I was not impressed with my college orientation.

Lavalamp316
Thu, 13 Jun 2013 10:12:20 +0000

Higher education is a business and colleges/universities will always compete for talented students and good education statistics. This smaller school is likely aware that students use it as a stepping stone for transfers into other colleges. The small school wants to keep their number of transfer students down, so that it is seen as a competitive, 4-year school (with students paying four years of tuition) instead of a stepping stone (with students only paying 1-2 years tuition). One way to do this is to require all freshmen to take “University Experience”, with the goal that the class will help students integrate into campus life and entice them to stay at the smaller school, instead of transferring.
If you cannot drop the class quietly, then use the class to boost your GPA. In your post, you mentioned that smaller college is giving you money, and that you intend to transfer. It’s hard to argue that smaller college should adjust their requirements to make it easier for you to graduate on time from another university.
I transferred after my sophomore year at a large, public university. There will be more difficulties about applications/transfer credits/requirements. Be ready to play their game, take some redundant classes and spend a lot of time with your advisor. Once you transfer to your goal university, take the time to find a good academic advisor who can help you on the transfer process/class work.