I think putting out transfer applications is a good idea. It opens up your options. At some point, you might want to visit the engineering department at Pitt. I bet they would be willing to arrange a tour for you, which is well worth doing. Same for any other school you are sending an application to.
There is no reason to be unhappy while you are in college. Of course, there is no guarantee that you will be happier elsewhere, but you did say you were a bit homesick. Being at Pitt would enable you to go home every so often. And that might be good.
You may also want to contact the FSAE team directly as well, since it sounds like you are interested in that. When my son was visiting colleges, he found that most FSAE teams were very responsive and willing to meet and talk to him and show him around their project spaces. He found this to be the most illuminating part of each college visit.
You’re probably aware that Vanderbilt is going to significantly boost its engineering facilities.
A $150 million renovation of the Stevenson Center has been planned by the school . The new building will be a shared space for the College of Arts and Science, the School of Engineering and the School of Medicine Basic Sciences.
And, you’re probably well aware that Vanderbilt is investing millions upon millions of dollars in campus infrastructure from athletics to new dorms to a technological “Innovation District” (a 40-acre tract west of the university’s main campus along West End Avenue).
That said, the only school on your list that makes sense to transfer to is CMU. No way Vanderbilt is better than CMU when it comes to computer science.
This student can get his engineering degree just as well at Pitt or PennState. But he needs to visit, and get a feel for these places before he makes a commitment to transfer.
He said he was homesick and lives nearer to Pittsburgh. That’s another very worthy consideration.
Yes, Vandy is doing a lot of infrastructure work…but how much of this will be completed in the next couple of years?
My DDs undergrad built a brand new engineering building…and my kid never saw it. It was completed after she graduated. The Library and Learning Commons opened her senior year.
I vote for putting in the transfer applications, and this gives this student options should he decide to transfer. Things could turn around, and Vandy will be fine…and he stays. But having the option isn’t a bad idea.
Absolutely. I’ve been trying to do as much research as I can about Vanderbilt and other schools of interest, so I can make a decision that I’ll be happy with. The main reason I made this thread was to take other people’s suggestions about what I should do, so I don’t make the same mistake of going to a college without putting much thought into it.
Planning to isn’t helping OP and OP is looking for comfort that the prestige isn’t reason to stay.
As I noted, I think it’s homesickness and like it does for many I hope it works itself out.
At the same time, I don’t see Pitt as deficient. Telling a student considering a move to stay for perceived prestige or years out projects isn’t going to be helpful in my opinion.
Just my opinion too, but engineering prestige is highly overrated short of a few schools, with yes CMU being one.
Here in Nashville, Vandy loses kids to UTK, Bama, Auburn and those I know about are doing just fine.
Completely reasonable. . . although not such an easy choice.
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth . . .
To me it sounds like you are at an outstanding college with excellent financial aid, are enjoying and succeeding academically, and have good friends. This is not a situation I would walk away from lightly. I imagine you can achieve your goals at Vandy. The grass is not always greener.
