offer data science or environmental public policy degrees. I have discussed the effectiveness of the other majors with my professors, who have all advised me against those.

I had a 3.86 unweighted GPA in high school, graduated summa cum laude, and have all As and A+s in my current classes. If I don’t have a 4.0 by the end of the semester, at the minimum it would only be a 3.9.

I don’t have a significant financial need. A faculty member at my school was incredibly sympathetic (actually a person in charge of freshman retention, ironically enough) and worked with me to provide a statement for a fee waiver for other circumstances than purely my EFC.

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I am not actually an in-state student at my current school. I am from Illinois, so yes, but those are UChicago and Northwestern. Those are probably good fits and I intend to apply.

The financial need is low and I am applying for numerous scholarships. My concern is mainly a matter of whether another school would be 3x what I am paying now and whether I could justify that to my family.

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Princeton. But they take a handful (maybe less than 15 a year?) of transfers of special case students – e.g. people who went to the marines, and haven’t had an opportunity to have a proper education. So they often take students from a community college that have some other extenuating circumstances. Princeton will enroll more transfer students starting this fall.

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If you would like to continue in journalism without compromising your interest in exploring a wide range of academic fields, it seems you would be able to do this by pursuing journalism as an EC through a college newspaper.

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My daughter really likes her school (Rice). The smaller size (around 4000) works well for her personality. Her major is small, she knows her classmates and professors well, and there are a lot of opportunities for her to explore her interests. It’s an option you might want to check out if you’re willing to consider living in Houston. Niche ranks Rice in the top 10 for public policy and has the James Baker Institute for Public Policy. I don’t know a lot about the department but a friend of my daughter graduated with the degree last year and had some great internships and experiences. The school does tick a lot of your boxes. Check it out.

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My daughter loves her huge state school (UCLA). She also wants to be a journalist, though she’s double majoring in history and English/American literature. She is an intern at the Daily Bruin.

She finds the students are work hard, play hard—in that order. She’s joined a book club, a listening club and a film club too. She’s finding her people.

The academics are intense and she works a lot. But she really loves her school, and so do her new friends.

So, that’s all to say that yes, it’s possible to love college.

I agree with others that you may need to let go of Northwestern since you didn’t get in last year. Which schools did you get into that may have been second or third choices (or first choice, setting aside the financial aid aspect). Reapplying to one of those schools might be a good ideas since they accepted you once already.

Other ideas…
UC Berkeley has an environmental policy program that a friend’s daughter is in. And I believe a journalism minor is available. Huge school, very academic, into sports but it’s definitely not the only thing people care about. Can be competitive, but I believe that is more of a STEM major thing

I went to SDSU, and was a journalism major. It’s also a huge school, but I had 5 internships as a writer and reporter before I graduated. My journalism classes were small and we had super teachers (granted, 25 years ago). I understand that it’s much more academically oriented these days, but in the 90s, it was a huge party school. I loved it at first, then grew to feel as you did, that I wanted a more intellectually stimulating experience. Regardless, it prepared me well for my career.

Other ideas…

Boston University… I really liked their comms/journalism program, it’s a little bigger than you wanted but not too big.

American University… DC would be a fabulous place for you to be for policy and journalism. It’s just the right size for you, too. A little easier to be admitted than BU, NU, UChicago too.

On that same note, George Washington in DC could also be great.

The liberal arts school I love for writing is Kenyon. They also run the Kenyon Review, a literary journal of world renown. It’s definitely a bookish place. The newspaper is a weekly though—so you might find that not as appealing. Plus it’s tiny and in the middle of nowhere, OH. Still, I adore it (from afar, my daughter wanted a different experience, but seriously considered it)

Anyway, I think if you’re this unhappy already, transfer! While you can make do and things may improve with time, this is your college experience and you need to what you feel is right.

I’ll leave you with one more piece of advice—something I learned when I was a couple of years older than you, while studying abroad in Paris.

That cliche, “wherever you go, there you are” is 100 percent true. Make sure it’s actually the school you’re unhappy with—not something deeper going on with you, something you will take with you to the next place.

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Is there a perfect college ? No.

Journalism programs are not traditionally dominated by phd but rather by former working professionals - which is great so that you find real world experience in their teachings.

