How did you know you were in the wrong college?

LondonCircle · 09-24-2012, 06:53 PM

Dear Transfer Students,
When and how did you know that you were in the wrong college? I feel like I might be at the wrong school for me, but I don't know if it's just homesickness and adjusting, or if I'm really in the wrong place.

Thanks,
LondonCircle

entomom · 09-24-2012, 09:04 PM

If you're an entering fr, then I'd say it's too early to know. You should be doing everything you can to make your school work, academically and socially, get out and make an effort. If you're not happy at winter break, then think about transferring. You can't ask for LORs from your profs until the semester is close to done, so don't even think about it now.

sometransfer · 09-25-2012, 01:50 AM

When you can count the number of friends on-campus on one hand.
When every class you've taken has ended in a grade of F or worse.
When your family is starving and you don't even receive a financial aid letter.
When you're forced to pump up too many steroids before the big game.
When you get drunk 7 days a week, 4 weeks a month.
When you're Asian and your parents keep yelling at you to transfer to a better college.
When you're afraid to leave your dorm room because you're afraid of getting shot.
When every other college seems like a better fit for you.

That's when you transfer.

Johnhughzy · 09-27-2012, 03:24 PM

When you realize that the school you're at makes it next to impossible to dual major which you really want to do, but if you stay at that school in state scholarships won't cover past the fourth year and the only reason you're there is because it was the cheapest option.

When you realize you go to the #1 party school in the country and you don't party.

When you realize you hate football and 100,000 people invade your little college town every other Saturday for the big game.

When you realize that the school you're at has a much more Southern and conservative atmosphere than you thought it would have despite being one of the top in the state.

When your sexuality is a bigger deal at college than it was in high school.

smorgasbord · 09-27-2012, 04:39 PM

Quote:

If you're an entering fr, then I'd say it's too early to know.

I disagree. I knew before I came on campus. I live near the school, and I always got a bad vibe from it. I applied because it was close to home and had a (supposedly) good program in what I thought I wanted to major in, so I decided that the academics might be worth it. They weren't. I pretty much knew at orientation that the school didn't just meet, but exceeded, my expectations of its horribleness. If that's how you feel, too, then you probably shouldn't even be going to a school to begin with.

DJpsu2015 · 09-28-2012, 02:31 AM

It took time, but give yourself at least the first semester to asses yourself. I pretty much knew by the end of Fall semester that my previous college was no fit for me. My problem wasn't making friends; rather, it was the academic environment. I found it difficult to find people with similar interests, passions, and goals. I found myself constantly working by myself all the time and the department for my intended major was terrible. I also disliked the town it was in. I'm not a country person by any means, so I did whatever I could to get out into a big city, where the opportunities were available for me.

Matisyahu · 09-28-2012, 03:15 AM

"When you're afraid to leave your dorm room because you're afraid of getting shot."

WHAT SCHOOL IS THIS?

entomom · 09-28-2012, 09:24 PM

smorgasbord,

Try to stop thinking so personally and read the OP:

Quote:

I feel like I might be at the wrong school for me, but I don't know if it's just homesickness and adjusting, or if I'm really in the wrong place.

joesilvahhh · 09-28-2012, 09:43 PM

I knew when, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get that "I'm at home" feeling. I spent my freshman year trying to put myself out there by getting involved in ECs and going to campus events, and none of it worked. It kept me occupied, but I was never happy during any of it. I couldn't relate to other students and I couldn't (and still can't) find anyone who's interested in any of the same things I am.

I also didn't (don't) find any of the classes for my major very challenging at all despite efforts to take more advanced classes. It's my first semester of sophomore year and it's become quite clear that this isn't the place for me. I also got here after high school with the presupposition that this isn't the place where I wanted to graduate, and so I've also been a little biased.