Should I stay or should I transfer?

sherbet
Fri, 24 Feb 2012 19:21:57 +0000

@bookworm2049

It is neither bad nor great. I just feel like it doesn’t like up to USC’s name.

@vinceh


I only taken the introductory courses in Econ. I have also taken introductory courses in Business. I felt that the introductory Econ courses were not as challenging and thought provoking as the ones I took in Business; they were also less interesting and informative than my GE courses. Maybe I just chose courses with lighthearted professors, but I didn’t really get the vibe that I had hoped to achieve in college courses.
To be honest, I chose USC because it had a very nice Engineering and Business school, and I was still undecided on whether to pursue my career in either of the two. I thought that internal transfers were a matter of paperwork, and that I could change my major in one business day. I also thought that the Econ department was in the Business school, and since the Business school had such a prestigious name, I applied for Econ major thinking that I would enroll in Business school. In this case I must blame myself for not researching USC’s different schools in depth. In my country people have to declare their specific field of study as soon as they enter high school; and that decision carries to university, so there is no such a thing as internal transfers. This concept of deciding your major whist already enrolled in college was one of the things that attracted me to the U.S., but I was quite naive to think it would be that easy to change majors overnight. Also, I’m a first generation college student, so my parents or relatives couldn’t possibly have encouraged me to look into universities deeply.
I know that my chances of transferring are really low, but I really want to be in a intellectually engaging environment where I can know my potential and my limits.


You are right saying that I am assessing the Econ department with just a few courses. But I just don’t want to risk. Let’s say that if I stay at USC and graduate with a degree in Econ. After graduating I would either feel satisfied of what I learned and experience, or I would regret the fact that I could have learned more in a college environment. The same situation applies if I transfer to one of the aforementioned colleges. The likelihood of the latter situation happening would be relatively lower if I transfer. This is supported by the fact that these colleges have made a name for themselves in the Economics field of study.

As for the Business degree, I was not entirely enticed by it; I would have chosen Physics or Computer Science over it any day. But this semester I am taking a couple of business courses, and I have changed my perspective on it. The academic environment that I have experienced in those Business classes is what I have been looking for a long time. I am interested in Business, yet I am not a Business type of person myself. What I wanted from USC was the academic environment found in the Business classes, but in Economic classes. I think that majoring in both of these fields would satisfy both of my intellectual hunger and my personal interest in Economics, but it still wouldn’t compare with the satisfaction of majoring in Economics from one of those Econ-savvy colleges mentioned in my first post.

I don’t deny the fact that I am chasing after prestige. My parents used to live in poverty, so they couldn’t afford college at my age. I also lived in relative poverty for the first half of my life. And as such, I still tend to be a very materialistic person because of the hardships I experienced. To some people, the freedom of choosing how to lead their own life is more important than achieving material security; I am not one of those people. My concept of success is being able to support my parents as they get old, and to provide financial security to my children as they choose to make their own life. It may not closely tie to the prestige of the university that I attend, but the perception of achieving such a high milestone in my life would at least satisfy my lust for success.