It sounds like your interests have changed and perhaps the school size is overwhelming.

Have you sought out an Honors program or perhaps living learning community for next year?

There’s many schools in the 4-10k without a sports focus. Nearly all schools have parties but not necessarily pervasive. Few schools have purely open curriculums and most will be pricey. And those schools will have rigorous academics - most do. In the case of journalism, it’s a rigorous career and you need drive and determination to succeed so you should be glad for the rigor. Embrace the challenge and excel in it if you truly want to be a journalist.

What’s your state (to find alternative low cost) and what’s your budget ?

To answer your title, you will find issues with each and every school you might attend.

You might see if there’s a way through clubs or other opportunities to find your path there and create your own community.

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Thank you. That advice is helpful. Going into this, my mother sat me down and had the conversation with me that I try incredibly hard at everything I do and try to create opportunities wherever I am. She told me that I will still continue to be me wherever I am and I will not fight any less to create the future I want even being stuck at this school.

I feel like I have tried to do that and I have so far been very successful at my current school. I appreciate your advice from what you learned in Paris, and I want to say that this process has helped me determine who I truly am and that I will always try to open doors for myself, regardless of whether the transfer process works.

I have also considered whether this may be a deeper problem. I am trying to look into this right now regarding the social atmosphere and trying to be better about socializing with others.

Thank you. I really do appreciate it and I am hoping to learn more about myself and what I truly want in life.

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I would look at liberal arts colleges where professors may do the teaching. Google “little Ivies” as well as “Colleges that Change Lives.” The list of schools with open curricula posted above is also good.

It seems you might want to change your major because some LAC’s won’t have journalism per se. You could consider majoring in English/writing. Kenyonw as suggested for that and there are many others.

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No such thing as perfect, but lots of people are happy at their colleges, so I don’t think the ‘no one likes their college’ thing is at all accurate.

So much of college is figuring out who you are and what works (and doesn’t) for you, so I applaud you for your introspection. Fit is critical to happiness. Reading your list of criteria makes me wonder if you’ve looked at any of the CTCL (Colleges That Change Lives)? Many of them are smaller in size, but I think some may have that quality of dedication and openness that you are seeking.

Whatever you choose, I wish you a good fit and a happy college experience!

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There is no perfect college, but many (most?) students have much more positive experience than the one you are having. Without knowing your budget, it’s hard to suggest colleges.

In hearing you talk about your current school, it makes me think back to my own experience at a midwestern flagship. I was in the honors college and found many of my types of people (and discussion classes) there. But I happened to make good friends with one of the students who was given one of a limited, competitive number of full-ride scholarships. And through that student, a large portion of our mutual friend group was from that pool of students. There were people in that full scholarship program who went Greek and had a work hard/party hard attitude, with more of the stereotypical Animal House style of parties in mind. But the majority of the others were definitely not that way, and they enjoyed game nights, nights at the theater, and also going to sporting events. But fun/entertainment did not resolve around alcohol, if that’s where your concern lies.

All of that to say, see if you can find just one person who is your type of person. Maybe it’s someone is in one of your honors classes, or one of the people on the newspaper staff who’s exasperated by the procrastinators, or someone at an event in your living learning college or an event hosted by your honors college. If someone sounds interesting in a discussion, start talking to them afterwards. See if they want to grab a coffee or eat lunch or whatever. Once you find one person, I think it will be easier for you to find more (and that one person may already have a simpatico circle that you would really enjoy).

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I read more.

It sounds to me that you are prestige hungry and that’s going to hurt you as you look for other opportunities. It’s what you learn as much as where you go so open your eyes to schools not in the same vein as northwestern and Chicago. And you worry about journalism rigor - how will you fare at those schools?

If you really want to study environmental policy, check out SUNY ESF - where you can take classes at neighboring Syracuse (and their top ranked Maxwell School). Syracuse works too but too party for you. It’s Northwestern but a bit larger and a few rungs down in pedigree.

U of Pacific is another as would be UNC Asheville.

Too big and maybe too partyish but U Delaware would be another that would meet your academic need.

It sounds as if you’re not giving your current place a fair shake. Maybe you’re in the wrong major. Starting over may work but often a student realizes it’s no better. You have to seek your happiness.

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