Ha ha, I love this idea. And I just looked and Alabama does indeed have a Crimson Clay Club. The nicest people I ever met were in a clay club I belonged to years ago. I was so unskilled, but it didn’t matter. I swear, great conversations start when 2 people are sitting side-by-side playing with glorified dirt.
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Per OP’s prior threads they don’t qualify for need based aid and the budget was sub $25K. So, finances are OP’s primary constraint in the transfer decision (as it was for the first year decision.)
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I agree with this, but will add that part of growth is also finding out who you don’t want to hang around with. If OP has spent time with the people in her sorority and doesn’t enjoy them for whatever reason, that’s perfectly valid; the path forward is to find where her people are.
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To me this is the most concerning part…
I don’t think a college student (or anyone) should be expected to “grow” into the normalization of bigotry.
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Agree! That would be a reason to transfer - not the GPAs of other students. We did have a kid from our area (DC burbs) that decided that Alabama was not the school for her based on experiences like this (I think she experienced it off campus though).
In this case, it sounds like it is the best school from a financial perspective. So focus on getting get a good education (but still try to find find your peeps - there have to be some there) and look to the future. It is 4 years (maybe you can do it in less?) (And I would drop the sorority.)
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Not necessarily as need based financial aid is available to transfer students at many colleges and universities.
With respect to “the most concerning part” of OP’s thread starting post: My focus is on the individual, while others may focus on the environment.
Very little, beyond transferring to another school, that OP can do about her current environment, but much that OP can do regarding herself.
There will always be unpleasant aspects in any environment; we all need to learn how to deal with these through factors within our control.
A poster replied to one of your earlier posts where you mentioned this… this student is full pay but with a low budget.
It may be helpful to review this thread and the OP’s Chance Me last year to make certain your advice applies to this student.
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Is this student not eligible for need-based aid ?
If not eligible, then the student needs to work on aspects of her experience within her control as I have noted in my earlier posts.
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pretty much only Vanderbilt is affordable because of how they handle divorced parents, but my mom just got a promotion and raise so it may not be anymore. Also they rejected me the first time. My dad and stepdad make similar pretty good amounts of money, but my stepdad isn’t helping and my dad has 6 kids. It’s okay though, I’m not going to transfer. As much as I sometimes feel like I wish I could, it’s not financially smart and I can hopefully make it work here. Also—I think you may be mixing up what I wrote about my sorority with the school as a whole! I may also be misunderstanding your message.
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You’ve been told this multiple times. Please read threads.
It is unfair that you are forcing this student and the previous posters who attempted to “catch you up” to keep restating this.
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Please read OP’s post immediately above your post.
OP is a candidate for need based financial aid at Vanderbilt University and at other schools which handle need based aid in the same manner as does Vanderbilt University.
No. Vandy and UChicago look at custodial parent’s income and not both parents’. That is the point they are making and why they were hopeful those schools would accept and be affordable. There is no chance of need-aid with both parents’ income, and it sounds like a limited chance with one parent now.
The OP is being polite and attempting to catch you up since you’ve ignored previous posts attempting to do so. Again. Please read threads.
Your “challenge” encouraging transferring and getting aid is wasting the OP’s time.
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I often challenge posters in order to read and gauge the reaction. (Surprised by how so many posters miss this.)
My message to you is simple: Look at yourself because that is what you can control the most.
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This entire post is a bit off topic but I just want to say I really admire that you want to do OB care in the South even with the issues. Women need good healthcare everywhere and it’s a way to fight the good fight. If your program permits it, maybe do one rotation in OB up north - in case your program is missing some essentials.
But again -you seem like a smart, practical person. I REALLY hope you find your people. There might be less of them --but there are people there just like you. Maybe look for ally groups. At least you are less likely to hear homophobic and racists slurs in those!
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Sage advice for students and adults alike.
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@elise123 - You are clearly a very level headed individual. Congrats! Any chance you could transfer to UA Huntsville? Would they be able to make the financial numbers work? You might find some more like-minded engineering students there.
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Girl, I am going through the exact thing as you. The students at my school have no motivation and it makes me discouraged to be here. I also feel like my hard work in high school meant nothing. But I guess I’m just dealing with it? I am going to therapy for depression relating to school and personal life, so maybe that could be an option for you too?
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For the benefit of all, including the OP of this thread, I am reiterating that hard work is never worth nothing. I am sure we can all think of dozens of successful people who worked really hard on so many things, whether it was inventing the light bulb (over 1000 attempts) or bombing a test you studied hard for. Even when you think you are not getting what you were working towards, a lot of the time, hard work pays off big. EVERY single person will not always succeed in getting the thing they want. That doesn’t mean “oh well, guess I will give up.”
I would like to bring a bit of a reality check to this thread. First, remember that students who get to go away to college are very privileged. I don’t know the exact number, but roughly 85% of American college students commute. Let’s be more generous and say 70% commute. A minority of American college students live on campus.
I commuted for six years of college. Three of those years were at CC. I had a job, I had friends from work. I earned money and took time off to travel. I was fortunate that my parents could afford to pay for my tuition and that they supported my extensive time in college. I knew kids who dropped out of college because their parents couldn’t afford it. They either lacked the motivation or funding to find a way to make it work.
@elise123 , you have a good head on your shoulders and I am sure you are going to make the most of whatever college experience you end up having. It is up to you to figure out how to thrive in your environment. Your hard work has served you well because you have been given the gift of an affordable college experience. Make the most of it.
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Seems doubtful that the transfer scholarships up to $3k would make Huntsville similar or lower cost than Tuscaloosa.
Also, would Huntsville be better or worse than Tuscaloosa in terms of the apparently normalized bigotry that the OP keeps encountering?
Huntsville does have a much lower percentage of students in fraternities and sororities than Tuscaloosa. However, it also appears to have a higher (but not majority) percentage of commuter students.
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