Return to old school, or stay in my transfer school?

Transfer Students
1

I recently transferred to University of Connecticut from Syracuse University and my major is computer engineering. Although I’ve spent less than a semester here (actually here pretty early considering I joined the marching band and practiced over the summer), there’s just something within me that knows that I won’t be happy here. I’m aware I’m comparing my old school to my current school, but I just don’t like it and I cannot imagine myself graduating from UConn.

I came here on my own terms and I fully accept it. I was easily persuaded by the words of some peers at UConn, and convinced myself that Syracuse wasn’t all that great and I was missing out, so I transferred.

The main thing I should be concerned about other than the minimal things (location, dorms, legit eating cod worms at McMahon during my third week at UConn, etc.):

UConn is known for its engineering, however the fact that they did not accept my coding classes for credits and my writing class for credits puts me at a disadvantage-- a bigger one than I thought since the class did not fulfill a prerequisite. A supposedly very important prerequisite that prevented me from taking the two classes I needed. I knew I was going to be somewhat behind to catch up, but not 3-4 classes behind (and I get that it’s an interesting recursive-learning language, but what kind of coding language is Scheme, when I took C++ at SU and they didn’t accept it???).

I’m also caught off guard by the curriculum since their core calculus and physics classes move at an accelerated rate. My friend and I both take multivariable calculus, but we are almost 3-4 weeks ahead of them in terms of the curriculum. I would say it would be beneficial that we are ahead, if not shoving all these units into one exam within the same time period. It feels very rushed and I have no time to recover before the next topic is introduced. I guess that’s just the pace engineers work at, but Syracuse is also pretty decent in computer engineering specifically when it comes to rankings, as it’s ranked the same for UConn. I know in the end it doesn’t really matter where I go to, as long as I graduate because a degree in engineering is rewarding-- but I want to be a part of a community where I don’t feel any heavy regrets and that I’m proud of the place I graduated from.

And not only that, but no matter where I will go, I will most likely graduate a semester late. It’s not much of a bother, since everyone takes their own pace and route so I want to be sure.

I’m from Connecticut so the commute isn’t bad at all, but Syracuse is about a 4-6 hour drive if you factor in traffic. I admit I jumped the gun when it came to my acceptance letter at UConn because I immediately assumed that in-state tuition = cheaper. Technically it is cheaper, but only in terms of out-of-pocket expenses (such as commuting) that is cheaper. They are the same price and I confirmed this by belatedly looking at the financial aid shopping sheet provided by each school. The only difference is that not only are they the same price, but Syracuse offered me a federal work study, which could help me with the out-of-pocket expenses.

I honestly don’t know what to do. I really want to make the wisest decision with the least amount of consequences because when I initially transferred to UConn, I refused to listen to anyone at Syracuse because I had deeply convinced myself that UConn was going to be it, but now I’m heavily doubting myself.

I don’t doubt the UConn experience is great, but in my point of view Syracuse has a more uplifting, lively setting for my taste. I could breathe, I had a job, friends, highkey a partner, and a sense of direction. I get it takes time to adjust, but there are some moments where you just know things don’t feel right.

To be honest, just to check to see, I’ve already contacted the admissions office at Syracuse to see if I could be readmitted for the Spring of 2019, and they said yes and already processed my readmission. They gave me the option of changing my mind, in case I’d somehow want to stay in UConn. I scheduled an appointment for counseling with UConn later in the week, but I need to clear my mind a bit before I do so. I have until mid/end of November to genuinely decide if I want to stay or not.

2

It looks like you are considering all the pros and cons. I’m glad you are speaking with a counselor before making a final decision.

3

What happens with transferring this semester’s credits back to Syracuse? I’d look hard at the number of semesters left at each school. Also, what do your parents say?

4

You’ve had a rare opportunity, the chance to try them both, so you can compare. Write out that list of pros and cons before you see your counselor. And, once you make your final decision, don’t look back, don’t second guess your decision. Look forward, move forward, and make the best out of whatever you choose. Good luck.

5

@intparent I will still be missing 3-4 classes if I were to return to Syracuse. I’m currently a sophomore and the class that I’m 90-100% positive will transfer and help me with moving along is my physics class. Unfortunately, computer engineers do not take multivariable at Syracuse (they take linear algebra for some reason) so this will fulfill a non-CSE elective. As for my other classes, I can only compare each school’s course outlines and guess that they will also fulfill as electives (that’s supposed to be fulfilled when I’m either a junior/senior at Syracuse). I’ve already wrote down the theoretical classes that I’d be able to take for each semester, as well as possible classes to take over either winter and or summer break (only if it really does work out in my favor because summer/winter class availability have not been posted yet. And I’m currently in the midst of also discussing with advisors if taking classes at colleges near me would suffice). But other than that, I cannot say for sure how many semesters I’d have left for each one.

As for my parents: father is willing to help, mother isn’t. It’s probably because of my stupidity that I convinced her that UConn was cheaper because it was closer to home, only to have it the same price as Syracuse when I finally received financial aid. I haven’t brought it up to her that I did get accepted again, so I’m deathly terrified. She’s in charge of everything financially, but our situation is interesting enough that we are tight on money despite a decent yearly income (but everyone struggles and my parents work hard, which is why I’m carefully weighing out everything so I don’t break their spines even though I highkey already am for going to college in the first place).

I’d have to stay on campus for housing at UConn for the next several years and be forced to be pay for the required on-campus meal plans since UConn doesn’t offer the off-campus housing Syracuse does, where there are several houses available for rent for $450-$570 a month. The only problem with this is that it’s out-of-pocket money I’d have to find, so that’s going to be another summer job for me on top of trying to go to a summer/winter class (I’ve already seen a friend do this before, but she commutes yikes). Not only that, it’s not guaranteed that I’d get this type of deal to pay half of what I do per year (if that makes any sense because I’m tired and stressed and it’s 1:30AM).

Funny enough, for Syracuse, before the housing and meal plans saw my leave of absence, they gave me the opportunity to reduce my meal plan (because meal-plans are required for on-campus residents) due to the amount of loans I was taking out, so that’s also there. So that’s the main thing that’s really hurting my finances.

6

If you can go back this spring…go! You wrote out all your answers. Consider it a semester abroad but it happened to be in New England. No big deal.

Relax and laugh a little about this. You will use your experience as wisdom to help someone else one day.

7

How much did you take in loans for Syracuse? What about for UConn?

8

I don’t know anymore, actually. It’s not that particularly easy when I’m aware I might as well be a spoiled brat for wanting to go back and having that opportunity if I do end up doing so. I don’t know if I should tough it out for another two and a half years because it just doesn’t feel like the right school for me.

9

UPDATE

I made a post awhile ago discussing my predicament regarding of transferring back to my original school. My decision was to officially come back to Syracuse and I’ve never been happier with my decision. As discussed before, it was relatively easy for me to come back as well as I received back my scholarship since I was in good academic standing from when I was there. UConn, however, has tanked my grades from when I was there for one semester but I intend on working hard to bring my GPA back up (which I am! I’ve never seen so many green tags in Blackboard omg). My advice to people is to carefukky weigh out your options as time goes and where your heart stands in things while also considering your impact with other people. Don’t let the numbers and ranks of a school always take priority of the school: if it’s a good school, then take it. The transportation as been managed since I can simply take the train from now on, as I’ve found an apartment to live in next semester!