<p>Tl;dr: freshman for 2 months, feel that work is too easy and worried that I could be challenged more than I am, but came from extremely rigorous high school with a very competitive graduating class.</p>
<p>I’ve been a freshman at my college for two months now. I am concerned that the academics may be subpar and that I’m not being challenged enough. This question has been asked several times before, but I have a somewhat unique background.</p>
<p>I come from an extremely rigorous private school; so difficult that a lot of times, classes become smaller around sophomore year because the work was simply too much for some students. For two years of high school I was in a class of only five people. Two of these five people were absolute geniuses - perfect SAT scores, perfect GPAs, National Merit Scholars, full rides to college, innovative, creative, questioning. These were not just “smart” kids; they were brilliant. The other two were not brilliant but worked so hard that they got stellar grades. I didn’t. I was lazy and didn’t manage my time well. I knew I could do better but often chose not to. My grades were very bad; my overall GPA around a 3.0. I failed one math class and had to drop out of another. Because of my struggles with math, my SAT scores, though not terrible, were not impressive. I was afraid that I wouldn’t even get accepted to any college. I felt so much personal pressure to measure up to the rest of the class, making everything seem twice as hard as it was.</p>
<p>I ended up being accepted to a public and private four-year university. I chose the private one for a variety of reasons, mainly because I had heard good things about it and my personal research seemed to confirm this. When I got there I was surprised at how easy everything was. Part of it was my newly inspired responsibility; I didn’t waste as much time in high school and used the time I did have more wisely. Two classes were a little challenging, but the other three were a walk in the park. Some of my professors were nowhere near as harsh in grading as my high school teachers had been. However, my department is very strong, and the prof who heads it is incredibly experienced and very talented; my other professors have also proved to be excellent teachers in general. So my question is: am I finding things easy because of where I come from, or should I consider transferring somewhere with more rigorous academics after freshman year?</p>
<p>Currently taking 13 credits, majoring in broadcast communication & digital media, currently not in EC’s/clubs but am considering joining a sorority. I am required to have 25 volunteer hours in my major per semester as well as 18 community service hours per semester. I would also like to get a job around sophomore year.</p>
<p>I had the same problem when I was only taking 14 credits. Next semester, take 17-19 credits and you’ll be fine. See if you can tack on a double major.</p>
<p>Well, what kind of school do you go to, and what kind of classes are you taking?</p>
<p>You don’t have to give away the exact name, but the type of institution and its overall perception might be worthy of noting. Not that ones that are lower-ranked are inherently bad or anything, but different schools tend to cater to different levels of student: one could argue that the elites cater to the top of the class while bottom-tiered schools more so to the bottom (and state flagships would be somewhere in the middle, I suppose). I mean, I’m sort of with you on this one. I’m currently a freshman at a large state school and yeah, it feels pretty easy, but I’m sure that the non-intro and upper-division classes are going to be more challenging. I’d be happy with your courseload for now as you don’t HAVE to be swamped with work to be successful–honestly, it sounds like your old school was a bit too much for you if you were barely hanging on. But if after some time here you STILL feel like it’s not demanding enough, then you could consider transferring, but give it time. </p>
<p>What are you majoring in? Some majors are just going to be easier than others and you’ll have to supplement it with other classes if you want to feel more, I don’t know, productive. And if you’re taking the bare minimum to be a full-time student, well, that could be another reason too. Next quarter or semester, I’d think about taking some courses a little out of your comfort zone and see how that goes. You could always consider getting a part-time job or joining some clubs if you want some more variety. </p>
<p>Coriander: yeah, that’s part of the problem. I’m in Texas and my university is not known for its academics, especially when compared to powerhouses like UTD, UT and Baylor; although they have outstanding fine arts programs, and are #1 in the nation for their education degree, other areas are more than a little lacking. Additionally, the major I’m in (broadcast communication) is also by nature relatively easy. So I think I’ll do what Vctory suggested, and if it still doesn’t seem enough by the end of freshman year, I may look into other options.</p>
<p>You can also enjoy being a big fish in a small pond. One of my friends, currently a Philosophy Professor, said of smaller regional schools " I attended one and, as a bright excited student, got profs to notice me and got a great education. I teach at a regional state university."</p>
<p>I was at a small, regional state school for two years, and I thrived. Yes, my classroom experience wasn’t as stimulating as it could have been, but you can seek out opportunities for yourself. Take a paper you got an A in and go back to your professor. Ask them to help you improve it. Talk through project ideas with other classmates/professors outside of classes. As you make the most out of the time you get with your professors and move into upper division classes, you might find college to academically be what you make of it.</p>
<p>Do you feel like you aren’t learning as much as you should or that it’s simply not as hard as you expected? If it’s the former than look into other college’s programs, but if it’s the later then maybe use this extra time on your hand to do something of your own. I see you’re interested in digital media. How about you go out and start practicing or even start a small business revolving around that. Real practical experience is the best educator after all. Sure an education mandated by a professor and done by the books is great and all, but taking initiative and creating something out of nothing without any guidance would be an awesome challenge for you that I feel like would help you grow in a way you aren’t typically exposed to in school.</p>
<p>Thank you all so much for the wonderful responses! You have no idea how encouraging they are to me. Purpleacorn, that’s what I’m going to start doing more actively now. @MrTallGuy: Definitely the latter. My teachers stressed that college was going to be so much harder than HS, going on about syllabus shock and strict professors, etc. So I was prepared for this complete culture shock and was surprised when it was not as difficult as predicted. Yes, there were major cultural differences, but academically it wasn’t that drastic a change. And to be completely honest, it’s really 2 classes that are frustrating me; speech and English. I essentially took speech in 7th grade and had the fundamentals reinforced throughout high school, so am learning almost nothing new, though my prof is a brilliant guy. My current English prof is not as challenging as she could be, so I’m going to take a harder prof next semester. My other two classes have been phenomenal and I’ve learned a lot in those. Anyway, I love your suggestions; definitely agree about getting better experience by doing hands-on work than just digesting theories. You’ve given me some more ideas about what to do with the extra time.</p>
<p>Lululemon: chose it because it’s flexible, applicable to a variety of careers, is one of the university’s best programs, and it’s extremely interesting to me. I also hope to get a graduate degree in a related field at UT Austin.</p>