I’m a sophomore at a highly regarded school in the midwest. I’m doing well and I like the campus, the courses, and the people, but I miss the east coast. I’m very close to my family and living away from them has cemented my wishes to live near them in the future. My entire family lives on the east coast, and I feel guilty about flying home because my parents are paying for everything and plane fare is so expensive, but I’d like to be able to go home more often. Right now, I just go home for breaks. A lot of my friends here at school are from the Midwest and their families live within driving distance.
This college was my top choice when I was applying, and part of the reason it appealed to me was because it’s far from home so it would force me to grow and become more independent. Long-term, I’m planning on living in the east coast, and I thought college would be a good opportunity to experience living somewhere else for a change, and I had a good feeling about the midwest. After a year here, I know that I’m strong enough to ride out the next 2 1/2 years here, and I don’t think I would be unhappy here, but I just wish I could go to school here and be close to home. There are a bunch of great colleges close to home, and I regret not considering them more seriously.
My stats:
GPA: 3.74
I’m pretty active in 2 clubs but hold no leadership positions, I had a summer job last summer, and I volunteer at a local middle school tutoring kids once a week.
I’m currently undeclared, but I tend to enjoy the humanities most (languages, philosophy and linguistics are areas of interest). I intend to go to law school or some kind of grad school after graduation.
Should I tough it out for the next couple of years and then move back east or should I transfer to be closer to home?
Put some apps in and see if you get accepted to a comparable school closer to home. You have nothing to lose by doing so. I would only recommend toughing it out if you had no other options. 2 years is a long time.
Get all the information you need to make a good decision, then do what your gut tells you.
Decisions like this are part of growing up. There are pros and cons to both, and nobody can decide the relative importance of each of them except you.
If you want to post more about the pros and cons of each here, it might help you make your decision, or at least help you understand why you are feeling the way you are. I would understand that you might not want to discuss it with them if you think they won’t be honest about the fact they miss you so much - this is an adjustment for them as well. Or if you think they might not want to tell you come home, save $XXXX per year, and be our little baby again.
Remember, though, your parents are very proud of you, and will be proud of you no matter what you decide. They miss you too but they also are very likely very happy to do be helping you with the costs because it is something you decided you wanted to do, you all found a way to make it work financially. They are most likely not nearly as worried about the cost as they are happy for you knowing that you are doing well there.
College is a sacrifice for the vast majority of students and their families, but every year people make it work. Every year lots of kids transfer as well.
I don’t think you have a lot to lose by looking at schools closer to home. Did you originally apply to and get accepted into any schools near home?
One thing to be aware of is that financial aid is often not as good for transfer students, so if money’s a factor, you may be disappointed. Can’t hurt to look, though.